Health insurance credit helps small employers
During the past couple of months, you may have received a postcard from the IRS alerting you to the existence of a new credit for businesses or tax-exempt organizations that provide health insurance to employees. This credit was created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which the president signed into law on March 23, 2010. Under the new law, eligible small employers may claim a tax credit for payments made to provide health coverage for employees for tax years 2010-2015.

New law taxes indoor tanning services
The Jersey Shores guys may be without the "T" in their GTL (Gym Tan Laundry) status if new taxes on tanning make a visit to indoor salons too costly. Congress has imposed a new law that imposes a 10 percent excise tax on indoor tanning services.

Tax Court to IRS: LLC members are not limited partners
The IRS has continued to litigate – and lose – cases in which it argues that members of a limited liability company should be treated in the same manner as a limited partner when applying the passive activity loss rules.

Tax Court answers age-old gambling question
Recreational gamblers are generally aware of the rule that limits their tax deduction for gambling losses to the amount of their gambling winnings. However, questions have arisen as to the timing of that determination. Do you calculate your winning/losing after every bet, at the end of each gambling session, daily, weekly or even less often?

Severance payments may be excluded from FICA tax
A federal district court has concluded that, in certain situations, FICA taxes are not required to be paid on severance payments resulting from employee layoffs.

IRS offers like-kind exchange relief
Many real estate investors use like-kind exchanges, also called Section 1031 exchanges, to defer gain by swapping one investment property for another. The tax law even allows you to use a third party, a qualified intermediary, to execute the exchange for you. During the current economic downturn, some QIs have run into financial difficulties, however.

Employer-owned life insurance policies: Policy proceeds are now taxable
Have you reviewed your employer-owned life insurance policies to make sure the death benefit will be received tax free? Normally, life insurance proceeds received by the beneficiary are not subject to income tax. However, as part of the Pension Act of 2006, proceeds from employer-owned life insurance (EOLI) contracts issued after Aug. 17, 2006, are taxable to the beneficiary as ordinary income, to the extent that such proceeds exceed the sum of the premiums and other amounts paid by the policyholder (cost basis).

Important information for those with tax liens from the IRS
Do you have outstanding tax liens? If so, you can still salvage your credit standing, but you need to know how. In today's economy, keeping a good credit score is more important than ever. A bad credit score can mean no car loan or mortgage or higher interest rates. Tax liens can ruin your score. Even if you eventually pay the tax, the lien filing remains as a black mark on your credit score. There is another way, however.

The technical information here is necessarily brief. No final conclusion on these topics should be drawn without further review and consultation. Please be advised that, based on current IRS rules and standards, the advice contained herein is not intended to be used, nor can it be used, for the avoidance of any tax penalty assessed by the IRS.

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