Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed a "tax conformity" bill last week in order to align MN tax law with changes in federal tax law. The legislation was approved January 13, 2017 retroactively conforming the state’s corporate franchise and personal income tax to most federal changes enacted since December 31, 2014, for tax year 2015 and following years. No changes were made to bonus and Sec 179 expensing amounts. Will these changes affect you? Here are the most notable changes: Deduction for up to $4,000 of qualified tuition and related expenses. Exclusion for discharge of indebtedness income on principal residence. Itemized deduction for mortgage insurance premiums on a principal residence. Deduction in adjusted gross Read More...
Archives for January 2017
2016 Income Tax Filing Opening and Potential Delays
January 1st doesn’t just mean a new year; it also means a new tax season. This coming tax season comes with a few changes taxpayers should know. The 2017 individual income tax filing season for 2016 opens January 23, 2017. While you can file your taxes before this date, the IRS won’t accept or start processing the return until their systems open on Jan. 23rd. However, you will have a few extra days to file your 2016 return. This year’s filing deadline is April 18, 2017. Changes to this year’s tax season also include potential delays in tax return processing. New identity theft and fraud safeguards put in place by Congress means those claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) may face Read More...
An Ethanol Producer’s Guide to Tier 3 Sulfur Reporting
New Year, New Regs: An Ethanol Producer’s Guide to Tier 3 Sulfur Reporting. Ethanol producers looking to draft their new year’s resolutions need not look much further than the Code of Federal Regulations. That’s because they have already had their new year’s resolution written for them, courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency's new Tier 3 Sulfur Rule. Specifically: Spend more time worrying about the sulfur content of the ethanol you produce. The Impact: At first glance, that may seem like a small request (since ethanol contains very little sulfur other than that which is contained in the denaturant added to the fuel). However, reality has never been one to interfere with a larger regulatory agenda. So beginning on Read More...
Annual RIN Attest Engagements
Business moves at the speed of trust. That’s why more than 160+ RIN generators, obligated parties, marketers, and blenders trust Christianson to perform their annual RIN attest engagement required by the RFS and EPA every year. Christianson is full-service certified public accounting firm located in Willmar, Minnesota that has been serving the biofuels industry for nearly 30 years with audit, accounting, compliance, consulting, software, and tax solutions. As a partner with your business to keep you up to date on the latest requirements, we provide a full range of compliance services and have completed more than 1,300 RIN attest engagements in total. If recent news has you rethinking your approach to biofuels compliance, our Read More...