Accounting firms Crowe LLP and BKD LLP released year-end tax-planning guides Wednesday, during a time of great uncertainty over future tax changes in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic and the upcoming election.
Crowe’s Tax Planning: 2020 Year-End Guide discusses a number of issues, including recent legislation passed in Congress in response to COVID-19, such as the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).
Karen Furtado, a Partner at SMA, is a recognized industry expert in the core systems space. With exceptional knowledge of policy administration, rating, billing, and claims, Karen is the go-to person for all things core systems and rating. Insurers seek her unparalleled knowledge in mapping solutions to business requirements and IT needs. IT solution providers look to Karen for guidance in planning and targeting offerings in the insurance market.She has more than 25 years of technical and business experience within the insurance industry. While her specific areas of expertise include complex system implementations, vendor selection processes, project management, application development, and business process and technical outsourcing, her career-long focus has been on delivering high-value solutions for core issues facing insurance carriers.As the Insurance Practice Director at Collaborative Consulting, Karen played a key role in bringing a vision to the direction of the insurance business and an understanding of required service offerings to Collaborative's IT consulting practice. Prior to her tenure at Collaborative Consulting, Karen was Vice President of CGI's Insurance Practice. In that role she had responsibility for development of the strategic direction and oversight of CGI's insurance software services, ASP services, and its core insurance Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) practice. Karen has significant experience with CGI's core insurance services including Ratabase, Mass Auto, and Assigned Risk Auto processing services.
Keith Dunbar is the founder of Potentious, an M&A consultancy firm.
“Navigating the current landscape can be tricky and confusing,” said Gary Fox, managing partner of tax services at Crowe, in a statement. “It is important to stay on top of all the fast-moving law changes of the past six months and to remain prepared for the possible changes in the near future.”
Other topics include standard deductions vs. itemizing, state and local tax deductions, home-related breaks and tax-advantaged saving for health care. The guide also covers family-oriented tax breaks such as child, dependent and adoption credits, dependent care breaks, the “kiddie tax,” Section 529 plans, education savings accounts and Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts.
The Crowe guide also covers investor issues, such as capital gains taxes and timing, being tax-smart with losses, mutual funds, income investments and 3.8 percent net investment income tax. Business-related tax topics include business structure, Section 199A deductions for pass-through businesses, projecting income, depreciation, vehicle-related depreciation, meals, entertainment and transportation, employee benefits, tax credits and the self-employed.
Retirement tax topics include 401(k)s and other employer plans, more tax-deferred options, Roth alternatives, early withdrawals, required minimum distributions, IRA donations to charity and the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (SECURE Act).
Estate-planning topics in the guide include estate taxes, gift taxes, the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, state taxes, exemption portability and tax-smart giving.
The Crowe guide also covers income tax rates for individuals, corporations and estates and trusts.
The BKD Year-End Tax Advisor aims to help businesses and individuals with their year-end planning decisions and the development of an effective tax strategy, given the recent changes in requirements, updated regulations and new tax laws this year.
“2020 has been a year like no other, with the COVID-19 pandemic affecting each of our lives, businesses and communities in ways many of us have never experienced,” said BKD director of tax quality control Jesse Palmer in a statement. “Solid tax planning is probably more important than it’s ever been before as you work to create a healthy financial future for yourself and your business.”
The BKD Year-End Tax Advisor includes reminders for the year ahead. More than a dozen contributors have written 18 articles for the guide, including discussions of how COVID-19 has affected various industries, charitable giving and information-reporting reminders.
