Ken Berry, Esq., is a nationally-known writer and editor specializing in tax and financial planning matters. During a career of more than 35 years, he has served as managing editor of a publisher of content-based marketing tools and vice president of an online continuing education company in the financial services industry. As a freelance writer, Ken has authored thousands of articles for a wide variety of newsletters, magazines and other periodicals, emphasizing a sense of wit and clarity.
January 8, 2018
The new law carves out a brand-new tax deduction for owners of pass-through entities, including partners in partnerships, shareholders in S corporations, members of limited liability companies (LLCs) and sole proprietors.
January 5, 2018
The IRS has announced that it will officially begin accepting returns for the 2017 tax year on January 29, 2018 (IR-2018-01, 1/4/18). This is a little later than usual to give the nation’s tax collection agency enough time to ensure security and ...
January 4, 2018
Timing is everything in taxes and the new tax law —the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act -- is no exception. Generally, the provisions for individuals take effect in 2018, but there are several interesting wrinkles.
January 2, 2018
The TCJA also benefits many small businesses while presenting new obstacles. In general, the revised rules for businesses take effect in 2018 and are permanent, unlike most changes for individuals.
January 2, 2018
Most of the key provisions likely to affect individual taxpayers take effect in 2018 (for taxes that will be reported by April 2019), but are scheduled to sunset after 2026. Keeping that in mind, here are the essentials you should know about.
December 28, 2017
Before the new tax reform law – the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) -- was finalized, Congress made a slight concession to residents of high-tax states by including a limited deduction for state and local taxes (SALT), which includes state income, sales ...
December 7, 2017
The new tax reform bills that passed the House and Senate were built on the “need for speed.” Both versions were rushed along in the hopes of a final measure arriving on the president’s desk before Christmas. But haste makes waste and, in this case, ...
December 3, 2017
An amendment to the Senate version of the sweeping new tax reform bill hinders the ability of older Americans to build up their retirement funds on a pre-tax basis.
December 2, 2017
In a 51-49 vote following party lines, the Senate approved its version of the tax reform bill during a marathon session, with only one Republican, Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, voting against the measure. But it took some late additions – in barely ...
November 28, 2017
Currently, a taxpayer may claim one of two education credits – the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) or the Lifetime Learning Credit (LLC) — for qualified expenses. However, as a new case shows, expenses must be paid to an eligible education institution. The parents in the new case claimed a credit for costs of their...…
November 28, 2017
Under sweeping tax reform proposals being discussed in Congress, millions of taxpayers may no longer be itemizing tax deductions in 2018. This creates an added incentive to bolster 2017 donations.
