A case on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court from the South Dakota Supreme Court should be on your watch list. It involves Ellingson Drainage, Inc., a general contractor headquartered in Minnesota that specializes in installing...more
On Thursday, April 25, Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law House Bill 187, now Act 2024-113. We thank Governor Ivey for her support of this bill, as well as the Department of Revenue and Commissioner Barnett for their efforts...more
As we strive to do annually, here is a summary of the major items of business tax legislation that have been introduced or we expect to be introduced during the 2024 regular session, which began February 6. From a tax and...more
Law firms periodically receive requests for advice from CPAs regarding a client’s need to come into compliance with the relatively new and sometimes confusing “economic nexus” or “Wayfair” rules for selling goods or providing...more
12/6/2023
/ Compliance ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Internet Retailers ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Out-of-State Companies ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
SCOTUS ,
South Dakota v. Wayfair ,
State and Local Government ,
State Taxes ,
Substantial Nexus ,
Tax Liability ,
Tax Planning
As part of the annual meeting of the Alabama State Bar Tax Section held in Montgomery on August 16, representatives from the Alabama Department of Revenue (ALDOR) provided a helpful update on some key legislative and...more
In 2021, the Alabama Legislature unanimously enacted an elective pass-through entity tax (PTE Tax) as a workaround to the so-called “SALT Cap,” which was part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The Alabama Electing...more
7/12/2023
/ Alabama ,
Department of Revenue ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
PTEs ,
SALT ,
State and Local Government ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Returns
There seems to be an increased number of so-called “residency audits” being conducted by the Alabama Department of Revenue (ALDOR), as well as by other state tax authorities. These audits often result from the taxpayer filing...more
We summarize here what we believe are the top 5 Alabama tax cases decided in the past year that would interest our CPA readers. Not surprisingly, almost all are Alabama Tax Tribunal rulings, so in those instances we deleted...more
Landmark changes in the federal income tax treatment of partnerships (including multi-member LLCs) became effective in 2018 for many more partnerships than first anticipated. As a result of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015,...more
Readers may recall that the Alabama Legislature unanimously enacted an elective pass-through entity tax (PTE Tax) last year as a workaround to the so-called “SALT Cap,” which was part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The...more
6/27/2022
/ Alabama ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Local Taxes ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
SALT ,
State and Local Government ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Returns
Because 2022 is an election year, the start date for the Alabama Legislature’s regular session comes early: Tuesday, January 11. As we do annually, here are some unofficial prognostications on the major items of tax...more
12/17/2021
/ Alabama ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Local Taxes ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Legislation
Earlier this year, Alabama became one of 19 or so states to enact a pass-through entity tax as a workaround to the so-called "SALT Cap" enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which limits the deductibility of...more
11/15/2021
/ Alabama ,
Department of Revenue ,
Income Taxes ,
IRS ,
Local Taxes ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
SALT ,
State and Local Government ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Returns ,
U.S. Treasury
Earlier this year, Alabama became one of 19 or so states to enact a pass-through entity tax as a workaround to the so-called “SALT Cap” enacted as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that limits the deductibility of...more
9/7/2021
/ Alabama ,
Department of Revenue ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Partnerships ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
Proposed Rules ,
S-Corporation ,
Shareholders ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions
In August, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued final regulations on the deductibility of payments of cash or in-kind donations to certain tax-exempt organizations if the donor receives in...more
12/18/2020
/ Business Entities ,
Donations ,
Donors ,
IRS ,
New Regulations ,
PTEs ,
Safe Harbors ,
Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs) ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
Year-End Tax Planning
As we noted in our previous SALT Alert, on October 1 the Alabama Department of Revenue (ADOR) quietly posted a notice on its website and shared it with media outlets that received little notoriety – at least initially. The...more
The Alabama Department of Revenue (ADOR) posted a notice on their website on October 1 that escaped the attention of most media outlets and probably many businesses and their CPAs around the state of Alabama. For the first...more
How is taxable income determined in your state? To what extent is the state income tax base aligned with the federal income tax base?
Alabama levies a corporate income tax on business entities classified as taxable or “C”...more
10/12/2020
/ C-Corporation ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Department of Revenue ,
Exemptions ,
Filing Requirements ,
Franchise Taxes ,
Income Taxes ,
Nexus ,
S-Corporation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Rates
The landmark 335-page Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), signed into law on March 27, 2020, is an estimated $2+ trillion package primarily devoted to providing economic relief and stimulus for...more
4/3/2020
/ CARES Act ,
Charitable Deductions ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Retention ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Legitimate Business Interest ,
Net Operating Losses ,
Relief Measures ,
Retirement Plan ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Deductions ,
Tax Deferral ,
Tax Relief
On March 13, 2020, President Trump issued an emergency declaration in response to the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Recognizing the rapidly evolving state of affairs and the harm to individuals and to...more
3/23/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Income Taxes ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Paid Leave ,
Payroll Taxes ,
Relief Measures ,
Sick Leave ,
Sick Pay ,
State and Local Government ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Credits
As previously reported, in Ex parte Russell County Community Hospital, the Alabama Supreme Court announced that all software, including customized software created for a particular user, is "tangible personal property" and...more
1/24/2020
/ Department of Revenue ,
Economic Presence Nexus ,
Final Rules ,
Grocery Stores ,
Income Taxes ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Personal Property ,
Property Tax ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Retroactive Application ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
Software ,
State Taxes
Bedliner Chemicals Represent a Taxable Sale to the Franchisee Rather than to the Customer -
For those of you with bedliners in your trucks or other vehicles, a recent decision from the Alabama Tax Tribunal indicates you...more
In a 5-3-1 decision, the Alabama Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the sale of computer software in Alabama is subject to sales or use tax, even if it’s customized in whole or in part for a particular user (see Ex parte...more
In a case of first impression, an Alabama circuit court recently ordered a taxpayer to pay the auditing fees that a private auditing firm normally would charge to its local government clients. Initially, the court ordered the...more
In a case of first impression by an Alabama appellate court, the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals recently considered the appeal of the Alabama Department of Revenue (ADOR) of an adverse circuit court ruling involving whether...more
9/14/2018
/ Appeals ,
Business Taxes ,
Check the Box Rules ,
Department of Revenue ,
Income Taxes ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Sales & Use Tax ,
SALT ,
Standing ,
Tax Assessment ,
Tax Tribunal
On July 31, the Alabama Department of Revenue (ADOR) released its long-awaited “Analysis of Federal Tax Law Revisions on the State of Alabama,” a comprehensive review of the changes brought about by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act...more
8/13/2018
/ C-Corporation ,
Corporate Taxes ,
Department of Revenue ,
Foreign Earned Income ,
GILTI tax ,
Governor Ivey ,
Income Taxes ,
Internal Revenue Code (IRC) ,
IRS ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
Sole Proprietorship ,
State Taxes ,
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ,
Tax Exempt Entities ,
Tax Exemptions ,
Tax Reform ,
UBTI