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The Definition of Marriage According to the Treasury
In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down Section Three of the Defense of Marriage Act, which paved the way for…
Mandatory ITIN Renewal
Important changes coming in October – If you are a taxpayer with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), there is an…
Proposed Regulations May Signal the End of Certain Valuation Discounts
New proposed regulations will have a severe impact on estate, gift and generation-skipping tax planning and could be made permanent…
Day Trader? What You Need to Know
Individuals trading securities have great incentive to classify themselves as traders. By default, buying and selling publicly traded securities is…
U.S. Treasury Issues New Proposed FBAR Rules
The U.S. Treasury has issued proposed regulations governing the filing of U.S. Foreign Bank Account Reports (FBAR). The new rules…
Is Your Purchasing System Compliant for the Alliant 2 RFP?
In late June 2016, the highly coveted Alliant 2 SB RFP was released and within the 174 page document, there…
IRA Investment: Income Tax Surprise
At a glance Main takeaway: It’s not difficult to come by a traditional retirement plan, however, it’s not as common…
Pennsylvania Sales Tax Goes Digital
Effective August 1, 2016, Pennsylvania’s sales tax will be imposed on the sale of digital products. Thus, sellers of digital…
GSA Moves Forward with the Implementation of the new Formatted Product Tool (FPT)
The Formatted Product Tool (FPT) has been established to assist GSA contracting officers in their evaluation and negotiation of all…
A Welcome Break on the Fee for 1023-EZ Application for Tax Exempt Status
Effective July 1, 2016, the application fee for filing the Form 1023EZ has been lowered to $275. The old fee…
Section 199: Domestic Production Activities Deduction, What Counts?
“Big Time Construction Corporation” made a significant profit this year resulting in higher taxable income than expected. Therefore, Big Time…
Using a “Back Door Roth” IRA? Be Mindful of the IRA Aggregation Rule
As many of you know, the concept of a “back door Roth” IRA is relatively simple. It allows taxpayers with…
Additional Extension: Work Opportunity Tax Credit
On June 17, 2016, the IRS issued Notice 2016-40, which extends the transition relief period for employers claiming the Work…
The R&D Tax Credit & You – How Recent Changes Could Translate into Money in the Bank
By Carli McDonald, partner-in-charge of R&D Tax Credit Services Necessity may be the mother of invention, but America’s businesses are…
Brexit and Your Taxes
By Mitchell Kopelman, partner-in-charge, Tax practice, Technology and Biosciences group As a result of the voters in the UK deciding…
From the GSA Trenches: Schedule Sales Reporting Issues
Contractors holding GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts are required to report quarterly all contract sales, and remit 0.75 percent…
“Flexible” South Carolina Ruling Creates Sourcing Uncertainties
On May 20, 2016, an Administrative Law Court decision in South Carolina resulted in the two things that taxpayers try…
The Changing Face of Bequest Demographics
One of the more interesting studies I have seen in recent years was one done by Russell N James III,…
Luxury Car Rules: ‘How to Avoid Indulging in Luxury Car Limitations’
In the market for a new car and hoping to kill two birds with one stone? Taking the time to…
Leverage Your Data to Manufacture Profitable Growth
Make better use of the data you already have to make better decisions by implementing these three easy enhancements. Data….
Corporation May Not Deduct Matching Contributions to its PAC
In a recent private letter ruling LTR 201616002, the IRS responded to a request for ruling as to whether contributions…
From the GSA Trenches: Don’t Overlook Compliance with the FAR 51 Deviation
At a recent Contractor Assessment, a few of the compliance errors pertained to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 51…
M&A Tax Shop Talk – “F reorganization” Part II
Still thinking about selling your business? Do you have the proper techniques and structures in place? Generally, one of the…
Purchasing Meals as a Tax Exempt Entity in VA, What you Need to Know
Virginia Changes Sales Tax Policy on Meals Purchased by Tax Exempt Entities – Effective as of April 22, 2016, a change…
Understanding Variable Consideration and The Time Value of Money
Understanding variable consideration and the time value of money
M&A Tax Shop Talk – “F reorganization”
The “F reorganization” has become the tax planning structuring technique of choice in today’s middle market M&A world. So, what…
Handling Deferred Revenue When Selling Your Business
One of the most complicated tax accounting items to handle in the context of an M&A transaction is deferred revenue….
How State and Local Governments Can Order From GSA Schedules
One common misconception about the GSA Schedules is that only federal agencies are allowed to purchase from them. This mistake…
From the GSA Trenches: So You’re Having a Contractor Assessment
It’s that time again. Your GSA Industrial Operations Analyst (IOA) has contacted you for an “assessment of your GSA contract.”…
GSA is Making It Easier with the IT70 Startup Springboard Initiative
GSA is making changes to its IT70 GSA schedule guidelines that ease requirements regarding corporate experience, relevant projects and submission…
Proposed Changes to Pension and Other Post Retirement Benefits Disclosure Requirements
On January 26, 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued two new proposed Accounting Standards Updates in an effort to…
Service Contract Labor Standards: Basics and Pricing Implications
Service Contract Labor Standards, formerly known as The Service Contract Act (SCA) of 1965, sets minimum wage and fringe benefit…
GAO Decides GSA Schedule Labor Category Descriptions Limit Technical Scope of Responsive Proposals
GSA Schedule contractors need to pay careful attention to a recent protest decision issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO)…
My Customer’s Exempt from Sales Tax, but is my Construction Contract?
Construction contractors in the region face anything but uniformity when it comes to dealing with the rules addressing sales tax…
The FASB Simplifies the Balance Sheet Classification of Deferred Taxes
By: Charles Webb, tax partner On Nov. 20, 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU)…
Comply with SCA or Go to Jail!
Companies doing business with US tax payer dollars need to understand the government regulations governing their government contracts. They need…
Questionable Transactions, What Could It Be and Are They Deductible?
What happens when your prized employee turns out not to be the person you thought they were? During the course of…
UPDATE – DHA Commits to Use GSA Contract Vehicles for its Health Information Technology (HIT) Requirements
UPDATE: Due to the blizzard and recent closures, GSA granted the request for extension for the Health IT SIN RFI originally due…
Chicago Ruling Applies Personal Property Lease Tax to Cloud Services
The City of Chicago has released guidance which clarifies the application of the “nonpossessory computer lease” portion of the City’s…
Leidos to acquire Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems & Global Solutions Business
On January 26, 2016 Lockheed Martin (Lockheed) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to separate and combine…
Escaping the Built-In Gains Tax
Are you considering converting your C corporation to an S corporation? If so, being aware of the built-in gains tax…
Business Email Compromise: What It Looks Like and How to Avoid It
By Robert Casey, partner Most people immediately recognize a scam when they get an email from a prince with promises…
New “Consistent Basis” Rule for Estate Assets
What Taxpayers Need to Know About the New “Consistent Basis” Rule for Estate Assets With recent legislation, there is a…
Ignoring Affirmative Action Plan Requirements Can Land You in Court
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) filed a lawsuit against federal contractor, Convergys Customer…
PATH Act Makes Permanent Several Popular Provisions which Promote Charitable Giving
On December 18, 2015 the President signed the PATH Act (Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act). While generally considered an…
Does Blue Cross Blue Shield Have Too Much in Reserves?
According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy and the Houston Chronicle, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, whose parent is…
What the PATH Act Means for You
The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act (“The Act”) was signed into law by the President on December 18, 2015. The…
R&D Tax Credit Receives Facelift and is Made Permanent
By Carli McDonald, partner-in-charge of R&D Tax Credit Services On Friday, Dec. 18, 2015, the federal R&D Tax Credit was…