Income Tax

With less than a month to go, California businesses are eager to qualify for a new state income tax credit. The "California Competes" program, administered by the state Office of Business and Economic Development, is handing out $30 million to encourage companies to grow here and not leave the state. The pot will expand to $150 million for the year that begins July 1.

It all has to do with the current tax rules for business entertainment. To be deductible as entertainment that is “associated with” your business, the activity must take place immediately before or after a substantial business discussion. Usually, this means the discussion has to be on the same day as the entertainment, but it could occur either the preceding or following day if the clients are from out of town.

Imprisoned former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s projected release date is now Sept. 20, 2015, more than three months earlier than listed previously, federal officials confirmed Monday.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has not made enough progress in reducing improper payments of Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC), according to a new report by the Treasury Department agency that oversees the nation's tax collectors.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have issued final guidance specifying that a wide range of benefits and services provided by Indian tribal governments qualify for the general welfare exclusion from income. These include programs for housing, education, cultural and religious purposes, and the elderly and disabled, among others.

Based on data from 4,138 organizations that raised more than $13 billion in the prior 12 months, The Blackbaud Index reported that overall charitable giving grew 1.3 percent for the three months ending April 2014, as compared to the same period in 2013.

For business owners, hiring family members as employees can lead to significant tax savings. And in many cases, those savings extend to the family members as well as the business owner. Sole proprietorships and corporations are both entitled to tax savings when they hire family members, but the amount of savings varies according to business type.

American taxpayers living abroad generally qualify for an automatic two-month extension to their federal income taxes. Well, that time's almost up. Ex-pat taxpayers are required to file their 2013 federal income tax returns, or extension requests, by Monday, June 16, according to the Internal Revenue Service.