Chuck Heyde | TaxConnections

13 Nov 2013

United States And Georgia’s Tax Effect of Same-Sex Marriage

WASHINGTON — The United States Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruled on Aug 29, 2013 that same-sex couples, legally married in jurisdictions that recognize their marriages, will be treated as married for federal tax purposes. The ruling applies regardless of whether the couple lives in a jurisdiction that recognizes same-sex marriage or a jurisdiction that does not recognize same-sex marriage.

Source: IRS.gov

However, each state will not necessary follow these federal guidelines. For example, the Georgia Department of Revenue issued guidance, Informational Bulletin IT-2013-10-25, Read More

Written by Advertorial | Posted in IRS • North America • Same Sex Couples

11 Sep 2013

The Affordable Care Act

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (together, the Affordable Care Act), was landmark legislation that dramatically affects how health care is delivered in the United States. Provisions of the legislation affect not only those directly involved in providing health care, but also most individuals and employers.

The health care reform legislation is extremely complex, and many items in the legislation change rules and regulations that were already in place. The IRS, Department of Labor (DOL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and other agencies have the monumental task of interpreting the legislation and providing guidance. Many temporary and proposed regulations, as well as some final regulations, have been issued.

The purpose of this legislation was to provide affordable minimum health care benefits to all individuals. With that in mind, the legislation provides for the establishment of qualified health plans that must provide essential health benefits consisting of minimum essential coverage.

Caution: Some of the rules originally enacted have already been repealed and the effective date of other rules has been modified. It is possible that more changes will occur as these rules are implemented. This information is Read More

Written by Advertorial | Posted in Federal • Individual • United States

06 Aug 2013

Simplified Option For Home Office Deduction

Do you work from home? If so, you may be familiar with the home office deduction, available for taxpayers who use their home for business. Beginning this year, there is a new, simpler option to figure the business use of your home.

This simplified option does not change the rules for who may claim a home office deduction. It merely simplifies the calculation and record keeping requirements. The new option can save you a lot of time and will require less paperwork and record keeping.

Here are 6 facts the Internal Revenue Service wants you to know about the new, simplified method to claim the home office deduction.

1. You may use the simplified method when you file your 2013 tax return next year. If you use this method to claim the home office deduction, you will not need to calculate your deduction based on actual expenses. You may instead multiply the square footage of your home office by a prescribed rate.

2. The rate is $5 per square foot of the part of your home used for business. The maximum footage allowed is 300 square feet. This means the most you can deduct using the new method is $1,500 per year. Read More

Written by Advertorial | Posted in United States

05 Aug 2013

Health Care Minimum Insurance Coverage Fine/Tax/or Penalty (or whatever you want to call it…) For Individuals that Live Outside the United States

Many have asked about the ObamaCare Minimum Health Care Insurance Coverage Fine/Penalty/Tax that will be required for Individuals that live OUTSIDE the United States and are covered by foreign insurance. Below is our research and response:

According to U.S.C. Title 26 – INTERNAL REVENUE CODE cropped below:

CHAPTER 48—MAINTENANCE OF MINIMUM ESSENTIAL COVERAGE

(a) Requirement to maintain minimum essential coverage

An applicable individual shall for each month beginning after 2013 ensure that the individual, and any dependent of the individual who is an applicable individual, is covered under minimum essential coverage for such month.

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We have found the following site – Questions and Answers on the Individual Shared Responsibility Provision

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According to the site above –

12. Are US citizens living abroad subject to the individual shared responsibility provision? Read More

Written by Advertorial | Posted in United States