Alerts & Updates
2023 Private Clients Group Annual Update
December 14, 2023It is hard to believe another year has passed and, as is customary, we are writing our annual letter to provide you with an update on various tax and estate planning issues and to highlight some items which may be of interest.
Massachusetts Provides Clarity Regarding Millionaires Tax
December 13, 2023Starting with the 2023 tax year, certain Massachusetts taxpayers are required to pay a 4% surtax on taxable income in excess of $1 million. This so-called “Millionaires Tax” is imposed on top of the state’s current 5% flat income tax.
IRS Delivers Early Christmas Gift by Delaying Form 1099-K $600 Reporting Threshold
November 29, 2023IRS Form 1099-K (Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions) is used to report payments and transactions from e-commerce payment platforms, apps and payment card processors such as Venmo, Paypal, Cash App, Etsy and Ticketmaster.
IRS Announces Estate, Gift and Generation-Skipping Transfer (GST) Tax Inflation Increases for 2024
November 14, 2023On November 9, 2023, the IRS officially announced the inflation adjustments for 2024 for the gift and estate tax exemptions. The federal estate, gift and generation-skipping tax exemption will increase to $13,610,000 for 2024 from $12,920,000 in 2023. This is an increase of $690,000.
Cummings & Lockwood Analyzes Massachusetts’ Recent $1 Billion Tax Relief Package
October 11, 2023On October 4, 2023, the Governor of Massachusetts signed into law the first tax cuts in Massachusetts in more than 20 years. The tax relief package is designed to deliver more than $561 million in tax relief to individuals and companies during the 2023-2024 fiscal year and top $1 billion in tax relief by the 2027 fiscal year when the package is fully phased in.
IRS and U.S. Treasury Release Guidance on Cryptocurrency Reporting
September 7, 2023Crypto staking rewards are a kind of digital “dividend” or “interest” paid to cryptocurrency owners who help regulate and validate cryptocurrency transactions in the underlying blockchain network.
Client Alert - The New 529-to-Roth IRA Conversion Rule
July 10, 2023Beginning in 2024, the federal legislation known as the SECURE Act 2.0 will allow beneficiaries of 529 plans to transfer up to $35,000 of 529 plan funds over the course of their lifetime to their own Roth IRA without paying taxes or penalties.
Client Alert - A Summary of the Tax Law Provisions of the 2024-2025 Connecticut Biannual Budget
June 20, 2023On June 12, 2023, Governor Ned Lamont signed Connecticut’s two-year, $51 billion budget into law. The budget is said to include the largest income tax cut in Connecticut history and includes approximately $500 million in tax relief to Connecticut taxpayers, primarily by lowering certain income tax rates, modifying the pass-through entity tax, and expanding or increasing certain tax credits.
IRS Reveals 10-Year Spending Plan for $80 Billion Funding
April 24, 2023The Inflation Reduction Act enacted in August 2022 included $80 billion in funding for the IRS over the next decade. On April 6, 2023, the IRS released its Strategic Operating Plan (the “SOP”) which outlines the IRS’s plan for using these funds.
Supreme Court Rules that Non-Willful Foreign Bank Account Reporting Penalty Applies on a Per Report Basis
April 17, 2023The Bank Secrecy Act requires every U.S. person with a financial interest in, or signature or other authority over, a financial account located outside the U.S. to report the account to the U.S. Treasury Department annually, if the total value of the foreign financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any time during the year.
The IRS Puts its Stake in the Ground with Respect to Step Up in Basis on Grantor Trusts Not Included in Taxable Estate
April 7, 2023With IRS Revenue Ruling 2023-2, the IRS is attempting to eliminate a position trumpeted by certain estate and gift tax practitioners and commenters since 2002.
Biden Administration's 2024 Fiscal Year Budget Proposals Once Again Threaten Changes to the Estate and Gift Tax System
March 31, 2023On March 9, 2023, the Treasury Department released its General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2024 Revenue Proposals (known as the Greenbook), to accompany President Biden’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2024.