Lee B

If you search the board, you find two or three threads about them from several years ago.

If your clients are mailing in payment vouchers or any other forms like the 4868, you probably wouldn't want the SSN suppressed ?

According to AMD, if your computer is using an AMD chip, you are not affected by this problem.

Lots on stories out today about a major security design flaw in almost all Intel chips made over the last decade. According to the stories the design flaw cannot be fixed by Intel, which will require security patches to be issued by all the major OS i.e., Apple, Microsoft and Linux. Unfortunately the patches will slow down processor speeds by anywhere from 5 % to 30 %, It's anticipated the Microsoft patch will be released next Tuesday. I would have copied one of the stories but most of them were focused on the tech aspects of the problem. If you want more info, just search, "Intel Design Flaw."

Oregon has very low standard deductions so most of my clients will end up itemizing for state only, which Oregon allows. If you own a house and are still paying off a mortgage, that is enough for you to itemize on your Oregon tax return. Oregon has no sales tax, so that is not an issue.

Yeah, Gleim has been around awhile. I used Gleim 40 years ago to study for and pass the CPA exam.

Actually, the House of Representatives held a "Tax Simplification " news conference several weeks ago, where they waved around the proverbial postcard tax return. However I did notice it was an extra large sized postcard.

Really, it was only 15 hours a year. I have to take 30 hours a year to maintain my Oregon LTC License.

The IRS has just released this Tax Advisory which limits this strategy: IRS Advisory: Prepaid Real Property Taxes May Be Deductible in 2017 if Assessed and Paid in 2017 The Internal Revenue Service advised tax professionals and taxpayers today that pre-paying 2018 state and local real property taxes in 2017 may be tax deductible under certain circumstances. The IRS has received a number of questions from the tax community concerning the deductibility of prepaid real property taxes. In general, whether a taxpayer is allowed a deduction for the prepayment of state or local real property taxes in 2017 depends on whether the taxpayer makes the payment in 2017 and the real property taxes are assessed prior to 2018. A prepayment of anticipated real property taxes that have not been assessed prior to 2018 are not deductible in 2017. State or local law determines whether and when a property tax is assessed, which is generally when the taxpayer becomes liable for the property tax imposed. The following examples illustrate these points. Example 1: Assume County A assesses property tax on July 1, 2017 for the period July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018. On July 31, 2017, County A sends notices to residents notifying them of the assessment and billing the property tax in two installments with the first installment due Sept. 30, 2017 and the second installment due Jan. 31, 2018. Assuming taxpayer has paid the first installment in 2017, the taxpayer may choose to pay the second installment on Dec. 31, 2017, and may claim a deduction for this prepayment on the taxpayer’s 2017 return. Example 2: County B also assesses and bills its residents for property taxes on July 1, 2017, for the period July 1, 2017 – June 30, 2018. County B intends to make the usual assessment in July 2018 for the period July 1, 2018 – June 30, 2019. However, because county residents wish to prepay their 2018-2019 property taxes in 2017, County B has revised its computer systems to accept prepayment of property taxes for the 2018-2019 property tax year. Taxpayers who prepay their 2018-2019 property taxes in 2017 will not be allowed to deduct the prepayment on their federal tax returns because the county will not assess the property tax for the 2018-2019 tax year until July 1, 2018.

Recently saw a TV ad for this company promising to save the caller thousands of dollars by reducing their unpaid tax debts with one phone call to the IRS.

In my state of Oregon, state Income Tax Withholding is not tied to Federal Withholding but the state does piggyback on the Federal W-4 i.e., Oregon does not have a State W-4. Therefore when a employee wants to change their WH status, they will have to fill out a a (Federal Only) 2018 W-4 and a (State Only) 2017 W-4. Are we having fun yet ? Isn't Tax Simplification Wonderful ?

Funny, one of the planning tips I have read about recently was to have your clients prepay their 2017 tax year preparation fees, since misc itemized deductions will be no more.

Doesn't the HSA have to be integrated with a high deductible health insurance plan ?

Copied from the beginning of the section of the new tax law dealing with Pass Through Entity Deductions: ‘‘SEC. 199A. QUALIFIED BUSINESS INCOME. 14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a taxpayer other than a corporation, there shall be allowed as a deduction for any taxable year an amount equal to the sum of Tom, the key word here is taxpayer. Since PTS, LLC & S Corp are not "taxpayers, then the deduction can be taken by individuals, trust and estates.

Tom, Click on the link, Judy posted on the 4th post of the other thread and start reading.

There is commentary on the Tax Section of the AICPA website that says, "there is no authority for the prepayment of any of these 2018 taxes and the deduction them on your 2017 tax return."

The pass through deduction is a Form 1040 deduction reducing taxable income.

Yes, as I have been saying for several years, the IRS is definitely showing signs of systemic stress due to reduced staffing and budget.

Yes, plus they are specifically mentioned in the text of the law.

Here is a summary from the Journal of Accountancy: Depreciation Bonus depreciation: The bill would extend and modify bonus depreciation under Sec. 168(k), allowing businesses to immediately deduct 100% of the cost of eligible property in the year it is placed in service, through 2022. The amount of allowable bonus depreciation would then be phased down over four years: 80% would be allowed for property placed in service in 2023, 60% in 2024, 40% in 2025, and 20% in 2026. (For certain property with long production periods, the above dates would be pushed out a year.) The bill would also remove the requirement that bonus depreciation is only available for new property. Luxury automobile depreciation limits: The bill would increase the depreciation limits under Sec. 280F that apply to listed property. For passenger automobiles placed in service after 2017 and for which bonus depreciation is not claimed, the maximum amount of allowable depreciation is $10,000 for the year in which the vehicle is placed in service, $16,000 for the second year, $9,600 for the third year, and $5,760 for the fourth and later years. Sec. 179 expensing: The bill would increase the maximum amount a taxpayer may expense under Sec. 179 to $1 million and increase the phaseout threshold to $2.5 million. These amounts would be indexed for inflation after 2018. The bill would also expand the definition of Sec. 179 property to include certain depreciable tangible personal property used predominantly to furnish lodging or in connection with furnishing lodging. It would also expand the definition of qualified real property eligible for Sec. 179 expensing to include any of the following improvements to nonresidential real property: roofs; heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning property; fire protection and alarm systems; and security systems.

Their is a new $ 500 credit available for dependents who no longer qualify for the CTC. Also the old 10%/15%/25% brackets are now 10%/12%/22%. The results vary client by client.

It's a deduction against taxable income not against SE Income.

In my state the DPAD was never recognized and has always been an add back, so Oregon could treat the pass through deduction the same way.

O K, I read the bill carefully and if the Qualified Business Income is under the Threshold Amount of MFS $ 157,500 or MFJ $ 315,000 then the limitation of 50 % of the W -2 Income is not applied. Therefore a SP with Qualified Income under the Threshold Amount would get a 20 % deduction. For S Corp there are special anti-abuse rules that would prevent an S Corp owner from taking this deduction if he took $ 0 wages.

I think you have the S Corp/PTS right. I haven't seen anything about how the SP will work