TaxPlace is LIVE!

After months of preparation, we are excited to announce that TaxPlace is live and ready for subscribers! Check it out here! TaxPlace offers a broad selection of fresh content that will continually include new webinars, seminars, and articles. For a limited time, we are offering a one-year TaxPlace subscription for the low introductory rate of $150. This subscription entitles you and your staff to one calendar year of unlimited access to all TaxPlace materials and services, including:

• A searchable database of timely articles and seminar materials explaining basic, new, and complex tax issues, with a particular emphasis on issues impacting farmers, ranchers, and ag-businesses.
• Unlimited replays of recorded seminars and webinars addressing timely and challenging farm tax and estate and business planning concepts.
• Access to “Ask a Question,” a personal connection with a professional knowledgeable in farm tax requirements. (“Ask a question” is not a gateway for legal advice and does not substitute for services from a legal or accounting professional.)
• Tables, charts, explanations of procedures and forms, and contact information to simplify your interaction with the Internal Revenue Service or state tax departments.
• Access to a weekly blog offering timely advice to practitioners and full access to future archives of “the Scoop,” a bi-monthly live webinar addressing new tax laws and procedures as they develop and providing attendees with an opportunity to ask questions.

Why is TaxPlace a subscription service?

Although CALT is part of Iowa State University, our work is wholly supported by the money we bring in through seminars and donations. We are excited to offer this new service to tax professionals, but must be able to cover the extra costs associated with its creation and maintenance. We have attempted to keep the price for this new service as low as possible, and we look forward to continuing to expand its offerings.

What will happen to the CALT Website?

Absolutely nothing. The CALT website will continue to offer important legal articles, case summaries, and other materials related to agricultural law and taxation. We will continue to offer this material without charge. TaxPlace goes the next step to bring content we've never offered to an audience that can apply it directly to their business. Tax professionals and business planners, especially those dealing with farming issues, can now view our seminar and webinar replays in the comfort of their offices or homes at any time they choose. They can also access seminar materials, articles, and booklets that have in the past been offered for purchase on a per-item basis.

Corporate-Provided Meals and Lodging

This is a sample of the types of articles available on TaxPlace. We are offering it today to our newsletter subscribers free of charge.

Overview

Meals and lodging furnished in-kind to an employee (including the employee’s spouse and children) for the convenience of the employer on the employer’s business premises are excluded from the employee’s gross income and are deductible by the employer (as a non-cash fringe benefit) if they are provided in-kind. From the employer’s perspective, meals and lodging provided to employees are not considered to be compensation.  They are deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense. With respect to employer-provided lodging, the employee must accept the lodging as a condition of employment. In addition to being excluded from income, the value of meals and lodging furnished for the employer’s convenience is not wages for FICA and FUTA purposes.

This article examines the details of the exclusion. Read the full article.