When a taxpayer dies, there are certain returns that still need to be filed, a responsibility that falls onto the personal representative.

Congress has passed a tax reform act that will take effect in 2018, ushering in some of the most significant tax changes in three decades. There are a lot of changes in the new act, which was signed into law on Dec. 22, 2017. You can use this memo as a high-level overview of some of the most significant items in the new act. Because major tax reform like this happens so seldom, it may be worthwhile for you to schedule a tax-planning consultation early in the year to ensure you reap the most tax savings possible during 2018.

A business owner must know the true cost of his inventory in terms of materials, direct labor and overhead. Get some professional help in determining what the true cost of your inventory is and how to figure the sale price. Find out if your costs are average for your industry.

The Security Summit, the partnership between the IRS, state tax agencies and the tax community formed to combat identity theft, recently announced it expanded its public awareness campaign on data security to include tax professionals. The “Protect Your Clients; Protect Yourself” campaign is intended to raise awareness among tax professionals on their responsibilities and the common sense steps they can take to protect their clients from identity theft and to protect their businesses.

If your home office has been a detached garage, etc. the taxpayer can still eliminate the capital gains tax by proper planning. When it is foreseen that the taxpayer is going to sell the home in the near future, the taxpayer should stop using the garage as a home office and then wait to sell for two years. If the home is used at least two out of five years exclusively for personal use, no capital gain tax is recognized.