From Bob Jennings at TaxSpeaker. Check out more at taxspeaker.com Employers may provide, tax-free, de minimis fringe benefits to employees under Internal Revenue Code Section 132(e). A de minimis benefit is any property or service provided to an employee that has so little value (taking into account how frequently you provide similar benefits to your employees) that accounting for it would be unreasonable or administratively impracticable. In Chief Counsel Advice (CCA) Mem

From Bob Jennings at TaxSpeaker. Check out more at taxspeaker.com Medicare is our country's national health insurance program primarily for people aged sixty-five or older who have obtained forty quarters of coverage through their own or their spouse’s (or ex-spouse’s) work. Certain people younger than age sixty-five can qualify for Medicare, too, including those who qualify for Social Security disability (after a two-year waiting period), and those who have permanent kidney

From Bob Jennings at TaxSpeaker. Check out more at taxspeaker.com 7508A & Kwong: Refund Claims Due July 10, 2026 Lawrence Pon CPA/PFS, CFP, EA, USTCP, AEP The US Court of Federal Claims ruled on November 25, 2026 in Kwong vs. US (179 Fed. Cl. 382) that certain tax deadlines were automatically postponed for the entire COVID-19 disaster period plus 60 days. The Court found that under the prior version of §7508A(d) the suspension for underpayment interest and failure-to-file

From Bob Jennings at TaxSpeaker. Check out TaxSpeaker at taxspeaker.com Recent Fringe Benefit Changes The business mileage rate is 72.5 cents per mile for 2026. The qualified transit pass exclusion is $340 per month for 2026. The exclusion for commuter highway vehicle transportation and qualified parking is $340 per month for 2026 Health flexible spending arrangement (FSA): For plan years beginning after December 31, 2025, a cafeteria plan may not allow an employee to req

From Bob Jennings at TaxSpeaker. Check out TaxSpeaker at taxspeaker.com 529 plan distributions used to pay for nonqualified expenses are subject to income tax and a 10% penalty on the earnings portion of the withdrawal. This includes 529 distributions for airfare and other travel costs, college application or testing fees, health insurance, or room and board costs beyond the college’s cost of attendance (COA) allowance. If the student’s parent qualifies for the AOTC or LLTC

From Bob Jennings at TaxSpeaker. Check out TaxSpeaker at taxspeaker.com The 2017 TCJA added even more pressure for a shareholder to minimize salary payments out of an S corporation because the 20% QBI deduction is calculated using profit after shareholder wages. The shareholder wants to minimize wage payments and maximize profit distributions because: 1. FICA tax savings 2. Worker’s compensation savings 3. Avoidance of the .9% Medicare surtax on wage income >$200,000 4. Incr

From Bob Jennings at TaxSpeaker. Check out TaxSpeaker at taxspeaker.com The 2025 maximum Roth contribution is $7,000, plus an over age 49 catch-up of $1,000. However, the taxpayer must have earned income of at least the amount contributed and the taxpayer’s total adjusted gross income must be less than roughly $150k single and $236k joint. A. Convert an existing pre-tax IRA (or other retirement account) to a Roth. There is no dollar limit on this idea, but the entire amount

From Bob Jennings at TaxSpeaker. Check out TaxSpeaker at taxspeaker.com Background Under the tax code prior to the Tax Reform Act of 1986, taxpayers could deduct most personal interest expenses, including interest paid on auto loans, as itemized deductions. This changed with the Tax Reform Act of 1986 which eliminated the deduction of personal interest under IRC Sec. 163(h), including auto loan interest, credit card interest, and other non-business borrowing. Since 1987, aut

From Bob Jennings at TaxSpeaker. Check out TaxSpeaker at taxspeaker.com As the author of our best-selling Social Security and Medicare manual, I receive hundreds of questions every year, and these are the top ten questions and answers, in no particular order. 1. At what age should I draw my benefit? No one can give you a “one-answer fits all” response. There are three factors involved in this answer: genetics, personal health and financial need. Keep in mind that the Soci

From Bob Jennings at TaxSpeaker. Check out TaxSpeaker at taxspeaker.com The title of this post will develop an earthquake of worry in the stable ground of retirement planning. The answer is unknown of course, but precedent does exist for making Roth accounts fully or partially taxable by looking at what Congress did with Social Security. A Synopsis of the Taxation of Social Security Benefits When the Social Security system began over eighty years ago, the receipt of Socia