Articles

The IRS has increased the standard mileage rate for the second half of 2011 due to rising gas prices over the last several months. The new standard mileage rate has been increased from 51 cents per mile to 55.5 cents per mile effective July 1, 2011 through December 31, 2011. Read More

On December 17, 2010, the president signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. This Act, in essence, is a two-year extension of the 2001/2003 Bush-era tax cuts. The Act also incorporated many business extensions of the so-called “annual extenders.” The following is a list of the provisions that may affect your 2011, and in some cases, 2010 and 2012 tax liabili Read More

After much speculation and anticipation, Congress finally passed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (the Act). The president signed it into law on December 17. The Act, in essence, is an extension of the 2001/2003 Bush-era tax cuts for two years. Also, the Act provides a payroll tax holiday for 2011 and a change in the exemption amount and maximum tax rate for estate taxation. The Act extends and modifies many of the provisions first enacted in the 2009 American Recovery and Relief Act. Finally, the Act incorporates many individual extensions of the so-called annual extenders. Read More

An expired tax planning tool for IRA owners is back. In 2011, taxpayers age 701/2 or older may make charitable transfers of otherwise taxable distributions from their traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs up to a total of $100,000 per taxpayer, per taxable year. Read More

On December 17, 2010, President Obama signed the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010. Although the primary feature of this legislation is a two-year extension of the Bush-era income tax cuts, the Act also addresses the repeal of the estate tax for 2010 and its reinstatement in 2011. The legislation reenacts the estate tax for 2010 (but grants an option to elect back into the repeal) and provides generous estate and gift tax exemptions and rates for 2011 and 2012. Read More

The provision that permits taxpayers age 70½; and over to make direct distributions (up to $100,000 per year) from their Traditional or Roth IRA account to a charity has been reinstated for 2010 and 2011. The distribution is tax-free, but there... Read More

The provision that permits taxpayers age 70½ and over to make direct distributions (up to $100,000 per year) from their Traditional or Roth IRA account to a charity has been reinstated for 2010 and 2011.  The distribution is tax-... Read More

Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) – For several years, Congress has failed to permanently resolve the nagging issue of the AMT, and instead, each year has applied a one-year patch without which an estimated 28 million taxpayers would be hit wi... Read More

The Bush era tax cuts slowly phased out the federal estate tax and abolished it altogether for decedents dying in 2010, and replaced it with a rather complicated modified carryover basis regime.  Just about everyone assumed Congress would r... Read More

As part of the new tax cuts for 2011, the Social Security (OASDI) payroll tax withholding for employees has been cut by a full 2 percentage points from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent of wages paid.  This late action has created problems for bot... Read More