Foreign Earned Income Exclusion: Time Travel Modern day foreign earned income exclusion has its origin in 1926, when Congress enacted its predecessor as part of a strategy to help American businesses expand overseas by incentivizing Americans to work and live abroad.[1] The exclusion is still the best-known, although sometimes misunderstood, tax benefit available exclusively to […]
The IRS issued Notice 2020-23 on April 9, 2020 to expand the automatic postponement of due dates for filing and paying federal taxes, which we discussed in our last newsletter. Most notably, postponement under this new notice is no longer confined to federal income tax returns and payments that are due on April 15, 2020.[1] […]
Background The pandemic of Coronavirus COVID-19 has caused widespread disruptions to essential services, business operations, and everyday lives worldwide as governments around the world implement various degrees of quarantine measures in an attempt to contain the contagion. Recognizing that taxpayers have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 emergency, President Donald Trump first issued an emergency […]
Foreign Pensions of US Expats and Inbound Foreign Nationals: IRS Simplifies Reporting Rules For Certain Foreign Trusts But There Is More to Consider Summary The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released on March 2, 2020, Revenue Procedure 2020-17, which exempts certain U.S. citizens and residents from foreign trust information reporting requirements relating to certain tax-favored […]
Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies – What You Should Know Before Preparing Your 2019 US Tax Return, FATCA, and FBAR IRS, The Legend The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has a stellar record succeeding where other law enforcement agencies fall short, from the legendary conviction of Al Capone to the take down of the “Silk Road” website […]
Year-End Tax Planning with Holiday Cheer As the holiday season approaches, there never seems to be enough time to plan your gatherings and celebrations with family and friends. Yet, it pays to spend a few moments to take stock of your taxes before the end of the year to mitigate your tax exposure, boost your […]
IRS Finalizes QBI Deduction Safe Harbor for Rental Real Estate On September 24, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Procedure 2019-38 that has a safe harbor allowing certain interests in rental real estate, including interests in mixed-use property, to be treated as a trade or business for purposes of the qualified business income (QBI) […]
Background The new QBI deduction, created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) allows many owners of sole proprietorships, partnerships, S corporations, trusts, or estates to deduct up to 20 percent of their qualified business income. Eligible taxpayers can also deduct up to 20 percent of their qualified real estate investment trust (REIT) […]
IRS Waives Penalty for Many with Short Witholding or Estimated Tax Payments The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced on January 16, 2019 that it is waiving the estimated tax penalty for many taxpayers whose 2018 federal income tax withholding and estimated tax payments fell short of their total tax liability for the year. The IRS […]
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that the new promised postcard return will be released this week. The New York Times has reportedly obtained a draft of the new Form 1040 and posted it in their news article on Monday. The current two-page form is condensed into one page by introducing various new schedules that need […]