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).
Amy Hollis is known as one of the top industry experts in the design, implementation, marketing, communications and enrollment of voluntary benefit programs, predominantly within the large employer market. She has more than 20 years of benefits experience, and while her most recent focus has been in voluntary benefits, she also has broad based experience ranging from core benefits, employer-paid plans, exchange strategy and comprehensive benefit delivery & administration.
During her career, Amy created then led highly successful voluntary benefit practices for preeminent benefit consulting firms, including Willis Towers Watson, Conduent (formally Buck Consulting / Xerox) and Marsh and McClennan. She has developed nationally recognized teams at each of these organizations that continue to drive the industry. Over the last decade, she has been engaged either directly or through her team as the lead strategist in the overall design, provider selection and successful implementation of voluntary benefit programs for over one-third of the Fortune 250 companies.
Amy’s primary focus, based on her experience in the core and voluntary benefit spectrum, is to assist employers in optimizing over-arching total reward strategies and cost-saving measures by effectively and creatively linking employer and employee-paid benefit strategies. Her expertise includes thought leadership in strategy, plan design, development and evaluation of the full spectrum of voluntary plans, as well as supporting cost management strategies through the resources inherent to the delivery of voluntary plans.
Angaj Bhandari is India and South Asia country manager at FIME.
Alex Chen is business director for APAC at FIME.
“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.
