BREAKING NEWS – Corporate Transparency Act on Hold
as of Monday, March 3, 2024
On Friday March 1, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Alabama declared the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) unconstitutional. In the case of National Small Business Association v. Yellen (Case No. 5:22-cv-01448) [1], initiated by the National Small Business United, the challenge was against the CTA’s mandate for small businesses to disclose their beneficial owners to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
The ruling has the effect of suspending all BOI filing requirements for now, all enforcement actions, and all compliance concerns including questions of “practicing law without a license.” Experts believe the ruling will be appealed, probably to the Supreme Court, so this is a temporary filing requirement suspension until a final appeal is exhausted. Voluntary filing appears to still be allowed if for some reason a client desires to file.
Tax Planning and Possible Tax Benefit Reminders for New Parents
If you welcome a new child to your home in 2023, whether through birth, adoption or taking in a relative like a grandchild, then you may qualify for new tax benefits. However, there are some important steps to take now to preserve your eligibility for these opportunities.
First, if possible, obtain a Social Security number (SSN) for your new child. In most cases, you can request an SSN when you file for a birth certificate. If the child does not qualify for a SSN for any reason, then you can generally obtain an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) instead. Having a tax identification number for your child ensures that the IRS can verify the change in your household size, which may affect your taxes in a number of ways.
Two of the most valuable tax benefits that may be available to new parents are the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). You must have an SSN for each of your dependent children in order to claim these credits. The CTC is a per-child credit, so even if you received the credit in past years, your credit amount may increase with a new child in 2023. For the EITC, both the credit amount and the income limit increase as the number of qualifying children increases (up to 3 children). Therefore, the addition of a new child in 2023 could make you eligible for the credit even if you were not eligible in previous years.