Hot Topics Article Archives - Page 37
3 Reasons CPAs Should Care About Blockchain
People’s perspectives on blockchain usually fall into two categories: You believe the technology will change everything, or you believe it’s a passing fad. The reality is probably somewhere in the middle. At the recent 2nd Annual Blockchain Symposium in New York City, I highlighted three reasons CPAs should care about blockchain: 1. Adoption is comingYou may have heard about the Walmart mandate that will require its leafy green ...
Read MoreIRS Increases Tax Deductions for 2020
The Internal Revenue Service issued its annual inflation adjustments for dozens of tax items and tax schedules Wednesday, saying the standard deduction for married taxpayers who file joint tax returns will increase $400 to $24,800 in tax year 2020, while for single taxpayers and married individuals who file separately, the standard deduction will go up $200 to $12,400. For heads of households, the standard deduction will be $18,650 for tax year ...
Read MoreLike-kind Exchanges and Personal Property
With the enactment of the legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), P.L. 115-97, like-kind exchanges are now limited to real property held for use in a trade or business or for investment. Prior to the TCJA, taxpayers could defer the gain generated by like-kind exchanges of both real property and personal property. Most common like-kind exchanges of personal property included those of aircraft, boats, automobiles, trucks, and ...
Read MoreOperating vs. Finance Leases: The Impact of the New Standard
The clock is ticking on the countdown to the implementation of the new lease accounting standard for private companies. According to reports from the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. companies currently have an estimated $2.8 trillion in operating lease obligations that are presently off-balance sheet. Under the new accounting standard, nearly all leases will be required to be recorded on a ...
Read MoreHidden in Plain Sight: Accounting for Embedded Leases
FASB’s new lease accounting standard is having a significant effect on a broad range of balance sheets for all types of entities, with some companies reporting financial obligations of billions of dollars. In addition to requiring large sums to be placed on balance sheets, the new standard is causing difficulties for preparers as they struggle to locate and extract data from their many lease contracts so they can comply with the new ...
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