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).
Chinmoy Bhatiya is an Associate Partner at Capco, leading the firm's Technology, Data and AI practice. He advises financial institutions on harnessing AI as a strategic advantage from individual productivity enhancement to adopting agentic operating models. With extensive experience helping organizations scale emerging technologies responsibly, Chinmoy focuses on balancing innovation with governance, enabling clients to realize business value from AI while maintaining strong controls, accountability, and operational resilience.
Brian Keller is vice president of AI and data science for LexisNexis Risk Solutions. In this role, Brian is responsible for driving AI strategy and execution for the insurance business, with a focus on workforce education, team enablement, and project execution that translates research and development into customer-facing capabilities.
Brian joined LexisNexis Risk Solutions in 2022 as part of the acquisition of Flyreel, where he led the software engineering and AI teams. During his tenure, Brian has developed and deployed AI and computer vision solutions, including aerial imagery and ground-level interior and exterior analysis, as well as 3D scene reconstruction for claims and underwriting use cases. He has also led the development of generative AI capabilities, including transcription, summarization, question answering, and agentic automation.
Brian holds a PhD in systems and industrial engineering and a master's degree in systems engineering from the University of Arizona, along with a bachelor's degree with majors in physics and business from the University of Mount Union.
Adam Barbera is the CEO and founder of Dost, a native-AI finance automation platform built for the way finance teams actually work. After years selling enterprise software to CFOs, he saw the same broken accounts payable processes repeated in every company he visited, and decided to fix it himself. He founded Dost in 2021 with two colleagues and closed a $7.8 million Series A in late 2025.
“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.
