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How to Reduce the Tax Risk of Using Independent Contractors

Classifying a worker as an independent contractor frees a business from payroll tax liability and allows it to forgo providing overtime pay, unemployment compensation and other employee benefits. It also frees the business from responsibility for withholding income taxes and the worker’s share of payroll taxes. For these reasons, the federal government views misclassifying a…
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The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act— The Death of Alternative Minimum Tax?

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) made major changes to the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). The minimum tax was enacted in 1969. The idea was for high-income households (with lots of deductions) to pay their share of taxes. There was a problem, though. The AMT exemptions were never indexed for inflation, so as wages…
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The Tax Impact of the TCJA on Estate Planning

The massive changes the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) made to income taxes have garnered the most attention. But the new law also made major changes to gift and estate taxes. While the TCJA didn’t repeal these taxes, it did significantly reduce the number of taxpayers who’ll be subject to them, at least for…
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The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—Changes to the Child Tax Credit

  The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) brought major changes to the child tax credit. For tax years 2018 through 2025, the credit is doubled from $1,000 to $2,000 per qualifying child. In addition, up to $1,400 of the credit is refundable. What’s more, the income phase-out was expanded, which means more taxpayers will…
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The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—Few Changes for Capital Gains and Qualified Dividends  

PART 8 Sometimes the more things change, the more they stay the same. That’s the case with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) as it relates to capital gains and qualified dividends. What changed? Not a lot, actually.   First of all, the tax reform act retained the same capital gains rates on long-term capital…
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Are Repairs to Tangible Property Deductible?

Repairs to tangible property, such as buildings, machinery, equipment or vehicles, can provide businesses a valuable current tax deduction — as long as the so-called repairs weren’t actually “improvements.” The costs of incidental repairs and maintenance can be immediately expensed and deducted on the current year’s income tax return. But costs incurred to improve tangible property must…
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What the TCJA means for meals, entertainment and transportation

Along with tax rate reductions and a new deduction for pass-through qualified business income, the new tax law brings the reduction or elimination of tax deductions for certain business expenses. Two expense areas where the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changes the rules — and not to businesses’ benefit — are meals/entertainment and transportation….
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The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act—Estate Tax Relief

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has made it easier for you to share your wealth. Prior to the TCJA, the lifetime exemption was $5.49 million. Beginning in 2018, tax reform doubles the exemption to $11.2 million per individual (a total of $22.4 million for a married couple). These limits apply for estate, gift…
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