BA Harris LLP

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) added new requirements for health insurance coverage.  Although small employers (those with fewer than 50 full-time employees) are not required to provide health insurance coverage, there are still some rules that come into play. Read More...

For certain business expenses, taxpayers are required to provide specific information substantiating the expense in order to deduct.  These four common expenses require specific detail: Read More...

One of the many provisions made permanent by the American Taxpayer Relief Act on January 1, 2013 was a $5 million exclusion (adjusted annually for inflation) for estates of decedents dying after December 31, 2012. This is great news as otherwise it would have reverted back to a $1 million exclusion. Along with the higher exemption, another permanent provision is “portability” between spouses. Portability refers to the ability to allow the surviving spouse to apply the unused portion of the deceased spouse’s $5 million exclusion in addition to the applicable $5 million exclusion available to the surviving spouse . Using 2013 inflation adjusted amounts; this results in the ability for a married couple to pass up to $10.5 million to their heirs free of estate tax. However, the decedent’s estate (the executor) must make a timely election, generally within 9 months of the date of death, to utilize this provision. Read More...

If you have a second home, maybe in McCall or Sun Valley, and occasionally rent it out on weekends, odds are you have a sales tax liability that you have not been complying with. Read More...

As the calendar is drawing to a close in 2012 it marks an unprecedented period of uncertainty for tax professionals and our clients. A host of reduced tax rates, credits, deductions, and other incentives (collectively called the "Bush-era" tax cuts) are scheduled to expire after December 31, 2012 and over 50 tax extenders are up for renewal, either having expired at the end of 2011 or scheduled to expire after 2012. To further complicate matters the impending "fiscal cliff" that has been widely reported adds to the uncertainty we face in making planning decisions. Read More...