Elkins Comprehensive Tax Guide - 2015 Edition

NOTE: ON DEC. 16, 2014, CONGRESS APPROVED THE RETROACTIVE EXTENSION OF ALL OF THE TAX BREAKS REFERRED TO AS "TAX EXTENDERS" IN THIS GUIDE. THE "TAX EXTENDERS" (SEE CHAPTER ONE) WERE ONLY EXTENDED THROUGH THE END OF THE 2014 TAX YEAR. This is only the second year that the "Elkins Comprehensive Tax Guide" has been offered, and the 2015 Edition is considerably improved over last year's edition. First, it includes a new "Index," and second, the contents are entirely cross-referenced to other pages in the Guide, making it more user friendly. Also, the 2015 Edition has been expanded (over 175 pages have been added) by including more subject matter, as well as more and clearer explanations and examples. However, with all these improvements, the authors' goal to make this Guide the easiest to use, most understandable tax reference available to anyone, including tax professionals, was not lost. The authors believe that the vast majority of the content meets the "understandable" goal for all readers. The Guide includes all of the "hot" tax topics from the "Affordable Care Act" and the "New Tangible Property and Repair Regulations," to the "Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act" (FATCA). The Guide follows the flow of a tax return, from filing status and requirements through tax credits. It contains detailed, clear discussions and examples on: taxable income; income exclusions; deductions in determining adjusted gross income; itemized deductions; employee travel and entertainment expenses; depreciation; and carrying on a trade or business as a sole proprietor, farmer, partnership, or S-Corporation. The Guide also provides discussions and examples needed to understand estate and trust income, the estate and gift tax, and the alternative minimum tax (AMT). It clearly explains how both the regular and refundable AMT tax credits work together, and differences between the two credits. All tax and compliance aspects of the "Affordable Care Act" (ACA) are discussed in easy to understand language, including: the 0.9% Medicare surtax; the 3.8% net investment income surtax; and the small business health care tax credit. All aspects of both the individual and employer mandates are discussed, including the shared responsibility payments (penalties), exemptions from having to have insurance coverage, premium tax credits, how to prove you have health insurance, how to figure the number of full-time equivalent employees (FTEs), and the ACA reporting requirements. The "New Tangible Property and Repair Regulations," which were finalized and went into effect on Jan. 1, 2014, are also included in the Guide. This law is very complex and has been interpreted in different ways. However, the discussions and examples included in this Guide clearly explain a complex law in a way that can be understood by most readers. Reporting foreign financial accounts and assets, as set-forth in FATCA, is America's new global initiative to fight offshore tax evasion by U.S. citizens. The Guide discusses how the law's agreements with foreign countries and registrations of foreign financial institutions have made the law a success by getting Americans with foreign bank accounts to come forward like never before. The IRS's Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) and the "Streamlined Program" are both discussed as key provisions in getting taxpayers with offshore accounts to comply with reporting requirements. Other important information is provided regarding misclassifying workers as independent contractors instead of employees, and reasonable salaries of S-corporation shareholder-employees, both of which the IRS is currently focusing on. The authors' experience and knowledge of tax laws were used in compiling this Guide. Even though some IRS regulations and court cases are referred to in this Guide, the aim was to keep these references to a minimum; instead focusing on clear and understandable examples and explanations in plain language.