In the blogs: All the news

Direct Pay problem; fees, cautions for those starting out; new blog on the block; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

All the news

• Tax Vox (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/): A new analysis finds that around about two out every five households will pay no federal income tax this year — a drop from the 59.3% at the height of the pandemic-driven recession in 2020 and down a few percentage points from pre-pandemic.
• National Association of Tax Professionals (https://blog.natptax.com/): Soon the Supreme Court examines Bittner, a case with potentially serious FBAR ramifications.
• Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (https://itep.org/category/blog/): A recent analysis of the “best” states for a business climate is “constructed in a way that is arbitrary, self-contradictory and out of touch with the actual tax contributions of U.S. businesses.” 
• Tax Foundation (https://taxfoundation.org/blog): A look at taxes on recreational cannabis, which is back on the ballot in five states this November.
• Rosenberg Associates (https://rosenbergassoc.com/blog/): What are the biggest accounting trends of the last 12 months?
• Boyum & Barenscheer (https://www.myboyum.com/blog/): What to remind biz clients about the coming hike in the wage base for computing Social Security tax.
• Henry+Horne (https://www.hhcpa.com/blogs/): What to remind them about the Inflation Reduction Act’s electric car credit. (It’s a good thing stop signs aren’t as complicated as this new break.)

Service-minded

• Taxable Talk (http://www.taxabletalk.com/): If you used Direct Pay on October 20, check your bank records. This simple method to pay the IRS works. Most of the time.
• Eide Bailly (https://www.eidebailly.com/taxblog): A new notice luckily waives the 50% excise tax penalty for certain missed 2021 and 2022 required minimum distributions — an especially big deal in the wake of the SECURE Act’s changes in how retirement plan assets must be distributed. 
• Taxing Subjects (https://www.drakesoftware.com/blog): The IRS estimates that more than 9 million people who failed to file a Tax Year 2021 return could qualify for tax credits. 
• Current Federal Tax Developments (https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/): A look at the draft instructions for Schedules K-2 and K-3 of Form 1065 for 2022 returns. New is a program for obtaining information from partners related to reporting on information that impacts information required for partners to possibly use on a 1116 or a 1118.

Start them up

• Surgent Income Tax School (http://www.theincometaxschool.com/blog/): A primer for newbies on what to charge for tax prep. First hint (as you can tell by our Blotter every week): Do not base your pay on the size of the refund.
• Canopy (https://www.getcanopy.com/blog): Old hat to you is very much new hat to your biz clients who are just getting going. What to remind them about the most common accounting mistakes made by new businesses. 
• WCG (https://wcginc.com/blog/): What starts as a beginner’s guide to tax savings (“There is not a secret tax deduction club…” “Saving cash and reducing taxes are not necessarily the same…”) morphs into an excellent dive into such strategies as borrowing against unrealized gains, medical C corps and turning deferral into avoidance on taxed retirement savings.
• AICPA Insights (https://www.aicpa.org/blog): Methods to create and enhance an inclusive environment kick off with creating a calendar that celebrates differences and cultures. 
• TaxConnex (https://www.taxconnex.com/blog-): You got sales tax on my candy. You got candy on my sales tax.

Big words

• Hall CPA (https://www.therealestatecpa.com/blog): Cost seg, depreciation, 1031s: Real estaters already know a lot about these breaks. What about the tax benefit of the Real Estate Professional status and its open sesame on passive losses and ordinary income?
• Sovos (https://sovos.com/blog/?region=united-states): A look at the concept and history of economic nexus — and the even trickier concept of keeping track of it.
• Gordon Law (https://gordonlawltd.com/blog/): The M&A topic continues with due diligence and the letter of intent and a look at 27 items of the jargon of such deals.
• Federal Tax Crimes (http://federaltaxcrimes.blogspot.com/): “The court’s discussion is good” for United States v. Hunter, in which the court rejected Hunter’s claim of variance from the indictment because the indictment alleged use of an attorney-client trust account to effect the tax evasion.
• Solutions for CPA Firm Leaders (http://ritakeller.com/blog/): Everybody says you should do what you love, but here are concrete reasons to follow that advice.

New to us

• University of Illinois Tax School Blog (https://taxschool.illinois.edu/blog/): By tax pros for tax pros, this blog promises you’ll get actionable information for a practice “and have some fun doing it.” Recent topics include IRS-imposter scams, remainder trust beneficiaries’ treatment of the sale of property and “Is the IRA Still Stretchy?” Welcome.