The knowledge you need

For the most part, the IRS releases its annual mileage rate updates for the following year in December. These rates are used to determine the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business, charitable, medical, or moving purposes. The rates are determined through either an annual study on the fixed and variable costs of operating a vehicle. For the medical/moving rates, the changes are only based on variable costs. While taxpayers can track and claim actual expenses related to these qualifying activities, the mileage deduction rates make the process much simpler. There are specific rules that apply when changing deduction methods.

Americans depend on employer sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k), 403(b), and others to help fund retirement savings. The various features offered in these plans often make it easier to start and continue saving over the years. Unfortunately, 57 percent of workers still don’t have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan which is a cause for concern. In fact, the reality is that many older Americans are outliving retirement savings creating an unexpected and unwanted situation. To address this issue, Congress is examining several different laws which would make plans more accessible and retirement funds easier to use.

Like Georgia, more states are cutting income taxes in what is mostly a bipartisan effort nationwide. In 2021 alone, 14 states took steps to cut income taxes. So far in 2022, dozens of states are following suit to either lower or flatten their income taxes, and several others have been looking at proposals to lower or temporarily suspend certain excise taxes. Still others have been considering temporary tax measures. By comparison, only two states have proposed raising taxes in 2022: Hawaii and Massachusetts. What’s driving the nationwide race to cut taxes?

When an issue arises with a tax return filing, processing, or other concern, many will turn to the IRS to help with questions, address issues, and resolve outstanding situations. This has been a realistic expectation of the agency, but since the pandemic, it has all changed. The combination of staffing shortages, lack of modern technology, and previously existing backlogs, means it will be some time before the agency is operating normally. However, recent reports suggest the IRS has made notable progress in certain areas.

Fraud is a persistent risk that many business owners and executives need to manage. The unfortunate reality is that employees, vendors, or suppliers, may successfully commit fraud without proper prevention controls. Even then, many organizations have fallen victim to bad actors due to the ability to circumvent or compromise detection. This is especially true when it comes to fraud involving long-time employees or senior executives.

Almost 30 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions can be traced back to building operations. This is a surprising number that reflects the impact certain building systems can have on the environment. Beyond this, older systems are likely to be consuming more resources, and therefore cost more, to operate. That is why so many have decided to leverage renewable energy systems to address the problem.

Supply chain disruptions are nothing new to auto dealerships at this point. Chip shortages and the difficulty obtaining new semiconductors are just two factors that have strained the automotive industry. More than two years after COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic, dealerships using the last-in-first-out (LIFO) inventory method are still hurting, but for a less obvious reason.

Required minimum distributions (RMDs) can be tricky. The IRS mandates that once a person reaches a certain age – currently age 72 – they must make mandatory withdrawals from certain retirement accounts every year. Fail to withdraw the right amount of money, and the individual gets a 50 percent excise tax.

There are many similarities between a 401(k) and 403(b) plan. In fact, they are so alike many often assume the main difference is that one is offered by nonprofits and the other is not. Despite this, there are important differences that illustrate the unique challenges 403(b) plan sponsors face. One prominent example is the universal availability rules. Under this requirement, plans must ensure that when one employee participates in the plan that others have the same opportunity. It often requires that management take a proactive approach to communication.

Before COVID-19, changes to participant elections needed to be done in person with a notary or plan representative. Since March 2020, plan sponsors have had the option of permitting participants to make changes of election remotely. That relief was set to expire on June 30, 2022. However, the IRS recently announced new extended temporary relief for physical presence requirements to December 31, 2022 – and there seems to be talk of making it permanent.