Individual Income Taxation

TOPICS

August 1, 2018

IRS guidance explains changes to standard mileage rate rules and depreciation in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

The IRS issued guidance on the standard mileage rates and depreciation limits that were changed by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

August 1, 2018

The art of PechaKucha: From the classroom to the boardroom

Mastery of PechaKucha can help presenters grab an audience’s attention, calm their own nerves, and avoid several common presentation mistakes.

August 1, 2018

Tuition waiver benefit related to past employment includible in income

A laid-off university employee was not retired or disabled, therefore his use of tuition waivers that were part of his severance package resulted in taxable income to him.

August 1, 2018

Basis issues in cryptocurrency

For investors, cryptocurrency will be regarded as a capital asset, so a key component of correctly determining the tax treatment of a cryptocurrency investment will be establishing its basis.

August 1, 2018

Failure to update penalty regulation costs IRS

The failure to update the regulations to reflect a statutory increase in the FBAR penalty amount prevents the IRS from assessing the full statutory amount of the penalty.

August 1, 2018

The receipt and redemption of rewards program points: Tax and reporting implications

The taxation of frequent flyer miles and other points taxpayers receive from rewards programs is a vexing problem, involving questions of timing, amount, and reporting of income.

August 1, 2018

Interest recharacterization rules for ‘self-charged interest’

Interest recharacterization rules under Regs. Sec.
1.1411-4(g)(5) can minimize clients’ exposure to the net investment income tax.

July 30, 2018

Final rules govern adequate substantiation for charitable contributions

Final regulations address how taxpayers can comply with the requirements for adequate substantiation of charitable contributions of money or property.

July 17, 2018

States sue over state and local tax deduction cap

Four states have sued in U.S. district court, asking to invalidate the $10,000 limit on the deduction for state and local taxes enacted as part of last year’s tax overhaul.

July 12, 2018

AICPA: 2019 Form W-4 needs to be simplified

The AICPA’s Tax Executive Committee sent a letter to the IRS, urging the Service to simplify the proposed draft 2019 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate.

July 12, 2018

Coping with the new entertainment expense and transportation fringe benefit rules

This article addresses two common business expenses whose tax rules changed beginning Jan. 1, 2018.

July 1, 2018

IRS adjusts HSA limits for 2018, announces 2019 limits

The IRS issued the inflation-adjusted contribution limits for 2019 for health savings accounts.

July 1, 2018

Reality check: Virtual currency and its tax ramifications

This article describes a few key aspects of virtual currency phenomena, their tax ramifications, and what tax practitioners need to know about them.

July 1, 2018

Benefiting from shared-equity financing arrangements

Shared-equity financing arrangements can help
individuals acquire homes they might not otherwise be able to afford, but care should be taken with the tax planning aspects.

June 27, 2018

Form 1040 to be shorter but with more schedules

The IRS is working on a draft version of the 2018 Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, that reduces the size of the form to two half-pages in length and eliminates more than 50 lines.

June 8, 2018

Draft 2019 Form W-4 and instructions posted

The IRS released a draft Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, and its instructions, for individual taxpayers to use to determine their income tax withholding for 2019.

June 1, 2018