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Education as a Small Business Fringe Benefit

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 dramatically reduced taxpayers’ ability to itemize deductions. Among the tax deduction opportunities that have vanished, from 2018–2025, are miscellaneous itemized deductions that exceed 2% of the taxpayer’s gross income. Such deductions included unreimbursed employee business expenses. Drilling down, those no-longer-deductible employee expenses included... Read More

The Forever G.I. Bill

When you think of the G.I. Bill, you probably recall reading about a program designed to help military veterans receive college educations after they left the armed forces following World War II. Somewhat less known is that the G.I. Bill has endured, in various forms, until present times. Last year, the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Education Assistance Act of 2017 became law, named for the American Legion member... Read More

Youth Movement: 529 Plans for Elementary and Secondary Education

For many years, 529 college savings plans have offered a tax-favored way to save for higher education. These plans, officially qualified tuition programs, are named for the IRC section that provides their advantages. In brief, 529 plans are funded with after-tax dollars. In college savings plans, account owners choose from a menu of investments, and any earnings are untaxed. Distributions are also tax-free if... Read More

Jeff Plank at the Warrior Alliance

Through Jeff Plank’s involvement in Bunker Labs, he recently attended the Warrior Alliance strategic summit at the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation West Creek Ranch. Jeff was a part of the leadership team that opened up an Atlanta office of Bunker Labs and he has been actively involved in the organization for over a year. Jeff was selected to attend the invitation only summit in Montana.... Read More

HLB Hosts Annual Audit & Tax Conference in Frankfurt, Germany

HLB the global advisory and accounting network with presence in 150 countries, hosts annual audit & tax conference in Frankfurt - Germany, bringing together 215 professionals from 37 countries. The conference addressed how to inspire leaders in a multigenerational world and featured presentations which highlighted the challenges today’s leaders face while working in this new environment, including... Read More

Accounting Standards Update for Revenue Recognition

When the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") passed Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2014-09 for revenue recognition, concern about the time and requirements involved with implementing the standard arose quickly. Despite several years passing, concern remains about regarding these new requirements. Companies in every industry are looking into how this ASU will affect their financial reporting. ... Read More

Bureau of Economics Analysis Form BE-120

Purpose of Form The Bureau of Economic Analysis (“BEA”) is collecting the Form BE-120 Benchmark Survey of Transactions in Selected Services and Intellectual Property with Foreign Persons. The survey is intended to gather data on transactions in selected services and intellectual property types between U.S. and foreign persons. Per the BEA, the collected information will be used “to formulate... Read More

HLB International Appoints New Member in Vancouver

HLB International, one of the leading global accountancy networks with presence in 150 countries, continues its growth with the recent signing of a new member firm in Vancouver, Canada - Facet Advisors. Established in 1998, Facet supports local, national and international businesses and individuals with services in Audit, Business Consulting, Succession Planning, Corporate Tax Planning, US... Read More

New Form 1040

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-dft/f1040--dft.pdf Above is a link to the draft of the 2018 1040. It will have a substantial number of changes including more use of supplemental schedules. The 2018 draft Form 1040 contains fewer entries than the 2017 Form 1040 for types of income received by the taxpayer. The omitted items were moved to new Schedule 1, including taxable refunds, credits, or offsets... Read More