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Developing a solid approach to advising clients on Roth IRAs

Tax advisers should develop a profiling system for
identifying clients who are best suited to take advantage of Roth IRAs now that eligibility to participate in this popular retirement investment vehicle has been significantly expanded over the
past decade.

Recovery rebates: Tax planning pitfalls and opportunities

The CARES Act enacted a recovery rebate tax credit to help individual taxpayers through the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. This article discusses strategies to lower a taxpayer’s 2020 AGI to avoid a phaseout of the credit and other strategies for maximizing the credit a taxpayer receives.

IRS announces 2021 HSA limits

The IRS issued its annual inflation-adjusted contribution limits for contributions to health savings accounts permitted to participants in high-deductible health plans. Most of the amounts increased slightly over the 2020 amounts.

Rollover relief for required minimum distributions

The IRS provides relief for taxpayers who had already taken required minimum distributions (RMDs) in 2020 before the CARES Act suspended the RMD requirement for 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic and its effect on taxpayers and the stock market.

Qualified opportunity zone rules are relaxed

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRS further postponed the 180-day deadline to invest in a qualified opportunity fund from July 15, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2020, extended other deadlines, and relaxed some qualified investment rules.

HSA contribution limits increase for 2021

The IRS issued its annual inflation-adjusted contribution limits for contributions to health savings accounts permitted to participants in high-deductible health plans. Most of the amounts increased slightly over the 2020 amounts.

Final regulations govern QOZs

The IRS issued final regulations providing guidance on tax-favored investments in qualified opportunity zones (QOZs).

Optimal choice of entity for the QBI deduction

The enactment of the Sec. 199A QBI deduction adds a new consideration to the form of entity analysis because the QBI deduction available to a business owner may vary depending on a business’s entity form. This article discusses the differences in calculating the QBI deduction for S corporations and LLCs in a variety of scenarios.

Seize the increased basic exclusion amount

Taxpayers can obtain unique benefits when it comes to gift and estate tax planning by using trusts and taking advantage of applicable valuation conventions.

Recent developments in individual taxation

This semiannual update of recent developments in the area of individual taxation includes cases on hobby losses, innocent-spouse relief, material participation in a business, discharge of indebtedness, and self-employment tax, as well as IRS guidance on charitable deductions, cryptocurrency, and other topics.