Tax Newsletter - December 2018 No Images? Click here December Tax NewsHappy Holidays to all our readers and families!2018 is ending and soon begins pulling out the few hairs left to dicerfer all the parts of the tax reform, or Tax Cuts and Job Act of 2017! So let's chat more about it in January and we send our most sincere wishes for a very Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! See this video of the highlights of 2018 .... from Mir Taxes LLC! Report Your Foreign Company to the IRS - or Face PenaltiesU.S. expats living abroad can have the choice of being self-employed and establishing their own company in their adopted country. However, the company is now a “foreign corporation” or a “Controlled Foreign Corporation”. Let’s discuss the requirements of what is required for U.S. expats with a CFC as far as U.S. tax reporting obligations. But what are the filing requirements to the U.S. IRS? IRS Highlights TCJA The IRS has published a handbook for taxpayers across America for a little further understanding of the tax reform of last year. Click here to download your guide. Contact Mir Taxes with any questions concerning the TCJA. Tax in the NewsOther links on taxes that may be of interest...NBAA Comments On IRS Notice Regarding Business MealsThe National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) on Nov. 5, 2018, filed the attached comments with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding IRS Notice 2018-76, which generally permits the deduction of business meals and implicitly assumes that business meals are not subject to the entertainment disallowance in IRC § 274(a). The NBAA also posted a brief article to its website announcing the issuance of the comments. Read full article here Restrictions On 401(k) Plan Hardship Distributions Are Eased in Proposed RegulationsThe IRS has issued proposed regulations affecting hardship distributions under 401(k) plans. The regulations would implement changes made by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, and are updated for several earlier legislative changes to Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 ("Code"). IRS Proposes Regulations Regarding Hardship Withdrawals…The US Internal Revenue Service has released proposed regulations requiring retirement plans to eliminate the six-month suspension for hardship withdrawals made on and after January 1, 2020, with the option to eliminate it earlier, and providing important clarifications for plan sponsors on other hardship requirements. Should You Convert Your Balance To A Roth IRA?If you have accumulated a large balance in a traditional IRA, now may be an ideal time to convert some or all of it to a Roth IRA. The recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) reduces individual income tax rates through 2025, lowering the cost of conversion. When you do a Roth conversion, you are subject to tax on some or all of the amount you convert, so it could be cheaper to do it now, while tax rates are more favorable. But, why choose a Roth in the first place? Couple of Year-end Tax Planning Tips Some things to do by the end of the year: 1-Enhance deductions by increasing charitable donations 2-Examine your salary withholdings-enough? 3-Add to your retirement Seeking to make a donation for tax purposes..... Why not CHS?Since 1971 the Community Help Service,a non-profit organisation has been providing information, support and mental health services to the international community in Belgium. The CHS Helpline: This is a free, 24/7, anonymous and confidential telephone support servicein English offering information and support to children, adolescents and adults. It is operated by volunteers who are trained and supervised by professionals. But CHS needs help too:The Helpline - with annual running costs approaching €30,000 - receives no subsidies at all (unlike the French, Dutch and German Helplines). We raise about half of the funds required through our own fund-raising efforts but need to find the rest through donations. Tax-deductible donations can be made via the King Baudouin Foundation (KBF):
Donors in Belgium obtain a tax benefit of 45% for donations during a year of €40 or more. Donors in the US may claim the maximum tax benefits allowed by US tax law for their contributions.
Time to become compliant with IRS?Have you been living abroad and not filing your taxes? Mir Taxes can assist you with the process through the Streamlined Procedures Program and at a reasonable cost. Contact Mir Taxes for more information. Converting currency and saving money!Convert your currency wisely, efficiently, and economically by reading about MoneyCorp and open your free account today!Need a tax pro to get a tax return done or answer a question? Need to get your 2017 tax return completed? Looking ahead to 2018 filing? Get your FBAR filed? Or have any tax questions? Please feel free to contact us for any assistance. |