tax return

After months of political bickering, Congress has reached an agreement on an emergency coronavirus relief bill, and the President has said he would sign it. Although not all the details are fully available yet, the following provides a good overview of the provisions affecting individual taxpayers and small businesses.    

It seems hard to believe, but the holiday season is almost upon us, and that means that the 2020 tax preparation season will soon follow. With the end of the tax year just weeks away, it may be appropriate (especially this year, in light of the financial havoc created by COVID-19) to review some year-end tax issues that might reduce your tax bite for 2020 or provide long-term tax benefits.

As the end of the tax year approaches, it is worth spending a few minutes reviewing some of the changes that have been made in the tax laws surrounding donations to charities. In some cases, this guide will serve as a refresher regarding revisions made over the last few years, while in other cases there have been COVID-related changes that you may not be aware of.

To say COVID-19 has made 2020 a disastrous year for just about everyone would be an understatement. However, in response to the economic slowdown and losses of income, Congress passed several extensive laws to benefit individuals and businesses that suffered financial hardship because of COVID-19. Therefore, 2020 has given rise to more than the usual tax-planning opportunities.

A federal tax credit for the purchase and installation costs of a residential solar system is fading away. After being 30% of the cost for several years through 2019, the credit amount drops to 26% in 2020 and then 22% in 2021, the final year of the credit.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRS has furloughed many of its employees or had them work from home to mitigate the spread of the virus. Many IRS offices remained shuttered for months, and a backlog of millions of pieces of unopened mail accumulated in trailers set up outside IRS facilities.

As the November elections approach, you might want to know what the two front-running presidential candidates’ tax plans for the future are. The following is an overview of their positions, at least what is known now.

We are still waiting for the dust to settle on what President Trump’s executive orders mean for taxpayers and business owners. There is a lot of talk about legal challenges and how Congress may react, but here is a summary of what we know now.

Temporary Payroll Tax Relief

The global coronavirus pandemic has changed every single facet of our world – from the way we work to how we live our day-to-day lives – and we have been forced to quickly adjust.

Unfortunately, there are those out there who seek to take advantage of this turbulent time.

Under new guidelines that apply only to the 2020 tax year, you can now donate 100% of your adjusted gross income and have it all offset your taxable income completely, as opposed to the usual 60% it was capped at before.