Increased Estate/Gift Tax Exemptions Under TCJA: No-Clawback, but Use it or Lose It
February 11, 2019
by Christopher T. Rogers
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) passed in December, 2017, doubled the estate and gift tax basic exclusion amount from $5.0 million to $10.0, coupled with a cost of living adjustment. For 2019, the basic exclusion amount is $11.4 million. Unless extended, the increased basic exclusion amount…
Why 2019 Will Be the Year of Opportunity (Zones)
November 6, 2018
by Craig R. Cockrell
One of the more significant additions to the Tax Code under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was the creation of an incentive program for investment in certain low income communities called “Opportunity Zones.” The program is designed to spur economic investment in distressed areas by allowing…
Repeal of the Personal Property Like-kind Exchange (… or, the Swap of §1031 for Increased Bonus Depreciation and Expensing)
One of the lessor discussed items in the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) has been the change to Section 1031, limiting the like-kind exchange provisions to exchanges of real property only. Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code provides an exception to the general gain…
Tax Practitioners May Use Return Information to Market to their Return Preparation Clients, But Some Use and Disclosures Require Written Consent Beforehand
Accounting firms have specific rights and duties that come into play when they market to their clients using data gleaned from the return preparation process. The general rule is that returns and return information cannot be disclosed without consent. For example, on the government side Section…
IRS Pays $175,000 in Damages for Willfully Violating Bankruptcy Discharge By Making Collection Attempts Upon Discharged Debtor
In a battle of competing statutes, the First Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the IRS’s good faith belief that it had a right to collect debts discharged in bankruptcy because the debtor had filed a fraudulent return or willfully attempted to evade or defeat tax, was an insufficient basis to…