Monthly Archive: October 2015

10 Best States for Taxes on Retirees

Retirees have special concerns when evaluating state tax policies: Are Social Security benefits taxed? Does the state impose its own estate tax? Are there property tax breaks for seniors? The answers can greatly affect the financial well-being of someone living…
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A Tax Strategy for Real Estate Sales

By Allison DeLuca, CPA, Melville, N.Y. October 1, 2015 The U.S. real estate market has always attracted the attention of investors and developers worldwide and even more so recently because of a number of factors including increased financing channels…
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IRS Announces Progress in Collaborative Fight Against Tax Return Identity Theft

By Sally P. Schreiber, J.D. October 20, 2015 An IRS-led coalition is making progress in the fight against tax-return identity theft the agency announced on Tuesday (IR-2015-117, FS-2015-23). IRS Commissioner John Koskinen called the collaborative effort an ?unprecedented partnership ……
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Retirement Plan Limits for the Tax Year 2016

On October 21, 2015, the IRS announced cost of living adjustments affecting dollar limitations for pension plans and other retirement-related items for tax year 2016. Here are the highlights: 2016 Plan Limits

In 2016, Some Tax Benefits Increase Slightly Due to Inflation Adjustments, Others Are Unchanged

IR-2015-119, Oct. 21, 2015 WASHINGTON ? For tax year 2016, the Internal Revenue Service today announced annual inflation adjustments for more than 50 tax provisions, including the tax rate schedules, and other tax changes. Revenue Procedure 2015-53 provides details about…
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Employee or Independent Contractor?: The Worker Classification Dilemma

By Susan C. Allen, CPA/CITP, CGMA, Durham, N.C. October 1, 2015 The worker classification issue persists due to the inherent tug-of-war between workers, who tend to prefer employee status, and payers/businesses, which often prefer to classify their workers as…
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Deducting Expenses for Sporting Events Under an Accountable Plan

By David J. Holets, CPA, Indianapolis September 1, 2015 Most employers take advantage of the accountable plan rules to deduct travel and entertainment expenses. Amounts received by an employee under an accountable plan are deductible by the employer without any…
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Don?t let clients overlook these key estate planning issues

Clients dragging their heels? Let them know why estate planning is so important. By Patricia M. Annino, J.D. October 12, 2015 Clients tend not to want to deal with estate planning until they absolutely have to. In my 30 years…
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Tax Planning Businesses Can Do Before Year End

By Sally P. Schreiber, J.D. Printed by The Tax Adviser October 8, 2015 At the end of every year, it seems, taxpayers wait anxiously for Congress to enact extensions of popular business tax breaks, and every year Congress waits to…
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China Finds Big-Ticket Spending Is a Road to Nowhere
Beijing is trying to kick its habit of using big-ticket stimulus spending on infrastructure, a turning point from a growth model that has left many Chinese cities adorned with empty high-rises and underused highways.
MTV Owner's Streaming Strategy: If You Can't Beat Them, Feed Them
Viacom is rebooting MTV’s “The Real World” franchise for Facebook, the latest sign that the cable-TV giant has stopped fighting the growing dominance of digital players like Netflix and is instead producing shows—and soon movies—for them.
Defense Firms Struggle With Security-Clearance Backlog
An exacerbated workforce crunch for makers of warships, jet fighters and cybersecurity systems is forcing them to resort to workarounds to finish Pentagon orders.
Will Tech Leave Detroit in the Dust?
As IPO proposals value Uber at an eye-popping $120 billion, auto makers are racing to gain ground in everything from car sharing to driverless technology. At stake: who will control the future of transportation.
John Mack, Old-School Financier, Coaches Fintech Wannabes
Since handing over the reins at Morgan Stanley, John Mack has been working with financial-technology startups, dabbling in bitcoin and watching as Wall Street gives way to a mellower brand of finance.