Individual Tax

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act 2.0 (SECURE Act 2.0) has a new provision that speaks to the nature of auto-enrollment for new 401(k) plans. All eligible hires will be required to enroll at a pretax rate of three percent at the minimum. Furthermore, mandatory enrollment will come with an auto-escalation of…

If you have an IRA, you are required to take out a certain amount of money each year once you reach age 73, even if you don’t need the funds. This is known as a required minimum distribution and it can increase your taxable income, potentially pushing you into a higher tax bracket. How QCDs…

The Arizona Department of Revenue (DOR) will be issuing a one-time individual income tax general welfare rebate, entitled the Arizona Families Tax Rebate to Arizona taxpayers who meet the following requirements: filed a full-year resident tax return for tax year 2021 and claimed a dependent tax credit on the tax return that meets one of the following…

With lifetime gift and estate tax exemptions at an all-time high in 2023, not as many taxpayers will be subject to federal gift taxes this year. However, that does not mean you will not have to file a gift tax return. Nontaxable Gifts There are a few scenarios that do not involve paying gift tax,…

Under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, tax credits are available for making homes more energy efficient, using clean energy sources and retrofitting heating and cooling systems. The energy-efficient home improvement credit has been raised to $1,200 from the $500 lifetime credit for installing new doors, windows, skylights, insulation, and heat pumps. This credit equals…

Every birthday is important in our book, but there are some key milestones to remember when planning for retirement. This age-by-age breakdown offers an overview of tax and financial planning tips for your 50s, 60s, and 70s to help you maximize retirement benefits and navigate deadlines. Age 50 – Taxpayers aged 50 and older are eligible…

The IRS has recently announced that “in the interest of sound tax administration and other factors,” taxpayers in many states will not need to report various payments on their 2022 tax returns. Specifically, the IRS has determined it will not challenge the taxability of payments related to general welfare and disaster relief. So what does…

How one trusted employee defrauded a charity and how she got away with it for so long. If your small business or organization maintains a paper checkbook, whether you typically use it or not, you could be at risk of check tampering fraud. Even if you believe your business or organization does not make any…

According to the Social Security Administration, approximately 70 million Americans will see an 8.7 percent increase in their Social Security benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments in 2023. On average, according to the SSA, Social Security benefits will increase by more than $140 per month starting in January. Why the big bump? As the…