To taxpayers facing large capital gains, very few strategies exist to defer or eliminate the tax altogether. That all changed with tax reform.  The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed at the end of December 2017 created major changes in the tax structure, and not the least of these may be found in IRC Sections 1400Z-1 and 1400Z-2, the code sections that govern Opportunity Zones. These changes enable investors to take advantage of heretofore unavailable tax breaks that can save huge amounts of money … [Read more...]

The federal government taxes large estates, but under the recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, (TCJA), P.L. 115-97, which went into effect January 1, 2018, the exemption for estate and gift taxes doubled – temporarily. The double exemption disappears after 2025 unless Congress extends it.  There has been concern that when the exemption goes back to normal, those who took advantage of the boon might under some circumstances have to pay the piper for those taxes. This is often referred to as a … [Read more...]

Many small businesses operate as S corporations to avoid the complexities of C corporations and to avoid double taxation. C corporations are taxed before money is distributed to their shareholders who are taxed yet again. On the other hand, the income of S corporations flows directly to shareholders who pay for taxes on their personal returns.  There sometimes a day, however, when an organization outgrows its S corp status, and the company would like to revoke it in favor of operating as a C … [Read more...]

Homebuying and homebuilding are good for the economy. That fact, and not lawmakers’ desire to give working families a break, is what makes the mortgage interest deduction a sacred cow. The government sees the deduction as something of a reverse stimulus. By encouraging people to buy houses, and therefore encourage builders to construct houses, the economy prospers. Not all nations see it that way. Some industrialized countries, most recently Japan, have either tinkered with the MID or done … [Read more...]

For about a generation, spousal support payments have been tax-deductible for obligors and alimony receipts have been tax-reportable for obliges. Effective January 2019, the times they are a-changin’. Payments will no longer be tax deductible and receipts will no longer be tax-reportable. According to some, the change is just a ripple in the ocean. According to others, it’s the biggest change to family law since California began the no-fault divorce revolution in 1969. From an income tax … [Read more...]