Incredibly 2024 is a mere 45 days from being over. I’m not exactly sure how that happened but the calendar tells me it’s so.

At Woods & Associates this time of year is busy with tax projections and planning reviews. If you would like to determine if your tax liabilities can be managed for 2024 please let us know. Sometimes there are ways to mitigate increased tax burdens. Other times, not a ton can be done to reduce tax liabilities but just knowing what to expect when filing in the spring holds tremendous value.

In addition, we are planning for our staff’s work load for 2025. Part of that planning includes obtaining client engagement agreements with all who wish to continue working with us. These engagement agreements help us plan our staffing and capacity needs, particularly in the busiest time of year for our staff. Look for those agreements to be disseminated to all clients by the end of November. Failure to execute an engagement agreement may lead us to not being able to continue working with you.

A common theme among questions I get it is: “What is next in the tax landscape?”. Unfortunately my answer isn’t particularly helpful…”I really have no idea”.

What I do know is that the current TCJA signed into law on January 1, 2018 is set to sunset on 12/31/25. Basically without legislative initiative the tax landscape reverts to the one in place prior to the passage and execution of that bill in calendar 2026.

But if forced to read a crystal ball here are some of the items I EXPECT to happen:

  • Effort will be put forth to extend the TCJA and perhaps make some of the key components permanent
  • There will likely be some push to expand components of the TCJA (for example expansion of SALT deduction)
  • While there will be a lot of talk and political maneuvering the final bill or bills will be delayed and delayed and then hurried through late in the year. Just the nature of the beast.
  • All the discussion of overtime pay and/or tips not being taxed will ultimately be shelved

Beyond that I don’t have a ton of expectation or insight. I suspect there will be some curveball in the the final tax legislation debated. The question is what that curveball will be and how likely it is to be passed.

In the meantime, please reach out if you want to get a handle on 2024 taxes so you aren’t hit with a surprise in the spring.