Business meals and entertainment: how to maximize tax deductions

Journal of Accountancy article about how some parents are failing to educate their children about money. Many parents failing to educate children about money BY KEN TYSIAC AUGUST 9, 2012 Many children aren’t learning much about money from their parents, a new survey shows. Three in 10 parents never talk to their children about money or have had just one big talk with their children on the subject, according to a U.S. telephone survey conducted for the AICPA by Harris Interactive. On average, children are 10 years old when their mother or father has their first conversation with them about money, and mothers are more likely to talk with children about money at an earlier age than fathers, the survey showed. Just 13% of parents surveyed talk daily with their children about financial matters. Sixty-seven percent of parents surveyed strongly agree that they know enough about personal finance to teach their children good habits. Yet parents participating in the survey were more likely to have talked to their children about other important topics, including: The importance of good manners (95%). The benefits of good eating habits (87%). The importance of getting good grades (87%). The dangers of drugs and alcohol (84%). The risks of smoking (82%). This week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said early financial education is important for individual well-being and also the economic health of the United States. "Based on our findings, parents seem more concerned about the politeness of their children than their financial fitness," Ernie Almonte, CPA, vice chair of the AICPA’s National CPA Financial Literacy Commission, said in a statement. "Dollars and cents should get the same attention as ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ at home. Financial education builds critical skills that help put life goals within reach and strengthen the economy. Parents must make financial lessons a priority in both conversation and action as early as possible." Almonte, who is also a past AICPA Board chairman, said it is important to teach children the right lessons about financial responsibility, and said that in his work he has encountered financial misunderstandings that people have held for decades. The National Financial Literacy Commission offers the following tips for parents in educating their children: Start early. As soon as children are able to express a want, discuss basics like delayed gratification that are the foundation for budgeting and saving for a goal. Require children to save some of their birthday cash and money earned in after-school jobs. Give them small jobs to earn an allowance to pay for toys or other wants. Make saving fun by giving them a grocery list, and have them clip coupons and comparison shop by reviewing store fliers. Split the savings with them to reward their effort. Speak in their terms. A child might not care about money for college and may be more interested in money to buy a toy or spend with their friends. Create teachable moments around things your children care about. Also, show them the statement for their college savings account to build an understanding of compound interest and saving toward a long-term goal. The real learning will occur when your child tries to figure out how to earn and save for a toy or other item you decide not to purchase for them. Repeat often. The more you discuss good financial habits, the more likely your child is to make them a part of their daily life. During dinner, talk about saving for a big purchase, such as a family vacation, and how it might affect the budget. Show them your pay stub to talk about taxes and saving for retirement, and review their savings account and college account statements with them. Walk the talk. No matter what you say to your children about money, your actions are even more important. If you cave in easily when they make a fuss over a toy at the store, you will have difficulty convincing them to delay gratification and stick to a budget. For more information on financial education and responsibility, visit the AICPA’s 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy. Ken Tysiac (ktysiac@aicpa.org) is a JofA senior editor.

The IRS has announced penalty relief for the 2025 tax year relating to new information reporting obligations introduced under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The relief applies to penalties imposed under Code Secs. 6721 and 6722 for failing to file or furnish complete and correct information returns and payee statements. The OBBBA introduced new deductions for qualified tips and qualified overtime compensation, applicable to tax years beginning after December 31, 2024. These provisions require employers and payors to separately report amounts designated as cash tips or overtime, and in some cases, the occupation of the recipient. However, recognizing that employers and payors may not yet have adequate systems, forms, or procedures to comply with the new rules, the IRS has designated 2025 as a transition period. For 2025, the Service will not impose penalties if payors or employers fail to separately report these new data points, provided all other information on the return or payee statement is complete and accurate. This relief applies to information returns filed under Code Sec. 6041 and to Forms W-2 furnished to employees under Code Sec. 6051. The IRS emphasized that this transition relief is limited to the 2025 tax year only and that full compliance will be required beginning in 2026 when revised forms and updated electronic reporting systems are available. Although not mandatory, the IRS encourages employers to voluntarily provide separate statements or digital records showing total tips, overtime pay, and occupation codes to help employees determine eligibility for new deductions under the OBBBA. Employers may use online portals, additional written statements, or Form W-2 box 14 for this purpose. Notice 2025-62 IR-2025-110

The 2026 cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) that affect pension plan dollar limitations and other retirement-related provisions have been released by the IRS. In general, many of the pension plan limitations will change for 2026 because the increase in the cost-of-living index met the statutory thresholds that trigger their adjustment. However, other limitations will remain unchanged. The SECURE 2.0 Act (P.L. 117-328) made some retirement-related amounts adjustable for inflation. These amounts, as adjusted for 2026, include: The catch-up contribution amount for IRA owners who are 50 or older is increased from $1,000 to $1,100. The amount of qualified charitable distributions from IRAs that are not includible in gross income is increased from $108,000 to $111,000. The limit on one-time qualified charitable distributions made directly to a split-interest entity is increased from $54,000 to $55,000. The dollar limit on premiums paid for a qualifying longevity annuity contract (QLAC) remains $210,000.

The IRS released interim guidance and announced its intent to publish proposed regulations regarding the exclusion of interest on loans secured by rural or agricultural real property under Code Sec. 139L. Taxpayers may rely on the interim guidance in section 3 of the notice for loans made after July 4, 2025, and on or before the date that is 30 days after the publication of the forthcoming proposed regulations.

The IRShas provided a safe harbor for trusts that otherwise qualify as investment trusts under Reg. §301.7701-4(c) and as grantor trusts to stake their digital assets without jeopardizing their tax status as investment trusts and grantor trusts. The Service also provided a limited time period for an existing trust to amend its governing instrument (trust agreement) to adopt the requirements of the safe harbor.

WASHINGTON – National Taxpayer Advocate Erin Collins told attendees at a recent conference that she wants to see the Taxpayer Advocate Service improve its communications with taxpayers and tax professionals. “What I would like to do is improve our responsiveness and communication with fill-in-the-blank, whether it be taxpayer or practitioner, because I think that is huge,” Collins told attendees November 18, 2025, at the American Institute of CPA’s National Tax Conference. “I think a lot of my folks are working really hard to fix things, but they’re not necessarily communicating as fast and often as they should,” she continued. “So, I would like to see by year-end we’re in a position that that is a routine and not the exception.” In tandem with that, Collins also told attendees she would like to see the IRS be quicker in terms of how it fixes issues. She pointed to the example of first-time abatement, something she called an “an amazing administrative relief for taxpayers” but one that is only available to those who know to ask for it. She estimated that there are about one million taxpayers every year that are eligible to receive it and among those, most are lower income taxpayers. The IRS, Collins noted, agreed a couple of years ago that this was a problem. “The challenge they had was how do they implement it through their systems?” Collins was happy to report that those who qualify for first-time abatement will automatically be notified starting with the coming tax filing season, although she did not have any insight as to how the process would be implemented.

The IRS and Treasury have issued final regulations that implement the excise tax on stock repurchases by publicly traded corporations under Code Sec. 4501, introduced in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Proposed regulations on the computation of the tax were previously issued on April 12, 2024 (NPRM REG-115710-22) and final regulations covering the procedural aspects of the tax were issued on July 3, 2024 (T.D. 10002). Following public comments and hearings, the proposed computation regulations were modified and are now issued as final, along with additional changes to the final procedural regulations. The rules apply to repurchases made after December 31, 2022.

Since taking office in January, President Trump has called for comprehensive tax reform. The President’s recently released fiscal year (FY) 2018 outlines some of his key tax reform principles. At the same time, White House officials said that more tax reform details will be released in coming weeks. These details are expected to describe rate cuts for individuals and businesses, new incentives for child and elder care, elimination of certain deductions and credits, and more. Note. The President’s budget is a blueprint for Congressional action. “This is the message from the President to the Congress and says, look, here are my priorities in terms of where I want to spend more; here's what I think should be spent; here's where the big-ticket items are,” White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told reporters in Washington, D.C. at a news conference unveiling the FY 2018 budget proposals. Tax measures The President’s FY 2018 budget highlights a number of tax reform proposals, leaving details for later. The President called for tax reform that lowers individual tax rates, expands the standard deduction, and protects homeownership, charitable giving and retirement saving. The FY 2018 budget also urges Congress to repeal the alternative minimum tax (AMT), the federal estate tax and the net investment income (NII) tax. The President’s FY 2018 also highlights some business tax proposals, including lower rates for corporations and other business entities. To offset the cost of lower rates, unspecified business tax expenditures would be repealed. Note. Federal law requires that every budget list all tax expenditures. Generally, a tax expenditure is any item that causes a loss of revenue due to a special exclusion, exemption, or deduction from gross income or which a special credit, a preferential rate of tax, or a deferral of tax liability. The FY 2018 budget lists more than 160 tax expenditures. Health care and taxes The Affordable Care Act (ACA) created the NII tax and a number of other new taxes. The President’s budget assumes the ACA will be repealed and replaced with the American Health Care Act (AHCA). As passed by the House in April, the ACHA repeals the NII tax, the additional Medicare tax, the excise tax on medical devices, and more. The Senate is currently debating the AHCA. Funding the IRS Earlier this year, President Trump proposed to reduce the IRS’s funding and his FY 2018 budget reflects that. However, in past years, Congress has restored some of the proposed funding cuts to the IRS. Last year, Congress gave the IRS an additional $290 million with instructions to use the funds for taxpayer services and to curb tax-related identity theft. Additionally, President Trump proposed giving the IRS more authority to correct errors on taxpayer returns. The FY 2018 budget also urges Congress to expressly grant the IRS authority to regulate return preparers. Family leave President Trump also proposed to create a new benefit within the Unemployment Insurance (UI) program. This new benefit would provide up to six weeks paid leave to mothers, fathers, and adoptive parents. If you have any questions about the President’s FY 2018 budget, please contact our office. Our office will keep you posted of developments as Congress begins to debate the President’s proposals and more details are released by the White House.

The future of the Affordable Care Act and its associated taxes has moved to the Senate following passage of the American Health Care Act (AHCA) in the House in April. Traditionally, legislation moves more slowly in the Senate than in the House, which means that any ACA repeal and replacement bill may be weeks if not months away. Note. At the time this article was prepared, few details have emerged about discussions in the Senate on the ACA’s taxes. Some senators have predicted that the Senate will write its own ACA repeal and replacement bill. A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report, issued in late May, scored the House-passed AHCA as eventually causing 23 million fewer individuals to be covered, a number that may prompt the Senate to move further away from the House bill. It is also unclear if a Senate bill would repeal all or some of the ACA’s taxes. A Senate bill could also make other changes to the ACA, such as changes to the individual and employer shared responsibility requirements and the Code Sec. 36B premium assistance tax credit. Health care taxes As approved by the House, the AHCA repeals nearly all of the ACA’s taxes and delays the ones it does not repeal immediately. The House-passed version of the AHCA repeals the net investment income (NII) tax, the excise tax on medical devices, and the health insurance provider fee, among others, retroactively to the start of 2017. Further, the House-passed version of the AHCA delays the ACA’s excise tax on high-dollar health plans. Whether the Senate will go along with repealing all or some of the ACA’s taxes is unclear. Some GOP members of the Senate Finance Committee had previously called for immediate repeal of the additional Medicare tax. Other Republican senators called for immediate repeal of the medical device excise tax. Our office will keep you posted of developments. Code Sec. 36B credit Individuals who obtain health insurance through the ACA Marketplace may qualify for a tax credit to help offset the cost of coverage. The House-passed version of the AHCA also revises the Code Sec. 36B premium assistance tax credit. The amount of the credit would vary depending on the taxpayer’s age, among other modifications. Again, it is unclear if the Senate will adopt these changes to the credit or make its own revisions. Other provisions An ACA repeal and replacement bill in the Senate also is expected to address, among other things, Individual and employer shared responsibility requirements Health savings accounts Code Sec. 45R small employer health insurance credit Branded prescription drug fee Medical expense deduction Minimum essential health benefits Other health care bills Just before Congress’ Memorial Day recess, the House Ways and Means Committee approved several bills related to the House version of the AHCA. One bill would allow individuals who have certain types of COBRA coverage to claim the revised Code Sec. 36B credit. Another bill would disallow advance payments of the credit unless the recipient is a citizen or national of the U.S. or an alien lawfully present in the U.S. Administrative actions The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor (DOL) and the IRS administer different parts of the ACA. In May, HHS announced that changes to the direct enrollment process for the ACA Marketplace. HHS also announced that online enrollment for the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) would be through an agent or broker. Please contact our office if you have any questions about health care and taxes.