Performance Anxiety? A Look at Recent §162(m) Tax Reform.
Posted on April 25th
Effective January 1, 2018, the Tax Act amended the deduction limitations under Internal Revenue Code §162(m) for executive compensation. The specific changes include: (1) elimination of the “qualified performance-based” pay exception to the $1 million deduction limitation on compensation for “covered employees” and (2) expansion of the scope of §162(m) so that more companies and individuals are now subject to the limitation. These changes present several technical and/or practical challenges for companies subject to §162(m) as they await further IRS guidance on these issues.
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What Happened to Tax Relief? Some States Look to Offset Limited SALT Deduction.
Posted on February 24th
To limit the appeal of an out-of-state move, states with higher income, sales, and/or property taxes are exploring ways to reduce the impact of the new limit on the federal income tax deduction for state and local taxes (“SALT”) on their individual residents.
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Moving On: Changing State Tax Residency – Easier Said than Done?
Posted on February 16th
Each state has its own rules for establishing or terminating income tax residency; some use an objective test that counts days spent in the state, while others apply a subjective test that looks at the individual’s overall state connections. The issue becomes more complicated if a family retains ties with the old state, such as splitting residency between spouses or maintaining a child in a school...
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Decoding Tax Reform:
Pass-Through Entities Part 1
Posted on February 2nd
The new tax reform legislation enacts a 20% income tax deduction based on the “qualified business income” of an owner of a business structured as a sole proprietorship or pass-through entity. If the deduction can be fully utilized, it will result in a marginal rate on qualified business income of 28% for a typical taxpayer and 29.6% for those in the top tax bracket. Yet, the deduction is subject to numerous requirements...
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Reciprocal Trusts – A Refresher
Posted on December 22nd
Irrevocable trusts are core legacy planning tools that serve a multitude of planning purposes, such as providing liquidity for estate expenses and financial security for the grantor’s family, including the lifetime support of a spouse (with indirect support of the grantor through spousal distributions). When spouses or other related parties create trusts for the benefit of each other, however, they must proceed cautiously to avoid violation of the so-called “reciprocal trust doctrine,” which can defeat the legacy planning benefits of the irrevocable trusts by “unwinding” the trusts and causing inclusion of the trust assets in the donor’s estate or attributing gifts made by others to the grantor.
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