When Americans hear the term “expatriation,” they often think of renouncing U.S. citizenship. However, for U.S. tax purposes, expatriation also applies to long-term residents (green card holders) who surrender the green card after holding it for at least 8 of the past 15 tax years. A tax year is shorter than a calendar year and the green card holder will typically have a separate tax year at 2 events – when obtaining the card and when giving it up. As a result, it is easy to reach the 8-year mark. For both groups, leaving the U.S. tax system can come…

Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who will head up President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), say they want to radically simplify the federal tax code, which is a cesspool of complexity and corruption. At last count, it’s 16 million words and rising and is a deadweight on the economy. Trying to reform such a ghastly beast is hopeless. This episode of What’s Ahead makes the case for junking the tax code and replacing it with a simple, single-rate system: the flat tax. Follow me on Twitter. Send me a secure tip.  Read the full article here

A Health Savings Account, often called an HSA, allows you to pay for some medical expenses with tax-free money. Unfortunately, there are limits to how much you can contribute each year and how you can spend the money saved in your HSA. However, if you are eligible for an HSA, there is good news: The contribution limits are increasing for 2025. If appropriately used, a health savings account could be one of the most valuable retirement accounts. The IRS announced a nice increase to the maximum Health Savings Account contribution limits for 2025. The new 2025 HSA contribution limit is…

As CEOs cut back on DEI and tell young workers to leave their politics at home, charitable giving, with an employer match, has emerged as a way for employees to bring their own values to work. By Maria Gracia Santillana Linares, Forbes Staff President-elect Donald Trump and his appointees are promising a war against woke, with employer diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts among their targets. At the same time, with job openings down nearly 40% from their 2022 peak, even unhappy employees are less likely to quit. So it’s no surprise that CEOs, who a few years ago embraced…

Proposed regs published September 13 (REG-112129-23) provide broad guidance on calculating adjusted financial statement income (AFSI), which is a component of the corporate alternative minimum tax. The corporate AMT proposed regs are contained in prop. reg. sections 1.56A-0 to -27. Prop. reg. section 1.56A-4 provides rules for determining the effects on an entity’s AFSI from its ownership of stock in a foreign corporation. The preamble clarifies the rationale and operation of rules that require AFSI and basis adjustments when taxpayers own stock in foreign corporations. When asset or stock transfers that involve foreign corporations occur, the regs require adjustments to…

Managing the tax affairs of an estate is like choosing a tattoo design: it might seem like a small decision at first, but the choice can have lasting consequences. One of the first decisions an executor will face is whether to select a calendar year or fiscal year for the estate’s taxable year. While both options are valid, the choice can shape the estate’s financial future in ways that, once made, are difficult to change. Let’s break down what it means to elect a taxable year for an estate, why this choice matters, and the pros and cons of making…

Like other American cities, New York is struggling to address its housing crisis. A decades-long failure to build enough housing is causing rents to skyrocket beyond incomes and wages. And overly expensive housing could have major negative effects on the city’s economy and population, with the burdens falling most heavily on low-income people. After decades of inadequate housing policy, New York is now moving forward with Mayor Eric Adams’ “City of Yes” proposal—zoning and other reforms aimed at increasing new housing construction. But while the proposal is welcome, it won’t be enough to fully address the city’s long-term housing problem…

This is a published version of our weekly Forbes Tax Breaks newsletter. You can sign-up to get Tax Breaks in your inbox here. Chances are that you, like me, are still recovering from Thanksgiving week–I love the chaos, but it can be tiring. That’s why this edition of the newsletter is a bit lean–it’s our mini-edition for the holiday. There was too much good stuff to skip completely, but I know there is still football to watch and leftover pie to eat. So here’s, literally, the skinny. First up, Christmas came early for some companies and taxpayers this year. The…

When it comes to taxes, things can get…complicated. Add a spouse to the mix, and suddenly, you might find yourself on the hook for a tax mess you didn’t create, and the consequences can be steep. Innocent spouse relief can offer a lifeline to taxpayers stuck in the aftermath of a partner’s financial missteps. But as Bill Clinton famously quipped, “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” Similarly, when the IRS talks about “innocent” in innocent spouse relief, the definition isn’t always straightforward. Let’s break it down: what qualifies (and what doesn’t), what to expect if…

Tariffs are taxes disguised as tools of economic policy or trade negotiation. More to the point, they are taxes that affect every consumer and business in ways far less visible than traditional income or consumption taxes. Unlike those comparatively transparent tax systems, which come with clear rates and a modicum of accountability, tariffs operate in the shadows—hidden with the prices of goods on store shelves. This opacity makes tariffs particularly appealing to policymakers seeking to raise revenue without the political backlash of traditional tax base expansion or rate hikes. Unfortunately, they’re also attractive to those looking to enhance their power…