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Ken Berry, JD

CPA Practice Advisor Tax Correspondent

Ken Berry, Esq., is a nationally-known writer and editor specializing in tax and financial planning matters. During a career of more than 35 years, he has served as managing editor of a publisher of content-based marketing tools and vice president of an online continuing education company in the financial services industry. As a freelance writer, Ken has authored thousands of articles for a wide variety of newsletters, magazines and other periodicals, emphasizing a sense of wit and clarity.

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Benefits

Supreme Court Ruling on ObamaCare Means Business as Usual

The best advice that tax practitioners and business advisers can give their clients in the wake of the new Supreme Court decision on Obamacare is actually pretty simple: Keep doing what you’re doing.

Sales Tax

Online Sellers Face Sales Tax Complications

Raise your hand if you have one or more clients who recently started up an online business recently and are confused about the state sales tax implications. Now all of you (or at least most of you) can put your hands down.

Income Tax

IRS Data Breach Sets Off Alarms, FBI to Investigate

A serious security breach at the IRS has the agency scrambling to beef up its ID theft efforts while the public and lawmakers stew. The IRS announced on May 26 that hackers had gained access to the personal information of more than 100,000 American househ

Auditing

Here's What the IRS Does to People Who Fudge the Truth on Charitable Donations

Court nullifies $37,000 deduction for donations of used property to charities, then adds 20% penalty.

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Benefits

Split Decision on IRAs: Pub 590-B Covers Distribution Rules

The new Pub. 590-B applies to 2014 tax returns filed in 2015. Two aspects that have often befuddled taxpayers in the past are the RMD rules for Roth IRAs and the options available when inheriting traditional IRAs.

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Income Tax

4 Tax Saving Carry-Overs from 2014 Income Tax Returns

Usually, a transaction that occurs during the tax year is reflected on the tax return for that particular year. For instance, if you realize a capital loss on the sale of stock in 2015, the loss offsets tax liability on your 2015 return.

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Income Tax

President Obama's Income Tax Return Shows Drop in Earnings

In his sixth year in office, President Obama’s taxable income has continued to decline, according to his 2014 tax return.

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Benefits

GAO Weighs in on Mega IRA Controversy

Mega IRAs – the moniker given to retirement saving accounts with over-inflated values -- have become a popular target of critics and a potential revenue source for a cash-strapped Treasury Department. Now a new report by the Government Accountability ...

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Income Tax

Which 2014 Tax Extenders will Congress Renew or Make Permanent?

There’s been much ado about the 55 tax extenders currently being debated by a lame-duck Congress. These tax law provisions, which are generally favorable to taxpayers, technically expired after 2013, but may be revived retroactive to ...

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Income Tax

Will Like-Kind Exchanges Survive Tax Reform?

Legislative proposals to curtail or eliminate the tax benefits of like-kind exchanges are in the works. With a lame-duck Congress finishing out this year and a brand-new class of lawmakers entering 2015, no one can be sure if this tax break will ...

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Tax Planning

Last Chance for Retroactive Portability of Estate Tax Exemption

The portability provision can literally save a family millions of federal estate tax dollars if a timely election is made. For some clients who missed the boat, there’s still a little time left to sail off happily into the sunset, thanks to a special IRS

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Benefits

IRS Grants Taxpayers More Leeway on IRA Rollovers