Life changes as a result of COVID-19 may also have business considerations. One of those considerations is how changing residence will affect an individual’s taxes. That has become even more important after the deduction of state and local taxes on federal tax returns was limited to $10,000 by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, making those taxes more burdensome than they had once been. Continue reading the full article, published by Financial Advisor…

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to have a significant financial impact on state and local governments (Issuers). Issuers have not only had to defer the deadlines for taxes owed to them by their taxpayers, but they also still face lower tax and other revenues and increased expenses, possibly for years to come. In an April 2020 GT Alert (Prior Alert), we discussed how Issuers could use tax and revenue anticipation notes (TRANs) to address…

The California State Board of Equalization (BOE) is responsible for assessing property tax on certain public utilities and other specified companies, including telephone companies and companies selling or transmitting gas or electricity, enabling counties to use those assessed values to collect local property taxes. These companies are commonly referred to as “state assessees” and their taxable property is referred to as “state-assessed property.” Read the full GT Alert, “State and Local Tax Briefing: 2020 …

Political activities of charities and other types of exempt organizations frequently rise in prominence in presidential election years.  Not only is the IRS sensitive to political activities in a presidential election year, private organizations frequently monitor election activities of charities and may report to the IRS violations of the political activity prohibition.  Consequently, it is important for leaders of charities, and particularly religious organizations, to be familiar with the rules for participation in elections by…

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created personal uncertainty for many due to living in quarantine and apart from extended family members, and financial stress due to market volatility and the unclear future for some businesses. Yet, it may be a sensible time to engage in estate planning, not only because the pandemic has shown the importance of personal planning, but also because reduced asset values and historically low interest rates enhance the ability…

Q. Assuming I properly received PPP funds, what can I spend it on?  A. The allowable uses of PPP loan funds are as follows: 75% of the PPP loan funds must be used for payroll costs for U.S. resident employees (salaries are capped at $100,000 per employee), The remaining 25% may be spent on: Costs related to the continuation of group health care benefits during periods of paid sick, medical or family leave (other than…

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the new Section 163(j) generally limits a taxpayer’s deduction of any business interest expense to 30% of the taxpayer’s adjusted taxable income (ATI) plus the taxpayer’s business interest income. However, certain real estate and farming businesses are permitted to make an irrevocable election to avoid the application of the Section 163(j) limitation. The trade-off is that if a taxpayer makes an election, the taxpayer is required…