Ken Berry, JD

With about two weeks to go in tax filing season, the procrastinators are finally starting to contact your office. Usually, they’ve postponed the inevitable because they fear they’ll be entitled to only a miniscule refund or they will have to ante up to Uncle Sam.

One could say that the automatic tax filing extension is the taxpayer’s best friend – besides being a bosom buddy to tax return preparers – as the tax filing season rushes to a close. And this BFF may be able to do more for you than you think. However, just like most good friends, it’s not without fault.

Despite recent claims that the deadline for signing up for Obamacare would not be postponed beyond the initial March 31 deadline – the day before April Fool’s Day – the White House has finally caved into the pressure. According to a report in the Washington Post on March 25, the Obama administration is extending the open enrollment period for two to three weeks in three dozen states around the country.

The government seems to have worked out most of the kinks in www.healthcare.gov, the online site used to sign up for Obamacare. But it has yet to address another glitch that surfaced almost two years ago: Language in the law that prevents married taxpayers who file separate tax returns from qualifying for special tax subsidies.

Many federal income tax breaks are reserved for low-income families – the earned income tax credit (EITC) instantly comes to mind – but that doesn’t mean that wealthier individuals can’t get their fair share of the pie.

State income taxes are often overlooked by the general public, but professional tax return preparers should not make the same mistake. Nevertheless, it is easy to miss tax benefits or liabilities associated with state income taxes, especially as they relate to federal Form 1040.

New legislation passed by the House tying the “doc fix” to Obamacare is expected to meet its demise on the Senate floor. Thus, a once-promising solution to a long-term problem is likely to turn into another victim of bipartisan politics.

The Obama administration is relying on various federal agencies and organizations to help implement the complex rules under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the comprehensive health care legislation otherwise known as “Obamacare.” Naturally, the IRS is expected to play a major role, including enforcement of the penalties for failing to obtain minimum coverage and imposition of the 3.8% Medicare surtax on “net investment income” (NII) for certain upper-income investors.

President Obama has just released a new 2015 budget designed to raise more than $1 trillion in revenue over the next ten years by boosting income taxes for upper-income individuals, closing or tightening tax loopholes and scaling back estate tax benefits.

On March 5, the government released a second set of comprehensive regulations relating to the controversial health care legislation. Previously, regulations had extended the employer mandate for certain mid-sized firms by one year to January 1, 2016, while all responsible firms had benefited from a prior one-year delay. Now, following an earlier reprieve, the grace period for individual policies that don’t meet the law’s requirements has been extended by two years, to October 1, 2016.

Tax reform is back in on the table. On February 26, 2014, U.S. Representative Dave Camp (Rep.-Mich.), the chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, released a much-anticipated draft of a major tax overhaul. Camp’s proposed reforms, which were three years in the making, reflect bipartisan efforts to simplify the tax code and provide equality to taxpayers.

With about a month to go before the open enrollment period for Obamacare ends – the official deadline is March 31, 2014 – the federal government continues to tweak the rules for the landmark healthcare legislation.