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The voluntary disclosure programs provided the IRS with an enormous amount of information regarding countries, banks and individuals involved in US taxpayers’ non-compliance with U.S. tax laws. With so much information, it was reasonable to expect that the IRS would not be satisfied with solely prosecuting Swiss banks. Year 2012 confirmed these expectations; building up […]
On January 16, 2013, the IRS confirmed that certain owners of individual retirement arrangements (IRAs) have a limited time to make tax-free transfers to eligible charities and have them count for tax-year 2012. Pursuant to the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, Congress extended for 2012 and 2013 the tax provision authorizing qualified charitable distributions […]
On January 15, 2013, the IRS today announced a simplified option for claiming home office deduction (i.e. deduction for the business use of a home). The new optional deduction, capped at $1,500 per year based on $5 a square foot for up to 300 square feet, will reduce the paperwork and recordkeeping burden on small […]
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 added a limitation for itemized deductions claimed on 2013 returns of individuals with incomes of $250,000 or more ($300,000 for married couples filing jointly). In reality this is not a new law; this is basically a re-birth of the famous “Pease limitation” that was the part of the […]
On January 3, 2013, Wegelin & Co., the oldest Swiss private bank announced that it will close down following its guilty plea to criminal charges of conspiracy to help wealthy U.S. taxpayers evade taxes through secret financial accounts. The guilty plea and the closure of one of the most prestigious European banks that served its […]