WHAT’S THE BUZZ, TELL ME WHAT’S A HAPPENNIN’?

 
* Chris Gullotti explains “What You Need to Know About Calculating RMDs for 2023” at KIPLINGER.COM.
 
And remember, thanks to SECURE 2.0, taxpayers who turn age 72 in 2023 do not have to begin to take RMDs until age 73, or in 2024.
 
* In case you are interested, KIPLINGER.COM also takes a look at “Taxes in Retirement: How All 50 States Tax Retirees”.
 
I was certainly not surprised to learn – “Year in and year out, the Garden State ranks as one of the least tax-friendly states for retirees and others {in this review it was the “Least tax-friendly” – rdf}. But New Jersey has made some efforts to reduce the income tax burden on retirees, with a very generous exemption for retirement income and a complete exemption for Social Security benefits. Sales taxes are below average, too.
 
It's not enough, though, to overcome New Jersey's crushing property taxes — the highest in the country, with residents facing a median property tax rate of $2,257 in taxes per $100,000 of assessed home value. It's one reason why retirement-age residents are fleeing the state for more tax-friendly environs.”
 
* On Monday I got an email telling me to “Visit the Newly Designed SSA.gov” which has been redesigned to serve me (and you) better.  Click here to check it out.
 
* Don’t expect the processing of 2022 tax returns, whether filed manually or electronically, to be much faster than past years.  From the TAX FOUNDATIONS’s weekly “Above the Line” email newsletter (highlights are mine) –
 
“Despite progress, the IRS is still behind the curve: As Americans prepare to file their 2022 tax returns, a combination of long-standing IRS operational deficiencies, the agency’s temporary closure due to the pandemic, and the now-expired pandemic relief has produced a backlog of millions of returns from previous tax filing seasons.
 
Contributing to the backlog: Running social policy through the tax code is administratively burdensome. In 2022, the IRS sent out more than 17 million math error notices as taxpayers made mistakes reconciling their pandemic relief tax credits.”
 
Running social policy through the US Tax Code wrong.  It is bad tax policy and the major cause of tax fraud and the complexity of the 1040 -it is basically Congress being lazy. 
 
* The IRS has released, in “Rev. Proc. 2023-14” the 2023 automobile inflation tables for the imitations on depreciation deductions for “luxury” automobiles placed in service in 2023 and auto lease income inclusions.  
 
If additional first-year, or "bonus," depreciation is applied, the limitation is $20,200 for 2023.  If bonus depreciation does not apply, the 2023 first-year limitation is $12,200.
 
* Jeff Stimpson tells us “Weather victims in Georgia, Alabama get tax relief” at ACCOUNTING TODAY.
 
“Storm victims in parts of Georgia and Alabama now have until May 15 this year to file various federal individual and business tax returns and make tax payments.
 
The IRS is offering relief to areas designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Individuals and households that reside or have a business in the Georgia counties of Butts, Henry, Jasper, Meriwether, Newton, Spalding and Troup or the Alabama counties of Autauga and Dallas qualify.”
 
THE LAST WORD –
 
 Right on, sister Sara!
 
"I think the fact there are 7 federal acts passed since 2019 should grab everyone's attention.  We cannot continue to 'fix' everything with tax law changes, especially when they are made by people who have probably never even prepared a single tax return."
 
Sara Pierce, CPA @pierces23

TTFN