ARTICLES

On Dec. 23, 2011, Congress and President Obama delivered a last-minute holiday gift to working taxpayers.  Both parties agreed to temporarily extend the payroll tax cut that has been in place for 2011. The employees' share of the Social...

The IRS has clarified the treatment of certain liabilities under the Internal Revenue Code's recurring-item exception to the economic performance requirement of the all-events test. Under the all-events test, an accrual method business can accrue a...

Receiving and exercising stock options will give a taxpayer a lot to consider. When a person who is both an investor in and an employee of a corporation receives options to purchase stock in the corporation, the tax consequences of exercising the...

The IRS has issued proposed and temporary regulations and a new information reporting form that must be used to report specified foreign financial assets for tax year 2011. Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, must...

Low- and moderate-income workers who take steps now to save for retirement can benefit from a special tax credit in 2011. The saver's credit helps offset part of the first $2,000 workers voluntarily contribute to IRAs, 401(k) plans and similar...

Hawaii rewards residents for taking care of their trees, so long as a certified arborist deems the tree "exceptional." Individuals can deduct up to $3,000 for the costs associated with maintaining "a tree with historic or cultural value or that, by...

If you owe money and either the lender forgives your debt or someone else pays your debt, usually the result is taxable income to you. The tax law calls this concept "income from discharge of debt." Although a discharge of debt generally results in...

Not surprisingly, the Tax Court has ruled that taxpayers cannot cite a television commercial that mischaracterizes certain tax rules as authority to support the position taken on a tax return. In 2009, Ralph and Jacqueline Grosso purchased a...

In some cases, life insurance proceeds can be subject to estate tax, even if you do not own the policy at the time of your death. The proceeds of insurance on a decedent's life payable to a named beneficiary are subject to estate tax if the...

The IRS has announced that the optional mileage allowance for owned or leased autos – including vans, pickups and panel trucks – will remain at 55.5 cents per mile for business travel after 2011. The rate is unchanged from the July 1, 2011, midyear...

Are you planning to make year-end gifts? Every person can give any other person up to $13,000 for 2011 without incurring any gift tax. The annual exclusion amount increases to $26,000 per donee, or recipient, if your spouse consents to gift...

The Obama administration has decided not to let the Grinch steal Christmas this year, according to White House spokesman Matt Lehrich. The United States Department of Agriculture has decided to delay implementation of a program that could have...