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).
John McDonough is Head of US Wealth Management Intermediaries Distribution at Invesco. He was previously the head of OppenheimerFunds’ Distribution and Marketing Teams, including Digital Distribution and Innovation.
Matt is the Chief Operating Officer for Duck Creek Technologies. He brings more than 25 years of the insurance industry and technology experience to this global leadership role that is responsible for successful customer outcomes.
As COO, Matt is responsible for all of Duck Creek’s field operations, which encompasses the global customer experience through a full spectrum of customer account management activities. This experience ranges from customer expectation management, solution architecture & project proposals, implementation projects, SaaS provisioning, go-lives, and production servicing & support.
In previous executive roles, Matt was responsible for all day-to-day company operations, all new business development, and M&A activity that included Accenture’s acquisition of Duck Creek Technologies in 2011 and the joint-venture between Apax Partners and Accenture that resulted in the emergence of Duck Creek Technologies as an independent company in 2016.
Matt has deep roots in technology and is passionate about bringing innovative capabilities to the insurance market. In the formative years of the company’s technology solutions, Matt was chief technology officer for the Accenture P&C software group with responsibility for overall technology, architecture, and software blueprints for all P&C software products and a principal contributor to the original Claim Components software, now Duck Creek Claims.
Jim Bramblet is Accenture’s insurance lead in North America and is based in Chicago, Illinois. His expertise include digital transformation, operating model strategy and strategic cost reduction. Jim holds a BBA from University of Miami.
“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.
