Tax Section Odyssey

The employee retention credit (ERC), established in 2020 by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, P.L. 116-136, a refundable tax credit for businesses that paid employees while they were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic or had significant declines in gross receipts for the period between March 13, 2020, and Dec. 31, 2021, continues to be front and center on the mind...

Natural disasters create a great deal of anxiety for all involved. Disaster tax relief in the form of tax return delays and casualty loss provisions are meant to ease some of that anxiety, but uncertainty surrounding some of the relief can cause confusion. On this Tax Section Odyssey episode, April Walker, CPA, CGMA, Lead Manager — Tax Practice & Ethics, AICPA & CIMA, goes behind the scenes with J...

Another busy season is upon the profession. With several tumultuous tax seasons in the recent past, the 2023 tax filing season is shaping up to be relatively normal, a welcomed changed for taxpayers, tax practitioners and the IRS. Normalcy doesn't exactly equate to status quo, however. There are new rules, new guidance releases as well as established items with newfound scrutiny that practitioners...

Rev. Proc. 2022-19 appears in the Internal Revenue Bulletin 2022-41 for Oct. 11, 2022, and provides taxpayer assistance procedures to allow S corporations and their shareholders to resolve frequently encountered issues without requesting a private letter ruling (PLR) issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  On this Tax Section Odyssey episode, April Walker, CPA, CGMA, Lead Manager — Tax Prac...

ESG is becoming an increasingly familiar acronym, standing for environmental, social and governance. Similarly, ESG analysis has become an increasingly important part of the tax compliance process and, for CPAs, it's a key area to understand as part of a taxpayer's overall financial snapshot. On this Tax Section Odyssey episode, April Walker, CPA, CGMA, Lead Manager — Tax Practice & Ethics, AICPA...

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), P.L. 115-97, imposed a $10,000 limitation on individual taxpayers for the deduction of state and local taxes (SALT) for tax years 2018 through 2025. In response, many states enacted laws allowing (or mandating) passthrough entities (PTEs) to pay the taxes at the entity level instead. In November of 2020, the IRS issued Notice 2020-75 , which clarified that partner...

In December 2022, the IRS posted a revised draft version of the 2022 Partnership Instructions for Schedule K-2 and K-3 (Form 1065) and a similar revised version of the 2022 S Corporation Instructions for Schedules K-2 and K-3 (Form 1120-S). They were subsequently finalized. On this Tax Section Odyssey episode, April Walker, CPA, CGMA, Lead Manager — Tax Practice & Ethics, AICPA & CIMA along with T...

The end of the year is upon us. While the hustle and bustle of the holidays and winter hibernation sets in, April Walker, CPA, CGMA, Lead Manager — Tax Practice & Ethics, AICPA & CIMA, fills you in on some quick updates about a few trending tax topics to keep you in the know, including Schedules K-2 and K-3, Form 1099-K, Payment Card and Third-Party Network Transactions and tax legislation develop...

An engagement letter is an important written agreement that describes the business relationship and the types of services agreed upon by a client and a professional firm. The letter details the scope of the agreement, terms and costs and sets expectations for both sides of the arrangement. In this Tax Section Odyssey episode, April Walker, CPA, CGMA, Lead Manager — Tax Practice & Ethics, Associati...

Knowing the right time to end a client relationship can be tricky. No matter the reason for termination, managing the practical components plus the human emotions can be difficult. In this Tax Section Odyssey episode, April Walker, CPA, CGMA, Lead Manager — Tax Practice & Ethics, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, representing AICPA & CIMA, chats with Daniel Moore, CP...

Managing a future-forward tax practice that is efficient, profitable and agile can be overwhelming. Meeting client expectations, streamlining workflows and handling staffing challenges are just some top-of-mind concerns. One resonating topic throughout this year, is also the debate regarding shifting the tax filing deadlines. Will they remain what they currently are or is there an appetite for cha...

Statements on Standards for Tax Services (SSTSs) are the foundation for validating reputational integrity in the tax profession. The SSTSs are the enforceable tax practice standards for members of the AICPA. To keep pace with the evolving tax profession, the updates to the AICPA's SSTSs will guide tax practitioners into the future, help them enhance their services and maintain their professional e...

Securing data against bad actors is crucial to the long-term success of a business. The average cost of a data breach in the U.S. in 2022 was over $9 million . With proper planning the risk can be mitigated, and even if an incident occurs, the cost and the time to recover can be significantly reduced. In this Tax Section Odyssey episode, April Walker, CPA, CGMA, Lead Manager — Tax Practice & Ethic...

The employee retention credit (ERC) has been an important lifeline to many struggling businesses impacted by the economic uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic. The ERC has helped support many businesses through the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and taxpayers, many with the help of their CPA practitioners, have faithfully filed for refund claims. However, some taxpayers have been approached by...

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 increases the IRS budget by roughly $80 billion over 10 years. The funds are broken down into four main categories: taxpayer services, business system modernization, operations support and enforcement. On this Tax Section Odyssey episode, April Walker, CPA, CGMA, Lead Manager — AICPA Tax Section, talks with Gloria Sullivan, Managing Director, Tax Controversy & R...

President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, H.R. 5376 , into law on Aug. 16, 2022. Tax professionals must now undertake the task of quickly understanding the tax provisions, including the new corporate minimum tax, based on financial statement, or "book," income and various energy credits, which include several new credits for clean energy and fuels and clean vehicles and other transportat...

The tax ecosystem is in constant flux given the rotating release of legislation and regulations and reliance upon open communication with, and accessibility to, the IRS.   On this Tax Section Odyssey episode, April Walker, CPA, CGMA, Lead Manager – AICPA Tax Section, and Lauren Pfingstag, Director of AICPA Congressional & Political Affairs, review frequently asked questions (FAQs) that the AIPA Ta...

The employee retention credit (ERC), the refundable tax credit designed to reward business owners for retaining employees throughout the COVID-19 pandemic was signed into law on March 27, 2020, as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and further significantly expanded in 2021. Eligible business owners can claim up to $5,000 in refundable tax credits for each emplo...

In this episode of the Tax Section Odyssey, April Walker, CPA, CGMA, Lead Manager — AICPA Tax Section, talks with brand, marketing and growth strategists, Manny Torres and Kenny Harper from Growth Amplifiers. Growth Amplifiers works with business advisors to help them increase their profits and the success of their businesses. The organization provides tips, tools and strategies to help advisory b...

Alternative work arrangements such as remote or hybrid options are becoming more prolific making it crucial for firms to fully leverage digital technologies. Mainstays like automation, e-marketing and employee engagement strengthen relevancy  and future proof a business — especially with the "great resignation" looming and client interaction mechanisms evolving. In this episode of the Tax Section...

The April 2022 tax deadline has passed and many tax practitioners are soaking in a well-deserved respite. Now may be the opportune time to think about starting up your own tax practice. While the thought of being a successful entrepreneur may seem daunting, there's some best practices to get you started. On this episode of the Tax Section Odyssey April Walker, CPA, CGMA, Lead Manager — AICPA Tax S...

The homestretch of the tax season is drawing near. On this episode of the Tax Section Odyssey April Walker, CPA, CGMA, Lead Manager — AICPA Tax Section, highlights three top-of-mind items lingering on as we near the end of busy season 2022. What you'll learn in this episode Status of relief around Schedules K-2/K-3 (0.50) Updates to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Safeguards Rule (3.45) Where to hear m...

At the end of 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), P.L. 115-97 delivered the $10,000 state and local tax (SALT) deduction limitation. Before passage of TCJA, individuals who itemized deductions could deduct their state tax payments in full using Schedule A, Itemized Deductions , of their federal Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return . Now that the amount of the deduction is limited, shif...

Non-cash compensation has become more familiar in the workplace, with nearly one-in-five individuals holding some type of equity. As such, taxpayers need to have the right mix of tax, financial and legal advice, as well as appropriate technology solutions, to confidently make critical decisions around wealth management.  On this episode of the Tax Section Odyssey, April Walker, CPA, CGMA, Lead Man...

The new Schedules K-2 and K-3 aim to improve reporting by standardizing international tax information to partners and flow-through investors, making it easier for them to report these items on their individual tax returns. However, implementing the required changes continues to cause transitional challenges for the tax community. Although the IRS has released IR-2022-38 and a series of frequently...