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Ken Berry, JD

CPA Practice Advisor Tax Correspondent

Ken Berry, Esq., is a nationally-known writer and editor specializing in tax and financial planning matters. During a career of more than 35 years, he has served as managing editor of a publisher of content-based marketing tools and vice president of an online continuing education company in the financial services industry. As a freelance writer, Ken has authored thousands of articles for a wide variety of newsletters, magazines and other periodicals, emphasizing a sense of wit and clarity.

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A Detailed Look at Tax Reform: Changes to Deductions and Credits

Tax reform cleared its first major hurdle in Congress on November 16 when the House passed its version of the bill by a 227-to-205 vote mainly along party lines. (No Democrats voted for it.) But the legislation, which would generally be effective for ...

The Tax Blotter - Nov. 17, 2017

The chances of a tax protestor prevailing in court are slim to nil. Typically, taxpayers will argue that payment of tax is strictly voluntary or unconstitutional or they don’t have to pay taxes on religious or moral grounds, to no avail. But they keep ...

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Income Tax

Examining the GOP Tax Reform Proposal

The current graduated seven-bracket structure would be reduced to four rates of 12%, 25%, 35% and 39.6%. The previous plan was based on only three brackets with a top rate of 35% and didn’t specify income amounts. Thus, this new plans preserves the ...

Income Tax

Trump Tax Plan Repeals Most Itemized Deductions, AMT, Estate Tax

The new tax plan doesn’t provide much detail on how the tax cuts will be paid for and who exactly will benefit. It also throws some important decisions back into Congress’ lap.

The Tax Blotter - September 2017

Undoubtedly, many of your clients will want to help out victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, in the aftermath of those devastating storms. But there’s more to claiming a charitable deduction than just mailing in a check or posting a donation online.

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Small Business

Accounting for Inventory Shrinkage After a Major Loss

Your small business clients who suffer inventory shrinkage – whether it’s from a natural disaster like Hurricane Harvey or Irma, or theft or simple mismanagement – must account for the event on their financial books. Generally, a firm can enter a ...

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Technology

IRS Overhauls Website: Introducing IRS.gov 2.0

The new version of the website is more mobile-friendly than its predecessor, Content has been tailored to meet user needs on a smartphone or tablet. The site will also eventually have the metadata structure needed to support smart technology.

Tax Court Says Handyman Can’t Repair These Tax Damages

Based on the evidence in the case, the Tax Court concluded that the taxpayer received gross income in 2012 equal to the value of the services that he provided to the trust. This amount was applied as an offset against the rent that the taxpayer owed.

The Tax Blotter - August 2017

The IRS can and often will impose tax on workers who don’t receive traditional wages from employment-related activities. Here are three of the latest examples culled from the Tax Court files.

Small Business

10 Big Tax and Accounting Issues for Small Businesses

Entrepreneurs usually aren’t surprised by the amount of work it takes to get a business up and-running and become successful. But these same small business owners are often blindsided by the time and effort required for tax and accounting issues.

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Home Office Deductions: The “Hard” Way Versus the “Easy” Way

As a general rule, you may write off the direct expenses of the home office (e.g., painting and carpeting a room) as well as a proportionate share of indirect expenses, such as mortgage interest and real estate taxes, utilities, insurance and repairs ...

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Phishing Scams: Don’t Take the Bait

The scammers have “gone phishing.” This is the crime of using emails, websites and social media to steal your confidential information off your computer. The devious cyber crooks may convince you to install malicious software by having you click on a ...