Client Alerts Archives - Page 18 of 21

Do you need to file a 2015 gift tax return by April 18?

Kathleen Hargrove on April 7, 2016

You generally need to file a gift tax return for 2015 if, during the tax year, you made gifts:

That exceeded the $14,000-per-recipient gift tax annual exclusion (other than to your U.S. citizen spouse)
That you wish to split with your spouse to take advantage of your combined $28,000 annual exclusions, or
Of future interests – such as remainder interests in a trust – regardless of the amount.

If you transferred hard-to-value property, such as artwork or interests in a family-owned business, consider filing a gift tax return even if you’re not required to. Adequate disclosure of the transfer in a return triggers the statute of limitations, generally preventing the IRS from challenging your valuation more than three years after you file.

There may be other instances where you’ll need to file a gift tax return – or where you won’t need to file one even though a gift exceeds your annual exclusion. Please contact your Whalen & Company representative for details.

CLIENT ALERT: DOL “Overtime Rule” Moves into Final Stages

Kathleen Hargrove on March 28, 2016

This month The United States Department of Labor (DOL) moved forward with a proposed rule to extend overtime protections that could impact 5 million white collar workers.

The DOL sent the final version of its overtime rule, a revision to the Fair Labor Standards Act, to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on March 15. The OMB is expected to publish a final rule within 30-60 days.

If the overtime rule is finalized by the OMB as proposed, the salary threshold for white collar exemptions would be increased to $50,440 from the current threshold of $23,660.

The increased threshold was determined by the DOL based on the standard salary level at the 40th percentile of weekly earnings for full-time salaried workers. DOL used salary data from 2013 to determine the threshold ($47,892) and adjusted to the proposed $50,440 for 2016 implementation.

According to the DOL’s website, this exemption threshold has not been updated since 2004 and is due to be revised as “President Obama directed the Secretary of Labor to update the FLSA’s overtime pay protections and to simplify the overtime rules for employers and workers alike.”

Shortly after the final proposed rule was submitted to the OMB, Republican congressmen introduced the “Protecting Workplace Advancement and Opportunity Act” in both the House and Senate. This proposed legislation is intended to prevent the DOL overtime rule from being implemented, require economic climate considerations for the rule and impose additional restrictions on future changes to overtime rules.

Whalen & Company will continue to follow the proposed rule as it progresses.

We hope this information has been helpful to you. If you have questions about how the proposed overtime rule affects your business, please contact your Whalen & Company representative.

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Accounting Update: FASB Lease ASU Released

Kathleen Hargrove on March 9, 2016

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently issued a long-awaited update to lease accounting, designed to increase transparency and provide better information to financial statement users.

Tax Update: Failure-to-File Penalty Increases

Kathleen Hargrove on March 2, 2016

The increased penalty is effective for tax returns filed in calendar years after 2015, meaning it applies to the current tax season.

Reminder: Ohio Quarterly Municipal Withholding Deadline Change

Kathleen Hargrove on February 23, 2016

Just a reminder for businesses filing municipal income tax withholding quarterly in Ohio: the deadline for quarterly filing has changed to the 15^th day of the month following the quarter’s end. Previously, businesses had until the end of the month following the quarter’s end to file in many Ohio municipalities.

This deadline change went into effect Jan. 1, 2016 as part of tax reform in Ohio House Bill 5, and is one of several changes going into effect this year in an effort to create uniformity among municipal tax requirements.

Penalties for late filing of income tax withholding were also part of H.B. 5, allowing municipalities to charge up to 50% of the amount not paid on time.

The quarterly filing deadline change applies to employers that withheld less than $2,399 last year and less than $200 per month for the preceding quarter.

Other municipal deadlines for monthly withholding filers (due by 15^th day of following month if previous year’s annual withholding was more than $2,399, or more than $200 in any month in preceding quarter) and semi-monthly withholding filers (due within three banking days of: 15^thday of month and last day of month if previous year’s annual withholding was more than $11,999, or more than $1,000 in any month in preceding year) were standardized as part of H.B. 5, with many other provisions affected by the legislation.

To learn more about municipal tax code reform from H.B. 5, please contact your Whalen & Company representative.