William Byrnes' Tax, Wealth, and Risk Intelligence

The Texas A&M Master and LL.M. programs (e.g. international tax, transfer pricing, wealth management, or risk management) are accepting applications from financial professionals and from lawyers. Over 850 enrolled, the enrollment for a course’s section is kept to between 20 and a maximum of 30 so that each student receives meaningful feedback throughout the course from the full-time academic faculty and renowned professional case study leaders, and each other via teamwork and peer review. https://law.tamu.edu/distance-education

Prof. William H. Byrnes

Robert Bloink, J.D., LL.M.

This week, we’d like to draw retirement plan sponsors’ attention to the importance of self-audits in light of the significant increase in IRS funding under the Inflation Reduction Act–and provide some insight on how student borrowers can prepare for Biden’s loan forgiveness program. Also this week, we have some clarity on the often-confusing topic of how various types of Roth dollars are treated for tax and penalty purposes.  Read on for more.

Have Your Clients Checked Their Retirement Plans for Compliance? Self-compliance checks for retirement plan sponsors have become even more important now that the Inflation Reduction Act has earmarked an extra $80 billion in IRS funding dollars. Many failures can be corrected under the EPCRS before the IRS gets involved in a more extensive audit. Qualified plan sponsors should ensure that they have adopted all amendments required under recent legislation, including the SECURE Act and 2020 CAREs Act. Sponsors should also ensure that their plans are being properly operated in accordance with these new amendments and rules (so, if the plan adopted expanded loan provisions, the plan should check to ensure that it’s being operated in accordance with those amendments–noting that the deadlines for some amendments has been delayed). Plans should also ensure that all elective deferrals are being deposited on time and that all documents are filed on time (including Forms 5500). They should also check to ensure their plans are being operated in accordance with the RMD rules. For more information on the qualification requirements for retirement plans, visit Tax Facts Online. Read More

How Can Clients Prepare Today for Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan? The Department of Education announced that an application to apply for student loan forgiveness under President Biden’s new plan is active. To prepare, clients should first check their student loans to see if they have received a Pell grant (which can increase the amount of forgiveness and the client’s online account at studentaid.gov should have information about Pell grant receipt). They should also check their tax returns to see if they qualify for forgiveness in the first place. Only taxpayers with income below the $125,000/$250,000 thresholds will qualify. Taxpayers can qualify if their income was below the limit in 2020 or 2021. The relevant number is the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income for the year. All student borrowers should evaluate whether they qualify for repayment assistance or an income-based repayment plan, as Biden has also announced that the extension of the student loan repayment pause through year-end will be the final extension. For more information on the tax treatment of student loans, visit Tax Facts Online. Read More 

Do Your Clients Understand the Roth Distribution Ordering Rules? Roth accounts provide a valuable option to give clients a stream of tax-free income during retirement. When a client takes a Roth distribution, the distribution is first made up of direct contributions. Once contributions are depleted, amounts that have been converted from a traditional account are withdrawn. Once those funds are depleted, the amounts withdrawn are treated as earnings. These rules are important, because converted Roth funds are only penalty-free after five years have passed or if the owner has reached age 59 1/2. Earnings are only tax and penalty-free if the owner is both 59 1/2 and if five years have passed. Contributions, on the other hand, are withdrawable tax and penalty-free regardless of how much time has passed. For more information on Roth IRAs, visit Tax Facts Online. Read Moree 

Look in your Tax Facts Online app for our continuing analysis of 2022 and 2023 legislative and regulatory updates, weekly intelligence, and the impact on planning for a client’s wealth preservation and growth.

Texas A&M, operating budget of $9.6 billion (FY2022) and capital budget of $1.9 billion, is #1 for U.S. public universities, one of only 60 accredited U.S. universities of the American Association of Universities (R1: Doctoral Universities – Highest Research Activity) and one of only 17 U.S. universities that hold the triple U.S. federal grant of Land, Sea, and Space! The law school, ranked in the 1st tier of law schools and is ranked in the top 10 for the employment of its graduating law students among U.S. law schools.

• Ranked in top 20 public universities by Wall Street Journal / Times Higher Education (2020)
• #2 endowment for U.S. public universities, #8 overall
• #1 of U.S. public universities for a superior education at an affordable cost
• #1 for most CEOs employed by Fortune 500
• top 10 for the employment of its law graduates
• Rank #11 by Money Best Colleges Report, 2021 and #5 in U.S. among public universities (Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Peterson’s, PayScale.com, Money/College Measures calculations)
• Texas A&M ranks #1 in Texas, #1 in the SEC, and #12 in the U.S. in Washington Monthly’s 2020 overall college rankings based on the quality of education, accessibility, graduation rates, student involvement, and research: see tx.ag/WashMonth20
• The School of Law enrollment is 850 Master/LL.M. students with a maximum of 30 per course section. The university enrollment is 70,000 degree seekers.