Some of your deductions may be smaller (or nonexistent) when you file your 2018 tax return

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While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) reduces most income tax rates and expands some tax breaks, it limits or eliminates several itemized deductions that have been valuable to many individual taxpayers. Here are five deductions you may see shrink or disappear when you file your 2018 income tax return: State and local tax[…]

Arizona Appeals Court Strikes Down Law on Employee Benefits

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The Arizona Court of Appeals said GOP lawmakers cannot stop local governments from requiring private employers give their workers more benefits than state law mandates. The case deals with a law passed in the wake of voters approving a higher state minimum wage, which also requires paid personal leave for employees.

3 big TCJA changes affecting 2018 individual tax returns and beyond

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When you file your 2018 income tax return, you’ll likely find that some big tax law changes affect you — besides the much-discussed tax rate cuts and reduced itemized deductions. For 2018 through 2025, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) makes significant changes to personal exemptions, standard deductions and the child credit. The degree[…]

Defining ‘New Arizonan’ Cuisine, One Foraged Acorn At A Time

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What is Arizona food? Is it a chimichanga? Or a Sonoran hot dog? Is it the classic Native American dish of squash, beans and corn — the three sisters? The elusive answer to that question is what Chris Malloy is attempting to nail down in his new column for the Phoenix New Times called “Sonoran[…]

Tax Filing Season Begins Following Partial Government Shutdown

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Tax filing season begins on Monday, just days after the 35-day partial government shutdown came to a close. It’s expected that the IRS is backlogged after the shutdown, and that tax returns may be delayed. But another shutdown is looming, as the stopgap spending bill is only lasts until Feb. 15. Another shutdown could further[…]

Depreciation-related breaks on business real estate: What you need to know when you file your 2018 return

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Commercial buildings and improvements generally are depreciated over 39 years, which essentially means you can deduct a portion of the cost every year over the depreciation period. (Land isn’t depreciable.) But special tax breaks that allow deductions to be taken more quickly are available for certain real estate investments. Some of these were enhanced by[…]

Arizona Unemployment Rate Increases And Salary Growth Slows Compared To Rest Of U.S.

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The state’s jobless rate ticked up a tenth of a point in December as companies shed employees. New figures from the Office of Economic Opportunity put the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 4.8 percent. That is the result, at least in part, of private sector employment dropping by about 1,900 jobs. And the new figure[…]

There’s still time to get substantiation for 2018 donations

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If you’re like many Americans, letters from your favorite charities have been appearing in your mailbox in recent weeks acknowledging your 2018 year-end donations. But what happens if you haven’t received such a letter — can you still claim an itemized deduction for the gift on your 2018 income tax return? It depends. Basic requirements[…]