A “Rocky” Reform

It shouldn’t come as a coincidence that the recent Farm Tax Update class that @timlbaker and I attended was located in the Rocky Mountains as it is safe to say the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (i.e. Tax Reform) has been “rocky” at best.

The two-day class was located in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, which is about 150 miles west of Denver.  Steamboat Springs is a well-known ski resort community with a population of approximately 10,000, so it was nice to be there during the off season.  The town reminded me a lot of Estes Park which many are familiar with for its popular location, shops, and tourist activities. 

The most popular items coming out of the tax reform were the qualified business income deduction, the increased standard deduction amounts and the elimination of the exemptions deduction, and the new look to the 1040 tax form.  All three of these items have presented challenges to tax practitioners so it was nice to get a perspective from different accountants throughout the country on their difficulties with these items, so our office is grateful for your patience as we have worked through these challenges, and we hope 2019 returns won’t be quite as “rocky”.

Please stay tuned to future blog posts on updates on these items and others as our office personnel attend more continuing education classes and gets educated for the 2019 tax year.