Reduced Income Tax Rates: The Act makes the lower individual income tax rates and wider tax brackets introduced by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent, preventing a scheduled tax rate increase after 2025. For example, the top individual rate will remain at 37% (instead of reverting to 39.6%), and the marriage penalty relief for
Joan Ellenbogen
Sep 24, 2025
Sep 16, 2025
Run a business with your spouse? You may encounter unique tax issues
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Business, Taxes
- 0 Comments
Do you and your spouse together operate a profitable unincorporated small business? If so, you may face some challenging tax issues. The partnership issue An unincorporated business with your spouse is classified as a partnership for federal income tax purposes, unless you can avoid that treatment. To avoid the requirement to file a partnership return,
Sep 9, 2025
New rules could boost your R&E tax savings in 2025
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Business
- 0 Comments
A major tax change is here for businesses with research and experimental (R&E) expenses. On July 4, 2025, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) reinstated the immediate deduction for U.S.-based R&E expenses, reversing rules under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that required businesses to capitalize and amortize these costs over five years (15 years
Aug 27, 2025
The new law includes a game-changer for business payment reporting
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Business
- 0 Comments
The One, Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) contains a major overhaul to an outdated IRS requirement. Beginning with payments made in 2026, the new law raises the threshold for information reporting on certain business payments from $600 to $2,000. Beginning in 2027, the threshold amount will be adjusted for inflation. The current requirement: $600 threshold
Aug 19, 2025
No tax on car loan interest under the new law? Not exactly
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Taxes
- 0 Comments
Under current federal income tax rules, so-called personal interest expense generally can’t be deducted. One big exception is qualified residence interest or home mortgage interest, which can be deducted, subject to some limitations, if you itemize deductions on your tax return. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) adds another exception for eligible car loan
Jul 31, 2025
What you still need to know about the alternative minimum tax after the new law
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Taxes
- 0 Comments
The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is a separate federal income tax system that bears some resemblance to the regular federal income tax system. The difference is that the individual AMT system taxes certain types of income that are tax-free under the regular system. It also disallows some deductions that are allowed under the regular system.
Jul 22, 2025
The new law includes favorable changes for depreciating eligible assets
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Business
- 0 Comments
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) includes a number of beneficial changes that will help small business taxpayers. Perhaps the biggest and best changes are liberalized rules for depreciating business assets. Here’s what you need to know. 100% bonus depreciation is back The new law permanently restores 100% first-year depreciation for eligible assets acquired
Jul 16, 2025
What the new tax law could mean for you
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Taxes
- 0 Comments
As 2025 began, individual taxpayers faced uncertainty with several key provisions of the tax law that were set to expire at the end of the year. That changed on July 4, when President Trump signed the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) into law. The OBBBA not only makes many TCJA provisions permanent but also
Jul 10, 2025
The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act provides certainty for estate planning
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Estate
- 0 Comments
Ever since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was signed into law in 2017, estate planners have had to take into account a looming date: January 1, 2026. While the TCJA effectively doubled the unified federal gift and estate tax exemption to $10 million (adjusted annually for inflation), it also required the amount to
Jul 9, 2025
Stop procrastinating and get to work on your estate plan
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Estate
- 0 Comments
For many people, creating an estate plan falls into the category of important but not urgent. As a result, it gets postponed indefinitely. If you find yourself in this situation, understanding the reasons behind this procrastination can help you recognize and overcome the barriers that are preventing you from taking the first steps toward creating