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The American Institute of CPAs in a March 31 letter to House of Representatives voiced its “strong support” for a series of tax administration bills passed in recent days.


The Tax Court ruled that the value claimed on a taxpayer’s return exceeded the value of a conversation easement by 7,694 percent. The taxpayer was a limited liability company, classified as a TEFRA partnership. The Tax Court used the comparable sales method, as backstopped by the price actually paid to acquire the property.


State and local housing credit agencies that allocate low-income housing tax credits and states and other issuers of tax-exempt private activity bonds have been provided with a listing of the proper population figures to be used when calculating the 2025:


The value of assets of a qualified terminable interest property (QTIP) trust includible in a decedent's gross estate was not reduced by the amount of a settlement intended to compensate the decedent for undistributed income.


An individual was not entitled to deduct flowthrough loss from the forfeiture of his S Corporation’s portion of funds seized by the U.S. Marshals Service for public policy reasons. The taxpayer pleaded guilty to charges of bribery, fraud and money laundering. Subsequently, the U.S. Marshals Service seized money from several bank accounts held in the taxpayer’s name or his wholly owned corporation. 


Limited liability companies (LLCs) remain one of the most popular choice of business forms in the U.S. today. This form of business entity is a hybrid that features the best characteristics of other forms of business entities, making it a good choice for both new and existing businesses and their owners.


Maintaining good financial records is an important part of running a successful business. Not only will good records help you identify strengths and weaknesses in your business' operations, but they will also help out tremendously if the IRS comes knocking on your door.


After your tax returns have been filed, several questions arise: What do you do with the stack of paperwork? What should you keep? What should you throw away? Will you ever need any of these documents again? Fortunately, recent tax provisions have made it easier for you to part with some of your tax-related clutter.


I have a car that I would like to donate to my church. Can I just claim the amount shown as the value of the car per the Kelly Blue Book (about $6,500) on Schedule A of Form 1040?

. Any tuition payment you make directly to an educational institution is completely exempt from both estate and gift taxes. For example, if your taxable estate exceeds $3 million, your marginal estate tax rate is 55%. If you have a taxable estate greater than 3 million and you pay a family member’s $12,000 school tuition, you can save your estate up to $6,600 in estate taxes.

Many taxpayers are discovering the "minority interest discount" technique for minimizing estate and gift taxes. Here’s how it works: let's say your business or other assets are held in a "family limited partnership." If properly structured, you could give your children a 10% interest in that partnership, but value the gift at less than 10% of the value of the entire partnership. In effect, you may be allowed to reduce the value of the 10% interest, for estate and gift tax purposes, based on a "minority interest discount,” and a "lack of transferability" discount. This technique is being widely used across the country.

If you’re a typical QuickBooks user, chances are you've been under-utilizing one of the most powerful financial tools in your office. With just a little preparation you can leverage that $200 software investment to be one of the most valuable information sources and timesavers in your business.

Are you tired of sitting down at the end of the year to review your business’ financial situation only to realize that it’s no different than last year? Maybe you should be working ON your business not IN it.

Certified Public Accountants & Advisors