Taxes

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) likes to say: “There are two tax codes in the United States: one for workers who pay taxes out of every paycheck and the other for high-fliers who use games and tricks to avoid their taxes.” He’s now proposing to add a third tax code, one for billionaires. But

How lawsuit settlements are taxed is surprising and complex. Under the tax code, compensatory damages for personal physical injuries or physical sickness are tax free. In contrast, damages for emotional injuries are fully taxable. Yet if you have emotional injuries triggered by physical ones, the damages for the emotional injuries are also be tax-free. It’s confusing, making

Tax Notes contributing editors Robert Goulder and Joseph J. Thorndike discuss envy and what it might mean for tax policy, all in five minutes.  This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Joseph J. Thorndike: Hi, I’m Joe Thorndike, here today with my Tax Notes colleague, Bob Goulder. We want to talk about envy and what it might

There are many options for student loan forgiveness and discharge, but each has different eligibility restrictions and a different application process. Learn how to apply for student loan forgiveness. Student loan forgiveness and discharge options include: Public Service Loan Forgiveness Teacher Loan Forgiveness Loan Forgiveness for Volunteering Total and Permanent Disability Discharge Death Discharge Closed

Discussion of tax and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) usually focuses on gain income. Analysis of expense deductions, charitable contributions, and worthlessness are less common. As the market for NFTs swells, so will the relevance of those topics. An NFT is a unique data unit stored on a digital ledger that can be sold or traded. Most

As a gay financial planner, I am fortunate to offer financial planning guidance to many LGBT couples. Achieving marriage equality has been great for the LGBT community, in my opinion. From a tax planning standpoint, getting legally married may greatly increase the tax bills for gay and lesbian married couples. The US tax code is

Since 1998, the IRS has been prohibited from assessing penalties against a taxpayer unless the initial determination that the penalties should be assessed was personally approved, in writing, by the examiner’s immediate supervisor. The rule requiring written supervisory approval, 26 U.S.C. § 6751(b), was largely ignored by the IRS and the tax practitioner community until

It’s hard to abandon longstanding rules of thumb. But sometimes circumstances change, and it’s necessary to change our thinking if we want to maximize after-tax wealth. Perhaps the oldest rule in the tax-planning book is to defer taxes whenever possible. “Don’t pay a tax until you have to” is one of the first planning strategies

Axios reports that Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W VA), one of the Senate’s key swing votes, wants any extension of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) to include a “firm” work requirement and be limited to parents with “family income” of about $60,000 or less. But that idea raises more questions than it answers. It isn’t easy

             Good news for businesses taking the Employee Retention Credit (ERC).  A number of key House Democrats have recently written a letter to Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) asking that the ERC be retained for the fourth quarter of 2021. The letter – led by Congressman Antonio Delgado (D-NY) and Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) – emphasizes the benefits of the

IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig infamously testified before Congress in April of this year that the estimated tax gap – meaning the difference between taxes due and owing by U.S. taxpayers each year and the taxes actually reported as due and collected – could be as much as $1 trillion each year. According to Senator Ron

Should tax cheats with unreported income pay their fair share of federal income taxes? That’s what’s at stake in the congressional tax compliance proposal that would reel in tax cheats by tracking bank account transfers. The proposal has riled industry players and stoked misinformation campaigns. Amid this backdrop, the Treasury Department issued a fact sheet

Tax Notes chief correspondent Stephanie Soong Johnston recaps the final agreement on the OECD’s two-pillar corporate tax reform plan approved in October by 136 countries of the inclusive framework. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. David D. Stewart: Welcome to the podcast. I’m David Stewart, editor in chief of Tax Notes Today International. This week:

This segment of What’s Ahead spotlights a chilling proposal from the White House and congressional Democrats that would ultimately destroy all vestiges of your financial privacy. If Congress approves, the IRS will track every bank account with more than $600 in activity a year. With straight faces, proponents claim this gross invasion of privacy is

When there is no stated intent regarding a specific Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provision, its general intent to reduce taxes and stimulate the economy should usually prevail. It is undeniable that former President Trump’s budget was largely realized through the TCJA’s successful passage — and that it was designed to reduce taxes and other taxpayer costs, including those related to

Today’s column addresses questions about cost of living increases for spousal benefits’ effects on later COLAs for retirement benefits, taking retirement benefits before survivor’s benefits and Social Security options with no saving and health concerns. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc.

President Joe Biden’s approval rating has been steadily falling in recent months and that doesn’t bode well for municipal market friendly proposals in his Build Back Better plan. Data from the Morning Consult U.S. presidential approval polling show that Biden’s rating was once as high as 56% but has now fallen to 47%. The recent

More than 550,000 student loan borrowers may find it easier to have their balances forgiven under recent changes to the Department of Education’s public service loan forgiveness (PSLF) program, but for millions more participating in the government’s income-driven repayment (IDR) programs, much-needed relief is still waiting. The government’s various student loan programs offer forgiveness after

A provision of the Build Back Better Act threatens to louse up a lot of life insurance plans. The problem is in the provision titled “Special Rule for For Grantor Trusts”. In many ways it is a sensible provision doing away with shenanigans that clever planners have concocted over many years largely to benefit the 1%, The rule

The Internal Revenue Service announced that most families will see their fourth advanced child tax credit payment in their bank accounts today. It shows up as IRS TREAS CHILDCTC on your bank statement. The payments will reach approximately 36 million taxpayers getting a total of $15 billion. If you’re getting payments by check, the check