William Byrnes' Tax, Wealth, and Risk Intelligence

William Byrnes (Texas A&M) tax & compliance articles

Posts Tagged ‘Unemployment benefits’

Congress Extends Deduction for State and Local Sales Taxes

Posted by William Byrnes on February 12, 2011


The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (Tax Relief Act) extended the income tax deduction for state and local sales taxes through December 31, 2011.  The deduction expired on January 1, 2009, but Congress amended the provision retroactively, which will allow taxpayers to take the deduction on their 2010 taxes.  The deduction, which has been slated to expire a number of times, has been revived by Congress repeatedly since it was introduced but has not yet been made a permanent part of the Code.   Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous coverage of the Tax Relief Act of 2010 in Advisor’s Journal, see Obama Tax Compromise Provides 100 Percent Bonus Depreciation of Business Assets Through 2011 (CC 11-01), Obama’s Social Security Tax Holiday: Penny Wise and Pound Foolish? (CC 10-119), Does the New Estate Tax Make the Bypass Trust Obsolete? (CC-10-122), & 2010 Estates: To Elect or Not to Elect (CC 10-124).

For in-depth analysis of income tax deductions, see Advisor’s Main Library: B4—Business Income and Deductions.

We invite your questions and comments by posting them or by calling the Panel of Experts.

Posted in Taxation | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Tax Season Starting Late for Some Taxpayers

Posted by William Byrnes on February 5, 2011


Some taxpayers are going to have to wait until mid-to-late February to file their 2010 income tax returns, delaying much needed refunds and potentially clogging up the system for other taxpayers. The IRS is blaming the filing delay on Congress waiting until the end of December to pass the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010, H.R. 4853 (Tax Relief Act), which includes a bevy of tax provision extensions, a new two-year estate tax, and a one-year, 2 percent Social Security tax holiday.  Read this complete analysis of the impact at AdvisorFX (sign up for a free trial subscription with full access to all of the planning libraries and client presentations if you are not already a subscriber).

For previous coverage of the Tax Relief Act of 2010 in Advisor’s Journal, see Obama Tax Compromise Provides 100 Percent Bonus Depreciation of Business Assets Through 2011 (CC 11-01), Obama’s Social Security Tax Holiday: Penny Wise and Pound Foolish? (CC 10-119), Does the New Estate Tax Make the Bypass Trust Obsolete? (CC-10-122), and 2010 Estates: To Elect or Not to Elect (CC 10-124).

 

Posted in Taxation | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Obama’s Christmas Gift to the American Public: Social Security Tax Reduction

Posted by William Byrnes on December 24, 2010


Section 601 of The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (HR. 4853) provides for employee tax and self-employment tax rate reductions.

The Social Security tax is divided by the employee and employer share. [1] For self-employed individuals, a separate but comparable tax applies to covered wages.  [2]

For employees, generally, the term covered wages in this context means, all remuneration for employment, including the cash value of all remuneration (including benefits) paid in any medium other than cash. [3]

Social Security is generally taxed at 6.20% and Medicare (Hospital Insurance) 1.45%. [4] Social Security taxes are composed of (1) the old age & survivors insurance (5.30%) and (2) disability insurance (0.90%) (together known as “OASDI”) tax equal to 6.2 percent of covered wages up to the taxable wage base ($106,800 in 2010 and again in 2011); and (2) the Medicare hospital insurance (“HI”) tax amount equal to 1.45 percent of covered wages. [5]

See the full article at AdvisorFYI

 

Posted in Taxation | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Obama Compromises and Extends All Bush Tax Cuts (and then some…)

Posted by William Byrnes on December 20, 2010


President George W. Bush and President-elect B...

Image via Wikipedia

On Friday, President Obama signed into legislation, what is quickly becoming known as the Obama Tax Cuts, which extend tax breaks initially created by the George Bush Administration about a decade ago.  For the previous discussions and various versions of this “long and winding road” of the passage of this new tax law – see Tax Deal Reached

The new tax law “The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (HR. 4853)” provides an extension for two years (unless otherwise noted), of generally the following (not all inclusive):

The full free article and links to all the relevant legislation and Congressional explanations of the legislation may be read at http://www.advisorFYI.com

 

 

Posted in Taxation | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

 
%d bloggers like this: