Bloomberg and Paychex update software for new tax law

Bloomberg Tax and Paychex have updated their technology to take into account the sweeping changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Bloomberg Tax said last week its Income Tax Planner was fully updated within days of the signing of the new tax law, with the latest changes in the tax rates, standard deduction, and other tax and tax credit calculations, along with limitations on deductions such as state and local taxes, and the increased exemption amount from the alternative minimum tax and other tax calculation changes. (One reader, Michael J. Knight of Knight Rolleri Sheppard CPAs LLP, pointed out, however, an error with the phaseout for pass-through businesses that Bloomberg Tax plans to correct in a fix it will be rolling out to customers on Thursday.)

Bloomberg Tax also plans to update its Fixed Asset software early this year. The company’s State Tax Analyzer will be updated as states respond to the federal tax reform law.

“We continually monitor Capitol Hill for all tax law updates to ensure our clients are working with the most accurate tax planning software,” said Bloomberg Tax Technology vice president and general manager Ken Crutchfield in a statement. “Our commitment to our customers is that our software will always be updated in an expedited manner, so as to reflect the latest changes in statutes and regulations.”

Paychex also said last it has updated its Paychex Flex product to reflect the tax withholding tables released by the IRS on Friday (see IRS updates withholding tables for new tax law).

“The updated tables are now here and for Paychex Flex clients submitting payroll today, those payrolls will be processed using the new withholdings,” said Paychex president and CEO Martin Mucci in a statement. “We’re proud of the leadership role we’ve taken in the payroll industry to be among the first to implement these changes, and we look forward to measuring the impact of take-home pay changes as part of our ongoing Small Business Employment Watch research.”

IRS Notice 1036 tells employers how they should withhold wages from their employees’ paychecks in 2018. The new tables include some changes reflecting the increase in the standard deduction, repeal of personal exemptions, and changes in tax rates and brackets. The tables are mainly designed to produce the correct amount of tax withholding for taxpayers with relatively straightforward situations. Taxpayers with more complex circumstances, such as itemized deductions, dependents or multiple jobs, may also want to adjust their withholding for themselves. The IRS plans to release an updated withholding tax calculator to help taxpayers by the end of February.

U.S. President Donald Trump sits next to a tax-overhaul bill after singing it into law in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. This week House Republicans passed the most extensive rewrite of the U.S. tax code in more than 30 years, hours after the Senate passed the legislation, handing Trump his first major legislative victory providing a permanent tax cut for corporations and shorter-term relief for individuals. Photographer: Mike Theiler/Pool via Bloomberg
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law.

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Trump tax plan Tax reform Tax planning Payroll Tax prep software Bloomberg Paychex
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