Just before Christmas Congress finally passed the extender bill reinstating for another year some of the helpful items they have had in the past such as 50% bonus depreciation and the teachers’ deduction for above the line. However, it will again need to be re-evaluated this year. There is always hope that Congress will really settle to the task and decide once and for all on these items. Of course, the re-write of the tax code would be monumental in and of itself.
IRS has stated that filing season will begin as originally planned for January 20.
For the filing season, taxpayers need to be aware that they will have to prove they have health coverage for each person on their tax return for the entire year. For those who receive Medicare this is a check the box proposition as their Social Security statement will indicate they have Medicare and only a box needs to be checked. For others this could be a long computation with lots of questions. The upshot of this is if you are not on Medicare be prepared for lots of questions.