October, 2017
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Kansas State Tax Schools
Today starts my teaching for the Kansas State Tax Schools. I will be in Garden City today, then Colby and finish up in Hays on Thursday.
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Tax Reform and Estate Tax – Examples
The Senate appears to not want to eliminate the estate tax, but they are proposing the lifetime exemption amount with perhaps an offset to the basis step-up. We go over a couple of examples.
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Final IRS Inflation Adjusted Data is Released
The IRS formally announces the inflation adjusted data and we recap the major items.
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$2,400 401k Deduction Limit – Why Bother!
Some members of Congress floated the idea of capping 401k contribution deduction to $2,400. This appears to be a non-started, however, we will continue to see more ideas like this and this one may not be dead.
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IRS Makes Electing Step-up Easier
The IRS announced last week enhancements to making the election to “step-up” the basis of a partnership asset. Also, the Social Security Wage Base is going up by $1,500 in 2018.
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Some Interesting Corn ARC-CO Data
The USDA released 2016 ARC-CO data last week. I recap some of the interesting data about corn ARC payments for the 2014-2016 crop years.
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Section 2704 Proposed Regulations Bites the Dust
Section 2704 deals with allowed discounts on closely held business entities. The IRS had proposed new regulations last year to reduce those discount. On Monday, the Treasury Department issued an updated report that these new proposed regulations will be withdrawn completely. This is good news for farmers.
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Livestock Sales Due to Drought Have One More Year to Replace
Livestock producers who sold extra livestock due to drought may have another year to purchase replacement livestock. A recent IRS notice indicates who qualifies for this.
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The “Martin” Case Provides Guidance on Self-Rentals
Farmers rent ground to farming entities that they own. This income is usually exempt from self-employment tax and a recent Tax Court case strengthens that analysis.