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President Biden is planning on previewing his American Families Plan (AFP) at his first address to a joint session of Congress on April 28th. Some of the expected parts of the plan include extending the enhanced child tax credit, 12 weeks of family leave paid for by the federal government, free community college, access to free childcare, and universal pre-K. To pay for all of these new programs, the President is expected to propose tax increases in various forms. One of the most talked-about changes is with long-term capital gains rates, reportedly increasing dramatically for those Americans with more than $1 million in taxable income.

It is not surprising that Bitcoin has captivated people’s attention over the last year given its dramatic increase in price and abundant press coverage. You can’t go a day without hearing someone start a sentence with “The price of Bitcoin...” or “An investment in Bitcoin in 2010 would be worth…”. It is puzzling to hear Bitcoin framed as an investment. Wasn’t Bitcoin started as an easier way to exchange payments between two parties? Shouldn’t you want a currency to be fairly stable in value so you can be certain that when you accept a payment the value will not fluctuate wildly while you hold it until you need to use it for spending?

The American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) has temporarily expanded two key provisions of the tax code that affect families with children 18 or under along with other types of dependents. Not that anything in the tax code is simple, but the new Child Tax Credit and Child & Dependent Care Tax Credit have now become super complicated to understand for 2021. For now, these rules only apply to 2021 and then revert to the old rules in 2022 (pending permanent changes in future tax legislation). In this week’s blog we are going to look at the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit. We will analyze the Child tax Credit in a future blog.

Just this week, both the House and Senate passed new legislation called the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, or ARP for short, and was signed by the President. Within this bill, there are significant changes to the tax code that will apply to 2021 and beyond. In this post we will review the changes that apply to 2020 returns. In this instance, maybe the early bird does not get the worm, and if you have not filed your return yet it may make sense to hold off until some of these changes are implemented or you may need to amend your taxes later. Here's what you should know about the new tax law and how it may impact your 2020 taxes.

As we close out February and enter March, individuals and CPAs around the US are getting into the thick of tax season. By this time most tax forms should be available, and CPAs are anxiously awaiting to frantically prepare this information before the ominous April 15th deadline. No one expected last year to upend our daily lives as much as it did. Along with life changes also came government assistance, much of which came in the form of tax changes. While there are numerous differences with how 2020 taxes will be prepared, one of the most noteworthy is how to report any direct payments received (or not received) from the government. Here's what you should know about how to report these payments.

The financial planning considerations when entering your 50s can be quite extensive. Between retirement rapidly approaching, life changes, and estate planning issues, there's a lot on the to-do list! For many, this is their last full decade before retirement. It is one of the last chances to save, plan, and make sure you are on track to meeting your long-term financial planning goals. While there are many topics to review, some of the big ones are: - Overall retirement planning considerations - Big life changes - Reviewing your insurance - Updating and reviewing your estate plan