In the Blogs: Ho Ho No

Highlights of some of our favorite tax-related blogs from the past week.

Dialing an extension

  • The Wandering Tax Pro: Remind your flock: There’s still time to take advantage of a QCD for 2015, courtesy of the PATH Act. BTW, QCD is qualified charitable distribution.
  • Taxable Talk: The great, the good and the bad of the extender legislation “because the legislation passed by Congress and signed into law doesn’t have much that’s ugly.”
  • Tax Girl: All the hoopla about the extenders’ near-death experiences leaves out one big detail: “Consider these 10 provisions that somehow made it into the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 even though they don’t affect most taxpayers.”

What the heck is going on?

  • Rubin on Tax: The complexities of a Sunshine State estate when sifted through the “one statute that most Florida real estate and trust lawyers have to deal with at some time Section 689.07(1). Let’s read it together…”
  • Procedurally Taxing: Frequent contributor Carlton Smith examines the September Tax Court case, Tilden v. Commissioner, an IRS victory where a stamps.com label did not constitute a valid postmark for timely mailing which the service subsequently tried to reverse. “Carl explains what the heck is going on.”
  • Mauled Again: Where she stops only the taxman knows … Taking medication, filing taxes, doing both properly and earning a chance to get rewarded for it.
  • Taxjar: When you register for a sales tax permit, states will almost always ask you for your NAICS code. “If you’re curious about this little six-digit code, read on…” This entry even covers pronunciation.
  • TaxMama: Mama helps a reader who was granted innocent spouse relief after a divorce in 2013, yet this year received neither a refund nor any info on why.

Deadbeats

  • Tax Policy: How did Ms. Clinton due in the recent debate regarding millionaires’ taxes? Blogger Scott Greenberg wonders, “Are there really millionaires who pay ‘10% to nothing’ in taxes?” Depends who you ask, we guess, as long as you don’t depend on the feds to provide enough data to answer precisely.
  • Due Diligence: In this week’s collection: “Junk Bond Funds Have Trouble Honoring Redemptions”; “Mortgage Company Quota System Leads to $70M Settlement”; “Medicaid Fraud Whistleblower Earns $4.7 mm Award”; “Barclay’s AML Violations & Whistleblower Opportunities”; and “Medicare Fraud Scheme – Billing Dead Patients?”

Ho ho no

  • Tax Vox: May We Have the Scuttle Please Dept.: Blogger Howard Gleckman hands out the Lump of Coal Awards for the Ten Worst Tax Ideas of 2015. Congratulations Michigan, Illinois and Pennsylvania!
  • The Income Tax School: You give and give and give when it comes to finding deductions for other people, so it’s time you asked yourself, “Is Tax Education Deductible?” Nah, of course not, but there are other ways to reduce the tax bill of eligible students.
  • Tax Analysts: A few New Year’s suggestions from blogger David Brunori to those responsible for state tax policies. “These suggestions will make the tax system -- and indeed, the government -- fairer, more transparent, and more efficient. And they should be issues that both Democrats and Republicans agree on.” Sounds intelligent and badly needed. Let’s check in again around Memorial Day.

In a tax office far, far away

  • Liberty Tax Blog: In case you want to give your clients a step-by-step breakdown of Form 8965 to report a coverage exemption.
  • BNA blogs: “Surprised you might be, young padawan, but view the Force as taxable tangible personal property many states would.” Don’t miss your chance to “distinguish yourself as a total nerdstate tax enthusiast” by theorizing about Skywalker v. the Commissioner.
  • ClientWhys: You keep hearing about Google search results and SEO and you sense that both would be boons to your looming pre-season marketing. How to get your practice ranked higher. “Let’s start with: What is a citation?”
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