In the blogs: Thinkin' about tomorrow

No expertise needed; losing Trump benefits; excise taxes can't replace property taxes; and other highlights from our favorite tax bloggers.

Getting merrier

• Eide Bailly (https://www.eidebailly.com/taxblog): BB wishes you a happy year's end and arm-length margin. Check your stocking.
• Dean Dorton (https://deandorton.com/insights/): Budgets and cash flows and compliance requirements oh my: How your nonprofit clients can prepare now for a strong 2026.
• Taxbuzz (https://www.taxbuzz.com/blog): You sort of want them to know this and you sort of don't: "Smart Year-End Tax Moves for Small Businesses that Don't Require Deep Accounting Expertise." Offer the shallow brand, then.
• Mauled Again (http://mauledagain.blogspot.com/): An off-the-cuff (and, when considered objectively, relatively accurate) look at how much prison time should be imposed on a return preparer convicted of preparing and filing fraudulent returns.
• ITEP (https://itep.org/category/blog/) Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confused a lot of taxpayers with his recent (and wrong) accusation that policymakers in Colorado, Illinois, New York and the District of Columbia were depriving their residents of federal tax cuts enacted in the recent Trump tax bill.

Changes

• Tax Vox (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox): Analysis shows that tariff policies in place now will raise families' federal tax burden an average of $2,100 in 2026. Overall, the average federal tax rate will increase 1.6 percentage points, up to 21% and after-tax income will drop 2%. President Trump has proposed using tariff revenues to finance a dividend of up to $2,000 per person, a dividend that would cost up to three times the cost of the administration's tariff policies for some taxpayers. But the dividend, if approved by Congress, also has the potential to transform the tariffs from a regressive tax to a progressive policy. But is it the best answer?
• Virginia – US Tax Talk (https://us-tax.org/about-this-us-tax-blog/: The U.S., along with over 70 other countries, has adhered to the Joint Statement on the OECD's Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework. This digital-asset counterpart to the Common Reporting Standard has exchanged bank and securities account data among signatory countries (now well over 100 nations). Assuming regulations are eventually finalized, foreign centralized crypto exchanges, brokers and custodial wallet providers will begin sending the IRS troves of information on U.S. account holders.
• Tax Foundation (https://taxfoundation.org/blog): How and why, as housing soars, excise taxes cannot replace property taxes.
• Yeo and Yeo (https://www.yeoandyeo.com/resources): If your clients' businesses has employees or uses independent contractors, that client has associated annual information reporting obligations. One Big Beautiful Bill Act changes impact these rules but not for the 2025 tax year.
• The Rosenberg Associates (https://rosenbergassoc.com/blog/): Yes, a small firm can operate as a larger firm — with obvious limitations. Ways smaller firms can be structured like a larger firm.
• Global Taxes (https://www.globaltaxes.com/blog.php): As expats continue multiplying, the feds withdraw at least one possible passport problem.
• Sovos (https://sovos.com/blog/): Biz clients' sales tax guides to Indiana, Massachusetts and Minnesota.

Thinkin' about tomorrow

• Canopy (here we go (https://www.getcanopy.com/blog): Eight AI prompts to build a questionnaire for any tax form.
• CLA (https://www.claconnect.com/en/resources?pageNum=0): This hap hap happiest time of year is filled with friends, family, twinkling lights and relentless deadlines for qualified opportunity funds and qualified opportunity zone businesses, for whom New Year's Eve is the most critical date of the year.
• Withum (https://www.withum.com/resources/): What is CAS accounting — and why should clients prefer it?
• Current Federal Tax Developments (https://www.currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com/): Tax pros representing cannabis clients often find contention at the intersection of IRC 280E and collection alternatives. On Dec. 16, the Tax Court issued two opinions regarding Mission Organic Center Inc.: a reviewed opinion covering tax years 2016 through 2020 and a memorandum opinion covering tax year 2021. These decisions provide critical guidance on how the IRS calculates reasonable collection potential for marijuana businesses and underscores the procedural requirements settlement officers must follow.
• The National Association of Tax Professionals (https://blog.natptax.com/): What to remind them about obtaining a copy of a fraudulent return, including why obtaining one matters a lot.
• Tax Pro Center (https://accountants.intuit.com/taxprocenter/): January's top looming tax and compliance deadlines.
• Massey and Company (https://masseyandcompanycpa.com/blog/): If you have clients trying to slash W-2 income taxes through real estate investments, here are top strategies, including depreciation and REP status.