What am I bid for the Internal Revenue Service top job? The IRS Commissioner seat isn’t actually on the auction block, but incoming president Donald J. Trump wants to oust the tax agency’s current leader and install an auctioneer. Billy Long, who also served from 2011 to 2023 as a Republican U.S. Representative for Missouri’s 7th district, never served on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee during his years in Congress. Long’s only apparent private sector tax background, per his X (formerly Twitter) @auctnr1 account biography, is as Certified Tax & Business Advisor in connection with the troubled COVID-era... Read more →
Politics
Wildfires to the west, hurricanes to the east. An array of major disasters now are covered under a tax relief bill that, after more than a year, finally will be law. (Photo by Caleb Cook on Unsplash) A long-awaited disaster relief finally is headed to the White House, where President Joe Biden is expected to sign it into law. On Dec. 4, the Senate passed by voice vote the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act, formally known as H.R. 5863. When it officially becomes law, the measure will designate a series of presidentially-declared disasters as qualified disaster events. The final step... Read more →
Photo by Pixabay I know it’s early December and you're already frazzled. Oh, wait. Maybe that’s just me. Even if you are a bit swamped like me, but still think you can make room for one more thing (I'm jealous!), the Internal Revenue Service wants to hear from you. Specifically, the tax agency is seeking new members for the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee (ETAAC). And actually, you don’t have to decide right now. (Whew!) The IRS is accepting applications through Jan. 31, 2025. Even better for those who need to clear some items from their current to-do lists and/or... Read more →
DOGE's X (formerly Twitter) account banner Donald J. Trump has fulfilled one presidential campaign promise. He has named billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to head the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Now we’ll see if they can actually streamline the federal government and dramatically cut its costs. DOGE details: First, a quick look at DOGE. Despite its name, DOGE is not an official federal department or government agency, but rather a presidential advisory board. Trump noted that status in naming Musk and Ramaswamy as co-leaders, adding that they will “provide advice and guidance from outside of Government” in... Read more →
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but for the Internal Revenue Service to do its best job collecting money for federal government programs, the agency needs adequate money. The perennial funding issue was once again the lead topic in the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council's (IRSAC) 2024 annual report. The IRS collects 96 percent of all federal revenue, with around 85 percent of taxes owed paid voluntarily and on time, notes the IRSAC report. But while 85 percent is not a bad compliance rate, it’s been stuck at that level for two decades. That means the IRS needs to... Read more →
The anniversary comes as the Internal Revenue Service watchdog is awaiting confirmation of a new leader. The Internal Revenue Service is a perpetual target. Some want to eliminate it. Others want to add to its operations. Both of these groups often rely on data provided by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, or TIGTA, in making their divergent arguments. TIGTA was created as part of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act or 1998 (RRA 98). The following year, TIGTA began carrying out its mandate to provide independent oversight of IRS activities. Now, the IRS watchdog is commemorating... Read more →
Will this higher cost across the country be enough to convince lawmakers to revise the $10,000 state and local tax (SALT) federal tax deduction cap? Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 was enacted, I’d spend this time of year deciding whether to pay our home’s annual property tax bill by Dec. 31 or wait until its due date of Jan. 31 the following year got closer. It wasn’t just a cashflow decision. It also affected our tax filing. Or did, as I noted, before the Republican tax reform bill limited the amount of state and local... Read more →
Last month, the Internal Revenue Service issued its annual inflation adjustments for myriad tax provisions. The new numbers were released before the Nov. 5, so there was a bit of concern that these figures could dramatically change after 2025. The trepidation was based on the expiration at the end of next year of mostly individual tax breaks in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, the signature tax law in Donald J. Trump’s first term. Now, with Trump returning to the Oval Office in January, along with Republican majorities in the House and Senate, there’s a bit more... Read more →
Streaming fans in Louisiana soon could be paying more to watch their favorite shows and movies. This time, though, they can’t blame the services providing the programming. Their ire over more costly entertainment is due to Pelican State lawmakers who now are meeting in a special session to focus on Gov. Jeff Landry has proposed a reworking of Louisiana’s tax structure. More subject to sales tax: Part of the tax overhaul is an expansion of s part of targets subject to Louisiana’s 4.45 percent state sales tax. It would be levied on several digital products and services, including online news... Read more →
Unsplash+ in collaboration with Getty Images I haven’t yet seen any of those holiday car commercials with big red bows atop the gifted vehicles. But is a good time to start thinking of new transportation, particularly if you’re considering an electric vehicle (EV). That’s because under the second Trump Administration, and with the support of a Republican-led House and Senate, the $7,500 EV tax credit soon could be history. Trump's tax credit aversion: While Donald J. Trump has vacillated between loving or hating electric vehicles, he’s more consistently been opposed to them, or at least the associated tax breaks. "Tax... Read more →
Whether your dream retirement is traveling the world or enjoying your own backyard, you need to save now so you can enjoy it. One way to ensure your post-work years are golden is to take full advantage of tax-favored retirement plans. Regardless of who wins the White House, the Social Security system is going to get a lot of attention in the coming years. The aging population, combined with the much ballyhooed birth dearth, is going to put more pressure on Uncle Sam’s retirement program. Even if the new president and Congress can agree on ways to bolster Social Security,... Read more →
Before law changes, the now inflation-indexed Alternative Minimum Tax, known as the AMT, seemed to work like an ATM for the U.S. Treasury. When the AMT was created in 1969 to ensure wealthy individuals paid at least some tax, it wasn't indexed for inflation. Until that changed with the 2017 tax reform law, the AMT adversely affected a lot of less-wealthy taxpayers. (Photo by Ali Mkumbwa on Unsplash) What's worse than figuring your tax bill? Having to figure a second, higher, parallel amount you might owe. That's a situation that taxpayers who owe the Alternative Minimum Tax, or AMT, end... Read more →
Photo by Kay Bell My life has worked out pretty well, especially financially. I’ve come a long way from when I was in college, constantly keeping an eye on my income, which wasn’t much. I remember times back in the day before minimum balances and monthly fees where my bank account balance was in double digits, and those numbers were after the decimal point. That’s why I still obsess over how much cash I have on hand, and still use an old school check register even though I pay bills electronically. I like to see the income and payments written... Read more →
On Oct. 10, Social Security recipients got the annual word on how their benefits will change in the coming year. It was not exactly the news many had hoped to hear. The 2.5 percent increase for 2025 for around 68 million retirees and disabled workers who receive Social Security payments was one of the lowest in recent years. Recipients’ grumbling about the 2025 increase also were likely influenced by this year’s 3.2 percent hike, and the 8.7 percent boost in 2023 when inflation was at an historic level. Fixed-income folks also are still worried about inflation. Although it has eased,... Read more →
The coming wage base bump also means more FICA taxes for higher earners. Running the numbers is important for everyone, but critical for older folks who rely on Social Security benefits, and the annual cost-of-living increases, to cover much of their expenses. (Photo by Getty Images via Unsplash) There’s some good news for the more than 72.5 million recipients of Social Security payments. The Social Security Administration (SSA) today announced they’ll soon see an increase in their retirement and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. Nearly 68 million retirees who receive monthly Social Security deposits will see a 2.5 percent cost-of-living... Read more →
Photo by Adeolu Eletu on Unsplash The main goal of the Republican tax reform bill in 2017 was to lower the corporate tax rate. It did that, cutting it from 35 percent to 21 percent and making it permanent. For anyone not fluent in Congressional legislative language, that means that, unlike the many individual tax breaks in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) set to expire at the end of 2025, there’s no sunset on the lower corporate tax rate. That’s put much of the tax focus, especially on Capitol Hill, on those expiring provisions. But the corporate tax... Read more →
Americans have always been aspirational. We strive to be better, especially financially. And while we’d all like to be millionaires (or richer), we’re also pretty pragmatic. We want to do better than we did the year before, making progress as we continue our American Dream journey. That’s why candidates for all offices this election year are making promises they say will help middle-class voters Americans. Based on data gathered last year, those vote seekers better get to work. Fast. The United States’ middle class has been shrinking. Economic stresses have increased: Independent inflation data aggregator Truflation reported that the number... Read more →
A television studio like this one in the CBS Broadcast Center will be the site of next week’s only vice presidential debate. Gov. Tim Walz and Sen. JD Vance, the two major party vice presidential candidates, will face off on Tuesday night, Oct. 1, for their first formal debate from the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. With GOP nominee Donald J. Trump saying it's too late to debate his Democratic counterpart Vice President Kamala Harris a second time, the Walz-Vance encounter likely will be the last major televised debate of this election cycle. Unlike the Harris-Trump debate, the... Read more →
Even the Internal Revenue Service has acknowledged the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claim process has been beleaguered by fraud and abuse. That’s why the tax agency stopped accepting new ERC filings last year, and has focused on working through existing claims. While some ERC claimants have received tax credit money for keeping staff on payroll during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, others are getting bad news from the IRS. Their ERC claims have been denied. The unwelcome word is arriving as IRS Letter 105-C. The mailed correspondence means the IRS has found the claim ineligible, and has disallowed, or... Read more →
Photo by RDNE Stock project A home of one’s own has long been part of the traditional American Dream. Nowadays, though, some say it’s a nightmare trying to join the homeownership ranks. So, of course, as we head into the last few weeks of the 2024 election, candidates at all levels also are focusing on housing. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, has proposed tax breaks she says will increase the housing supply, which should lead to lower prices. She’s also promoting a first-time buyer tax to help buyers get into those homes. Using the tax code to... Read more →