Affordable Care Act

Effective dates in 2012

Asked Tuesday, July 03, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

The U.S. Supreme Court declared on 6/28/12 the mandate in Sec. 5000A, requiring U.S. citizens and legal residents to maintain minimum essential health coverage, to be a permissible exercise of Congress's taxing powers under the Constitution.
The health care reform legislation added a number of new taxes and made various other revenue increasing changes to the IRS Code to help finance health care reform.
Information reporting (Sec. 6051(a)(14)): Requires employers to disclose on each employee's annual Form W-2 the value of the employee's health insurance coverage sponsored by the employer.
Fees on health plans (Sec. 4375): Fee is imposed on each specified health insurance policy. (Effective Oct. 2012.)
Charitable hospitals (Secs. 501(r) and 6033(b)(15)): New requirements applicable to Sec. 501(c)(3) hospitals, regarding conducting a community health needs assessment, adopting a written financial-assistance policy, limitations on charges, and collection activities. (Effective March 2010; community health needs assessment effective March 2012.)
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Affordable Care Act

Effective dates in 2013-14

Asked Tuesday, July 03, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

The U.S. Supreme Court declared on 6/28/12 the mandate in Sec. 5000A, requiring U.S. citizens and legal residents to maintain minimum essential health coverage, to be a permissible exercise of Congress's taxing powers under the Constitution.
The health care reform legislation added a number of new taxes and made various other revenue increasing changes to the IRS Code to help finance health care reform.
Medical care itemized deduction threshold (Sec. 213): Threshold for the itemized deduction for unreimbursed medical expenses is increased from 7.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI) to 10% of AGI for regular income tax purposes. (Effective 2013 generally, 2017 for certain taxpayers.)
Medicare tax on investment income (Sec. 1411): Imposes a tax on individuals equal to 3.8% of the lesser of the individual's net investment income for the year or the amount the individual's modified AGI exceeds a threshold amount. (Effective 2013.)
Additional hospital insurance tax on high-income taxpayers (Sec. 3101): Employee portion of the Medicare hospital insurance tax part of FICA is increased by 0.9% on wages that exceed a threshold amount. (Effective 2013.)
Health flexible spending arrangements (FSAs) (Sec. 125(i)): Maximum amount available for reimbursement of incurred medical expenses under a health FSA for a plan year (or other 12-month coverage period) must not exceed $2,500. (Effective 2013.)
Excise tax on medical device manufacturers (Sec. 4191): Tax equal to 2.3% of the sale price is imposed on the sale of any taxable medical device by the manufacturer, producer, or importer of the device. (Effective 2013.)
Premium-assistance credit (Sec. 36B): Refundable tax credits that eligible taxpayers can use to help cover the cost of health insurance premiums for individuals and families who purchase health insurance through a state health benefit exchange. (Effective 2014.)
Employer Penalty (Sec. 4980H): An "applicable large employer" that does not offer coverage for all its full-time employees, offers minimum essential coverage that is unaffordable, or offers minimum essential coverage that consists of a plan under which the plan's share of the total allowed cost of benefits is less than 60%, is required to pay a penalty if any full-time employee is certified to the employer as having purchased health insurance through a state exchange with respect to which a tax credit or cost-sharing reduction is allowed or paid to the employee. (Effective 2014.)
Reporting requirements (Sec. 6055): Requires insurers (including employers who self-insure) that provide minimum essential coverage to any individual during a calendar year to report certain health insurance coverage information to both the covered individual and to the IRS. (Effective 2014.)
Cafeteria plans (Sec. 125): A qualified health plan offered through a health insurance exchange is a qualified benefit under a cafeteria plan of a qualified employer. (Effective 2014.)
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Sale of Business Property

Depreciation Recapture as Ordinary Income - Sale of Personal Property

Asked Thursday, June 28, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

Report gain or loss on the sale of depreciable property on Form 4797.
The gain realized on the sale of depreciable personal property (Section 1245 property) is treated as Ordinary income to the extent the gain is atrributed to depreciation that reduced basis.
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Sale of Business Property

Form 4797 part 1 - Section 1231 transactions

Asked Thursday, June 28, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

Section 1231 transactions are reported on Form 4797 part 1.
A partial list of of Section 1231 transactions include Sales or exchanges of :
real or depreciable property used in a trade or business and held more than 1 year.
Timber, Coal, Cattle Horses or Livestock.
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Sale of Business Property

Form 4797 part 2 - Ordinary Gain or Loss transactions

Asked Thursday, June 28, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

A partial list of transactions include:
ordinary gains and losses from property held 1 year or less.
Losses from qualifying abandonment of business or investment property.
Losses of Section 1244 Small Business Stock
Losses of Small Business Company Stock
sales of Preferred Stock
Deferred gain from Qualifying Electric Transmission Property
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Sale of Business Property

Form 4797 part 3 transactions

Asked Thursday, June 28, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

A partial list of transactions include:
Section 1245 Property including depreciable Personal and Real Property
Section 179 deduction
A Single purpose agricultural or horticultural structure
A nonpetroleum storage facility
Clean Fuel vehicles
Section 1250 property inclusive of depreciable real property when an accelerated depreciation method was used
Real property when ACRS depreciation method was used
disposition of certain Farmland
gain on dispositions of Oil and Gas properties that included depletion and IDC expenses
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Tax Law Highlights - 2012

Bonus Depreciation

Asked Thursday, June 28, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

Bonus Depreciation In order to stimulate the economy Congress has enacted special bonus depreciation in the year of acquisition for certain purchases of new tangible personal property.
For qualified property acquired and placed in service in 2016, a 50% bonus first-year depreciation allowance applies under Code Sec. 168(k).
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Late Filing

What are the IRS Underpayment Rates for 2013

Asked Thursday, June 28, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

The rates will be:
Three percent for overpayments – two percent in the case of a corporation;
Three percent for underpayments ;
Five percent for large corporate underpayments; and
One-half percent for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000.
Under the Internal Revenue Code, the rate of interest is determined on a quarterly basis. For taxpayers other than corporations, the overpayment and underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus three percentage points.
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Alternative Minimum Tax

What was the AMT Patch?

Asked Tuesday, June 26, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

The AMT Patch was the mechanism used by Congress to offset the failure of the tax law to automatically require an adjustment of the AMT brackets for inflation.
This failure, with the resulting need for the annual Patch, has been going on since 2000.
Congress permanently addressed the AMT issue by indexing the annual exemption limits for inflation retroactive for 2012.
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Sale of Business Property

Dispositions of Intangible Property

Asked Tuesday, June 26, 2012 by an anonymous user

CPA Answer:

Intangible property is any personal property that has value but cannot be seen or touched. It includes such items as the goodwill value of a business, patents, copyrights.
Gain or loss on the sale or exchange of amortizable or depreciable intangible property held longer than 1 year (other than an amount recaptured as ordinary income) is a section 1231 gain or loss.
Gain or loss on dispositions of other intangible property is ordinary or capital depending on whether the property is a capital asset or a noncapital asset.
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