Now that the tumult over the new tax law is settling down and we have examined its impact in broad terms, we are reaching out to clients about the changes and how the changes will impact their estate plans. Since new federal tax law will likely affect many estate plans, so we are recommending that […]

For years Congress has tinkered with the federal tax laws. Usually, there are months of congressional hearings and testimony from experts before implementing changes to the tax law. However, in a rush to pass some type of tax “reform,” Congress enacted the new tax law one week before the end of the year with no […]

Tax professionals have been losing sleep over The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”). Congress pushed The Act through in three weeks and many of the deductions and exemptions that have been in place for years are gone. This article is not devoted to the requirements to qualify as a QDiST but to examine […]

There are more than a few reasons you are not hearing a lot from me on the plethora of tax law proposals before Congress. In 1997 Congress passed and President Clinton signed the Tax Reform Act of 1997. It encompassed numerous revisions to the Internal Revenue Code. In 1998 another tax bill, the Tax Reform […]

The Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2018 will give a 2.0 percent COLA for 2018 for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries. This COLA is based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) from the third quarter of 2016 through the third quarter of 2017. It’s the biggest increase in five years, […]

Revenue Ruling 2017-34 eases the process for an executor to get relief from having failed to make a timely ‘portability election’ to allow a surviving spouse to take advantage of a deceased spousal unused exclusion amount (DSUE). Forbes’ recent article, “IRS Offers Estate Tax Relief To Widows And Widowers,” advises that some quick action may be needed to take […]

Whether they’re working or not, people with disabilities and their caregivers often have higher costs associated with medical care or daily living, so the current tax code makes some of these costs deductible. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found in 2015 that 53 million adults in the U.S. (about 20%) live with a […]