Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts (also known as CRATs) have been blessed by IRS since 1970. So why is the IRS now proposing to make CRATs reportable with your individual tax return with hefty penalties for not reporting? The short answer is due to the abuse of this income tax and estate tax planning tool. The long answer is a bit more complicated.
With the commercial real estate market in flux because of the post-COVID-19 economy and changes in work patterns, owners of leased commercial buildings, such as office buildings and industrial warehouses, are considering how to make their properties and their investments in them more attractive. We have seen a good number of commercial properties being repurposed for residential use, either by reusing the existing structure of the commercial building and creating residential spaces in them, or by tearing down these structures and redeveloping them into residential uses.
Identity documents, such as your driver’s license, your passport, and even your birth certificate, are an introduction to who we are and who we would like to be known as to the world. Not only might these documents help us get into a bar on a Friday night, they can also serve to protect us from the legal ramifications of misidentification or a lack of identification entirely. Our identity showcases our uniqueness and should truthfully represent us.
The rules for deciding who is really an independent contractor and who must be classified as an employee are changing again. If your business issues 1099s, prepare to take another look at your independent contractors (ICs) in the context of the new rules.
Whether they were drafted 10 years ago by a developer or amended last week by an HOA’s Board of Directors. No matter how meticulously they hew to the letter of the law. Regardless of how long and technical – or brief and simple – the bylaws and rules of every Maryland homeowner’s association, they all have one essential trait in common. None of them are enforceable unless they have been filed in one of the HOA Depositories set up by the State.
On January 1, 2024, the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) began requiring corporations, limited liability companies and otherentities to file reports with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) division of the U.S Treasury Department.
Up until now, a domestic partner was treated essentially as a legal stranger in an intestate estate (one without a Will) and had only a limited exemption from inheritance taxes in the State of Maryland.
As homebuilders in Maryland may already know, there has been a requirement in the State that homebuilders provide an option to purchasers of single family detached houses and town houses to add EV charging stations to new homes. Since 2021, builders were required to include a disclosure regarding this option in sales contracts.