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Federal Tax Legislation
Stay informed of important developments in tax legislation. Key items include guidance and new rules involving tax reform, COVID-19 Relief Acts, international taxation and partnerships.
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Federal Tax Legislation CPE
More than ever, this year promises to be one with lots of questions from your clients. Find your way through the uncertainty with numerous CPE courses led by expert instructors, addressing COVID-19 Relief Acts and other federal tax updates.
Recent Legislation
Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
Updated: Dec. 28, 2020
Late in the day on Dec. 20, 2020, leaders in Congress announced that they had reached an agreement on a new round of relief for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and economic stimulus. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021
finally took shape after several days of negotiations between the Democrats and GOP on Capitol Hill. The passage of the bill, as well as the negotiations, were closely tied to passage of an omnibus appropriations bill for the federal government for the 2021 fiscal year. Congress passed several short-term extensions of the appropriations bill to avoid a shutdown as the COVID-19 stimulus package was negotiated.
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2020 Post-Election Tax Policy Update
Updated: Nov. 11, 2020
On Nov. 7, 2020, after a protracted period of vote counting in several states, nearly all media outlets declared that Democrat Joe Biden will be the 46th President of the United States. While, at the time of publication, this outcome is not yet official, given that several lawsuits have been filed by the reelection campaign of President Donald Trump and the Electoral College still has to vote in December, it seems that most people are proceeding as if Biden will be sworn in on Jan. 20, 2021.
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2020 Year-End Tax Planning
Updated: Oct. 28, 2020
Tax planning in 2018 and 2019, in the wake of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, was largely a settled issue. Tax rates have been stable at a low level, meaning that there hasn’t exactly been much reason to act quickly at the end of the year to take advantage of a beneficial tax environment down the road. With no looming
tax legislation or massive policy changes, one year has more or less been just like the year before it.
Of course, 2020 has changed all of that, throwing Major League curveballs into what had been batting practice. The biggest curveball is the ongoing coronavirus(COVID-19) crisis. With an uncertain economic future because of the pandemic, there is major incentive to maximize all tax savings now. Additionally,
the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act enacted many taxpayer-friendly provisions, many of which have a 2020 expiration date.
Read the full coverage here
2020 Tax Policies Of The Major Presidential Candidates
Updated: Sept. 3, 2020
This special briefing describes the current tax policies of the candidates of the two major parties: President Donald Trump, the incumbent candidate for the Republican Party and former Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate for president.
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2020 Payroll Tax Deferral Order
Updated: Aug. 10, 2020
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to surge in multiple regions of the United States, the economy continues to flounder. While some economic recovery has occurred in the aftermath of large shutdowns in the spring, job
losses continue to mount while state and local governments struggle with increased costs from battling outbreaks and reduced tax revenue.
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2020 Post-Filing Season Update
Updated: July 24, 2020
The extension of the due date to July 15 gave tax preparers nearly six months to prepare client returns. However, that extra three months included much more work than just preparing returns. Helping clients weather the ongoing economic storm of the pandemic, ensuring compliance with new employee retention credits created by Congress in response to the pandemic, and assisting clients in the acquisition of Paycheck Protection Program loans all added to the workload. During the extended filing season, the IRS continued to issue guidance not related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Guidance implementing the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act continues to be released, as does other guidance addressing issues unrelated to filing 2019 returns or actions that needed immediate attention. As we do every year, Wolters Kluwer publishes this Special Report on the things you may have missed during this supersized filing season.
Read the full coverage here
Coronavirus Aide, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
Updated: March 27, 2020
As COVID-19 continues to upend nearly every aspect of life in the United States, Congress has been working to relieve suffering Americans. Having passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act on March 18 in an effort to limit the spread of the pandemic and support relief efforts, Congress turned to stabilizing the economy. After days of furious negotiations between Republicans and Democrats on the Hill and Trump Administration officials, the Senate passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. With a $2.2 trillion price tag, the bill is the most expensive piece of legislation ever passed.
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Coronavirus Tax Relief
Updated: March 23, 2020
As coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread, rattling financial markets, forcing the closures of businesses and schools, and canceling major public events across the country, the Trump Administration and Congress began taking steps to mitigate the impact on Americans.
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2019 Tax Year-In-Review
Updated: Jan. 30, 2020
Sweeping, bipartisan legislative reforms to retirement security, IRS administration, and the renewal of over 30 temporary tax breaks known as “tax extenders” are just some of the developments that made 2019 another stand-out year in tax policy. Additionally, the IRS issued several packages of proposed and final regulations during the 2019 tax year pertaining to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) (P.L. 115-97).
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Consolidated Appropriation Act, 2020
Updated: Dec. 27, 2019
Just before recessing for the holidays, the House and Senate have passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020. The new Act averts a government shutdown that would have begun on December 21, 2019. The House passed the bill on December 17, 2019 by a vote of 297 to 120, while the Senate passed the bill on December 19, 2019, by a vote of 71 to 23. The President has indicated his intention to sign the bill into law.
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2019 Year-End Tax Planning
Updated: Nov. 7, 2019
Over 2018 and 2019, tax professionals have been grappling with the new landscape of taxation under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Laptop batteries have drained, reams of paper have been used, and eyes have gone dry all across the country in researching ways to help clients maximize their tax savings. As was said last year, many of the old strategies for advising clients at year-end have been blunted by the landmark tax reform act. However, there are still numerous steps to take in late 2019 and early 2020 to boost the refund, or reduce the amount due, on returns filed in 2020. Many of the classic deferral and acceleration tactics can still produce results, but in new and different ways. And there is still time to take care of them, if you act fast!
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2019 Post-Filing Season Update
Updated: April 18, 2019
The week of April 15 marks the end of the filing season for the 2018 tax year. Most individual returns were due on April 15, with some taxpayers in certain parts of the country extended to April 17 due to local holidays. It was an interesting and unique filing season, full of complications and confusion due to tax reform and the federal government shutdown. But, now it's over (or, at least, extended to the fall). Time to take a breath and see what you missed over the last few months. The IRS, Treasury, and the courts have been busy, especially during March, releasing new guidance and issuing opinions that affect the 2019 tax year and beyond.
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2018 Tax Year-In-Review
Updated: Jan. 8, 2019
In review of the most significant tax-related developments of 2018, most notable is the year-long and ongoing effort toward tax reform implementation. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), enacted in late December 2017, was the most sweeping overhaul of the tax code in over thirty years. Nearly every taxpayer is impacted by the new tax law, and practitioners are working to understand its varying impact on both their own professional planning as well as client-specific tax planning and return preparation. Although a large volume of TCJA-related guidance was released by the IRS in 2018, additional tax reform guidance is expected to be unveiled and finalized throughout 2019.
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Legislation Archives
Date
Legislation
Nov. 8, 2018
Sept. 14, 2018
Aug. 14, 2018
June 21, 2018
April 26, 2018
Jan. 02, 2018
Dec. 22, 2017
Oct. 19, 2017
Sept. 29, 2017
Sept. 7, 2017
July 17, 2017
May 25, 2017
April 4, 2017
Sept. 16, 2016
Aug. 29, 2016
Aug. 12, 2016
April 20, 2016
Feb. 11, 2016
