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...
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...
Federal Judge Blocks Overtime Rule
Federal Judge Blocks Overtime Rule An employee’s exempt status is based on duties performed, not wages paid. A U.S. District Judge issued a nationwide injunction stopping implementation of the Department of Labor’s rule on overtime pay for exempt employees. It was set to take effect on December 1. According to the Washington Times, the judge ruled: “Congress defined the … exemption with regard to duties, which does not include a minimum salary level,” Judge Mazzant wrote. “The Department’s role is to carry out Congress’s intent. If Congress intended the salary requirement to supplant the duties test, then Congress, and not the Department, should make that change.” The full ruling is 20 pages, but this paragraph captures the essence Read More...
Professional CPA Services Come to Paynesville
Professional CPA Services Come to Paynesville. Expansion increases access, offers flexibility to new and existing clients. Many Paynesville area businesses and families have received tax, bookkeeping, payroll, auditing, attestation, estate, and financial planning services from Christianson CPA for nearly 30 years. More and more business gets conducted remotely and services are being delivered in “the cloud.” Despite that reality, many local business leaders and individuals seeking the specialized knowledge and experience of a Certified Public Accountant still have to choose between going to Willmar or driving to Saint Cloud to find the right expertise for their industry. That’s why Christianson CPA will open a physical office in Read More...
USDA REAP Funding: A Golden Opportunity for Rural Businesses
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it would be investing more than $300 million to help roughly 400 small businesses across the U.S. make energy efficiency and other improvements to their operations. Christianson helped seven of our clients get nearly $1.8 million of these funds for improvements at their facilities, and we can help you with your 2017 REAP application. USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) allows rural small businesses to apply for grant funding and/or loan guarantees for the purchase, installation, and construction of energy efficiency improvements; or for renewable energy systems such as biomass, hydrogen, wind power, solar, and other alternative energies. Grants are Read More...
Ethanol and the Oil Spill Tax
Using natural gasoline as an ethanol denaturant may trigger liability for a quarterly excise tax to the IRS known as the Oil Spill Tax or the OSLT. If your ethanol plant is using natural gasoline as a denaturant, you may be required to pay a quarterly excise tax to the IRS on it. Known as the Oil Spill Liability Tax, the “OSLT” is a tax of $.08 per barrel ($.0019 per gallon) on crude oil under IRC §4611. This became $.09 per barrel in 2017 (or $.00214 per gallon). Natural gasoline is considered crude oil for the purposes of the tax. And oil refineries are generally responsible for paying this tax. However, there are a number of examples of the IRS pursuing collection of it from ethanol plants. This is based on an interpretation Read More...
Tax Tip Tuesday: The Individual Tax Filing Deadline
As part of our new Twitter launch, we are proud to bring you our first installment of Tax Tip Tuesday! Tax Tip Tuesday provides you with tax tips, news, and other knowledge designed to help you stay up to date with the latest developments in the tax world. Sarah Snyder, Christianson CPA Tax Department Supervisor, kicked off this first Tax Tip Tuesday with some information about the Individual Tax Filing Deadline. Follow us on Twitter (@ChristiansonCPA) and Facebook for all the latest Tax Tip Tuesday updates. #ChristiansonCPATaxTipTuesday Read More...
Follow @ChristiansonCPA on Twitter!
Christianson CPA has a Twitter account (@ChristiansonCPA)! John Christianson, primary partner at Christianson CPAs, was there at the launch of our Twitter account last week and recognized our Twitter presence as “the newest way to inform our clients.” He, along with everyone here at Christianson CPAs, is enthusiastic about getting on board with this exciting social media platform. Our Twitter handle is @ChristiansonCPA. Christianson’s foray into Twitter marks an addition to our already solid presence in social media. We all look forward to the opportunities mediums like these provide us to help new and existing clients, now and in the future. You can also find us on Facebook and LinkedIn. Read More...