Tax questions answered by Fort Mill accountant

Q. What changes should taxpayers expect this year?

A. I can’t think of any significant changes that will affect the average taxpayer. There would have been several changes; however, Congress passed The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 on Dec. 18, 2015, and President Obama signed it shortly thereafter.

This act is also known as “The Extender Bill.” It extended many credits and deductions that had expired on Dec. 31, 2014. In order to help with tax planning, 30-plus provisions were extended for two years, some for five years and some were made permanent.

Some of the extended provisions, such as a the educator expense deduction, itemized deduction for sales tax, continued deduction for mortgage insurance premiums, continuation of the tuition and fees deduction, and exclusion of gain from income of foreclosed home mortgage debt have a far reaching effect for many millions of taxpayers.

Q. What else should taxpayers be prepared for?

A. Taxpayers should always be prepared for change. This being an election year, many political promises will be made. Once a new president is elected, tax reform, of some type, will surely be on the agenda for the new administration.

The constantly shifting sands that is the IRS Revenue Code is just one reason I feel using a professional tax accountant is beneficial not only to the more complex tax filer, but also to the average tax filer.

Q. How can a taxpayer keep up with the changes?

A. Given my position as a tax accountant, I’d recommend everyone have a trusted friend in the business. That’s what we’re here for.

If you would like to do your own research, subscribing to news releases by the IRS is an excellent way to start. They offer email updates and even a YouTube channel full of information. Anyone can research a topic at IRS.gov.

This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 2:16 PM with the headline "Tax questions answered by Fort Mill accountant."