J & O Tax Bookkeeping, Incorporated

Tax Alerts

Tax Briefing(s)

2011 Tax Year In Review

IRS releases business standard mileage rate for 2012
The business standard mileage rate, which many employers use to reimburse employees for business miles driven, is 55.5 cents-per-mile for 2012, the IRS has announced. This reflects no change from ...

IRS relief for IRA owners entering into broker indemnification agreements
The IRS is providing temporary relief for owners of individual retirement accounts (IRAs) who have entered into indemnification agreements with brokers that may result in prohibited loan transactio...

IRS reminds dual citizenship taxpayers to report foreign accounts
The IRS recently reminded dual citizenship taxpayers and U.S. citizens residing abroad to file U.S. income tax returns and, if appropriate, Form TD F 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial A...

IRS revises regulations for capitalization of tangible assets
Just before year-end 2011, the IRS issued much-anticipated revised regulations on the capitalization of tangible assets. The IRS withdrew proposed regulations issued in 2008 and issued temporary an...

IRS updates Form 940 for mid-year expiration of FUTA surtax
The IRS has updated Form 940 to reflect the mid-year 2011 expiration of the 0.2 percent FUTA surtax. FUTA taxes for 2011 will be calculated using two rates, the IRS explained.Mid-yea...

AZ - Procedures specified for requesting extensions to file withholding returns
The Arizona Department of Revenue has released information on the current procedures for requesting extensions for filing annual withholding tax returns. Previously, the department...

AR - Standard mileage rate revised for second half of 2011
The Arkansas optional standard mileage rate used by individuals in computing personal income tax business deductions is 51 cents per mile for expenses paid or incurred during Janua...

CA - Independent contractor withholding webinar announced
The California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) is holding a free webinar on December 20, 2011, at 10 a.m. PST, for those who must withhold personal income tax on California source income...

CO - Time adjustment required when using comparative sales data
The Colorado appellate court reversed an order by a county board of assessment appeals that reduced the property tax assessment of vacant land because statutory assessment provisio...

CT - DRS addresses worker misclassification problem
The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) has issued a notice encouraging employers that have misclassified their workers (e.g., as independent contractors rath...

IN - Extension guidance updated
The Indiana Department of Revenue has released an updated personal income tax information bulletin that outlines the procedures for obtaining an extension of time to file. Specific...

KY - Interest rates set for 2012
The Kentucky Department of Revenue has announced the tax interest rates for 2012. For unpaid taxes, the interest rate will increase to 6% (currently, 5%). For interest due on a ref...

LA - Ballot measure to prohibit new tax or fee on immovable property approved
Louisiana voters passed a state constitutional amendment (Amendment 1) to prohibit the state or any political subdivision from levying a new tax or fee upon the sale or transfer of...

MA - Circuit breaker credit eligibility thresholds released
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue has released the 2011 income and assessed valuation threshold amounts, and the maximum available credit amount, applicable to the refundable...

NY - Application for award of administrative costs denied
A taxpayer was not entitled to an award of administrative costs under Tax Law §3030 with regard to a New York sales and use tax settlement, even though the taxpayer established tha...

OR - No good cause for representative’s failure to appear
Regarding a taxpayer’s Oregon personal income tax appeal, good cause did not exist for the failure by her representative to either attend a case management conference or expl...

TX - Showroom was key to proving taxpayer was a retailer
A taxpayer was eligible for the 0.5% rate when calculating its taxable margin for Texas franchise purposes because, using an SIC Code Manual analysis, 100% of its revenue was deriv...

UT - Updated pass-through entity withholding publication provided
The Utah State Tax Commission has released an updated publication that provides information to help pass-through entities and pass-through-entity taxpayers understand and comply wi...

VA - Domestic production deduction properly allocated
A taxpayer that filed a federal consolidated corporate income tax return and a separate return for Virginia corporate income tax purposes properly claimed the IRC §199 deduction on...

WA - Taxability of insurers explained
The Washington Department of Revenue has updated an industry guide on the application of sales and use tax to the insurance industry. Insurers and affiliates are responsible for pa...

As you browse through our Website, you will see that not only have we highlighted background information on our firm and the services we provide, but have also included useful resources such as informative articles (in our Newsletter section) and interactive financial calculators (in our Financial Tools section). In addition, we have taken the time to gather many links to external Websites that we felt would be of interest to our clients and visitors (in our Internet Links section).

While browsing through our Website, please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments you may have - we'd love to hear from you. We pride ourselves on being proactive and responsive to our clients' inquiries and suggestions.