By Maureen Werther
The federal tax bill that passed the House and Senate in the final weeks of 2017 had accounting firms of all sizes scrambling to read, understand and interpret the new legislation for clients, with most working long hours through the holiday season to ensure their clients would be in compliance with the new law.
Dan Kumlander, of Kumlander, Donofrio, Hay, Pehl CPAs, LLP, on Route 9 in Malta, said that the passage of the new tax laws caused what he referred to as a “scramble” to ensure that planning for clients was being done correctly and in keeping with those new laws.
“We’ve tried to lessen the tax liability as much as possible for our clients and make sure they take advantage of every possible tax savings. When the IRS makes these announcements, we all scramble,” said Kumlander.
He said fortunately, the new changes did not affect 2017. However, they will have a big impact on 2018-2025. He said his clients are all, understandably, looking for clarity.
One big question that arose for clients was whether to pay their 2018 real estate taxes in advance. Kumlander said that making the pre-payment would not have benefitted all their clients. He also added that the IRS mandate that taxes had to be assessed in the same year they were being paid set off an even bigger scramble.