Income Tax

A new corporate minimum tax is stoking concern among some companies that one-time activities, such as the sale of a business unit, will push them over the threshold for the levy even though the companies wouldn’t otherwise qualify. The 15% corporate minimum tax that went into effect at the beginning of this year applies to U.S.-based companies that report income to shareholders averaging at least $1 billion over three years. What’s more, once a company is subject to the levy, it remains that way even if profits decline…

Have you linked your PAN and Aadhaar? If not, the government has extended the last date to link the same to June 30, 2023. "In order to provide some more time to the taxpayers, the date for linking PAN and Aadhaar has been extended to 30th June, 2023, whereby persons can intimate their Aadhaar to the prescribed authority for Aadhaar-PAN linking without facing repercussions. Notification to this effect is being issued separately," Ministry of Finance said in a release.As per the information, under the provisions of the…

vitapix | E+ | Getty ImagesPlanning to sell some investments this year? It's less likely to affect your 2023 tax bill, experts say.Here's why: The IRS made dozens of inflation adjustments for 2023, including the long-term capital gains brackets, applying to investments held for more than one year.This means you can have more taxable income before reaching the 15% or 20% brackets for investment earnings.More from Smart Tax Planning:Here's a look at more tax-planning news."It's going to be pretty significant," said Tommy…

dmphoto | E+ | Getty ImagesTax season is underway, and there's been increased scrutiny of the IRS as it starts deploying part of the nearly $80 billion in funding approved for the agency by Congress in August. While Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said goals include boosting customer service and improving technology, critics have warned the new funding will spark an uptick in IRS audits. "People are scared to death of the IRS," said Karla Dennis, an enrolled agent and founder of Karla Dennis and Associates. "They…

Jeffrey Coolidge | Photodisc | Getty ImagesBlack Americans are roughly three to five times more likely to face an IRS audit than other taxpayers, according to a new study.While there isn't evidence of explicit discrimination from the IRS or its revenue agents, the findings show the disparity stems from a faulty software algorithm used by the agency to pick who gets audited.Based on microdata on roughly 148 million tax returns and 780,000 audits, the study was conducted by economists at Stanford University, the University…

WASHINGTON—A decades-old proposal to replace federal income, estate and payroll taxes with a national sales tax has gained support and attention in the new House GOP majority, but House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he doesn’t favor the policy.The so-called FairTax, if enacted, would be the largest structural change in U.S. taxation in 110 years. Wages, capital gains and corporate profits would become tax-free. The new levy would hit consumption instead. The national sales tax would apply to a broad base including food,…

WASHINGTON—When calculating federal income taxes, it makes absolutely no difference which spouse is listed first on a joint tax return. An opposite-sex couple can put the man’s name first, start with the woman’s name, list them in order of income, go alphabetically or begin with the spouse who woke up earlier last Tuesday. It literally doesn’t matter one cent.But there are two lines for names on Form 1040. Somebody has to go first, and somebody has to go second. Maybe knowing something about the order we choose can help…

Tax officers are investigating GST evasion of about Rs 23,000 crore by gaming companies between April 2019 and November 2022, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said on Monday.In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, the minister said the Enforcement Directorate has attached proceeds of crime of more than Rs 1,000 crore in several cases related to Cyber and Crypto assets frauds wherein online gaming etc have been used for siphoning the proceeds.About evasion of Goods and Services Tax (GST), Chaudhary…

Sunrise hits the U.S. Capitol dome on September 30, 2021 in Washington, DC.Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesMain Street could find itself stuck in gridlock next year in terms of advancing pro-business tax objectives.For House Republicans, legislative priorities are likely to include extending business-friendly provisions of The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed by the Trump Administration in 2017. Even so, a divided Congress means that major pro-business legislative changes will be difficult to enact. This…

New business formation has boomed, and that means more new business owners than ever are dealing with tax season and potential tax nightmares. While there aren't that many tax changes that will affect small businesses in the upcoming tax season, what is new — coupled with evergreen tax issues that tend to trip up small businesses — could cause headaches if owners aren't careful.For starters, there's a big tax bill coming due for many business owners related to the pandemic, well ahead of the April 2023 federal income tax…