If you made a purchase on the internet yesterday, you might have noticed something different: sales tax. Changes in sales tax compliance laws for remote sellers and marketplace facilitators in more than a dozen states kicked in beginning October 1, 2019. More than 40 states have tweaked their sales tax laws since a 2018 Supreme Court…
It turns out that there is such a thing as too much SALT. U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken has dismissed a lawsuit filed by four states to strike down the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The lawsuit was filed in July of 2018…
Do you file an accurate tax return and pay what you owe each year? If so, you’re in the majority: a report released by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) indicates that the nation’s tax compliance rate is holding at 84%, the same as in prior years. The report also provides an estimate of the tax…
With the new tax filing season just months away, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the second draft of federal form 1040-SR, U.S. Tax Return for Seniors. The form, with larger print and less fussy boxes, is intended to make life easier for some of the approximately 15 million senior households expected to file tax returns…
The United States may be taking a hard line on cryptocurrency, but not all countries are seeking to collect from the virtual currency boom. The Portuguese Tax & Customs Authority (PTA) has announced that buying or selling cryptocurrency in Portugal is tax-free. The announcement came at the same time that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has…
Nobody likes getting a tax bill in the mail. It’s especially concerning when your tax bill is a bit higher than you anticipated. But what happens when it’s hundreds of millions of dollars more than you were expecting? Just ask Donna Smith from Aurora, Colorado. Smith, a part-time worker at a local thrift store, got…
As part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), Congress capped the amount of state and local taxes (SALT) that taxpayers can deduct on their federal returns. Taxpayers who were impacted complained that they were unfairly targeted, and some scrambled to find ways to protect the deduction (including filing lawsuits to protect workarounds). Now, those concerns…
Hurricane Dorian might have spared much of the southeastern United States, but its impact is still being felt. The storm roared ashore last week with 185 mph winds and heavy rains causing substantial damage to homes in Grand Bahama and Abaco before heading back out to sea, and returning to lash North Carolina’s Outer Banks. This…
Genetic testing kits are all the rage these days—and recent tax news may make it even more affordable. Taxpayers may now get a tax break for some testing, piquing interest for some taxpayers. Unfortunately, the increased popularity also makes genetic testing kits ripe for scammers. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office…
Hurricane Dorian made landfall in the Bahamas over the weekend. The category 5 storm has been called the strongest storm to ever threaten the east coast with maximum sustained winds of over 185 mph. According to the National Hurricane Center, “Although gradual weakening is forecast, Dorian is expected to remain a powerful hurricane during the next couple…