What does California SB 261 require for climate-related financial risk reporting? California’s SB 261 (Public Resources Code §38533, the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act, as amended by SB 219) requires U.S. companies with annual revenues over $500 million doing business in California to publish a biennial climate-related financial risk report. The first report is due January…
Who qualifies for the No Tax on Tips deduction under the final regulations? The Treasury and IRS issued final regulations on April 10, 2026 (IR-2026-49) implementing the “No Tax on Tips” deduction under the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). Workers in 70+ occupations on the Treasury Tipped Occupation Code (TTOC) list can deduct qualified…
How do California companies collect Scope 3 supplier emissions data for SB 253? California’s SB 253 requires companies with over $1 billion in U.S. revenue doing business in California to disclose Scope 1, 2, AND 3 greenhouse gas emissions — with Scope 3 disclosure due January 1, 2027 (based on 2026 fiscal year data). Because…
What’s the latest status on California’s CARB SB 253 enforcement timeline and SB 261 court injunction? The California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved its SB 253 / SB 261 implementing regulation on February 26, 2026, setting an initial Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG reporting deadline of August 10, 2026 for SB 253. A November…
What does ASU 2023-05 require for joint venture formation accounting? Under FASB Accounting Standards Update 2023-05, joint ventures must record assets received and liabilities assumed at fair value at the formation date — adopting a new basis of accounting on day one. The guidance is in new Subtopic 805-60 and is effective prospectively for any…
What are California climate disclosure laws SB 253 and SB 261 — and who must comply in 2026? California’s Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253) requires companies with annual revenue above $1 billion that do business in California to disclose Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions. SB 261 (Climate-Related Financial Risk Act)…
How does a Pooled Employer Plan (PEP) compare to a state-mandated auto-IRA? A Pooled Employer Plan is a multi-employer 401(k) structure that satisfies state retirement mandates while offering meaningful advantages over state-sponsored auto-IRAs: $24,500 contribution limit (vs. $7,500 IRA), employer matching, institutional-quality investments, and fiduciary shift to the Pooled Plan Provider. For most small employers,…
What did the FASB decide on equity method targeted improvements at the May 13, 2026 Board meeting? The FASB tentatively decided to apply a single “significant influence” threshold for the equity method regardless of entity type, remove the 20% presumption, broaden the board-of-directors indicator to functionally-equivalent governing bodies, and require general-partner significant-influence treatment for noncontrolling…
What are the construction revenue recognition methods and when does each apply? Construction contractors choose between the percentage of completion method (PCM) — recognizing revenue proportionally as work progresses — and the completed contract method (CCM) — deferring all revenue until substantial completion. PCM is mandatory for long-term contracts held by companies with average annual…
What does IRS Notice 2026-34 require for defined benefit pre-approved plan Cycle 4 submissions? Notice 2026-34 publishes the 2026 Cumulative List of plan qualification changes that providers must reflect in defined benefit qualified pre-approved plan documents submitted for the fourth remedial amendment cycle (Cycle 4) — submission window August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027…
What are the federal student loan caps 2026 effective July 1? The Department of Education’s final rule eliminates unlimited borrowing under the Graduate PLUS Program effective July 1, 2026. Eleven designated “professional” degrees (law, medicine, dentistry, etc.) face $50K annual / $200K aggregate caps. All other graduate fields — including accounting, engineering, and nursing —…
How can I tell if an IRS letter is real or a scam in 2026? The IRS’s paper-check phase-out has triggered an unprecedented wave of legitimate letters asking taxpayers for bank account information — which looks suspiciously like a scam. Always verify by logging into your IRS online account at IRS.gov, where every real notice…
What does cannabis Schedule III rescheduling mean for IRC Section 280E? The DOJ and DEA’s April 23, 2026 order rescheduling medical cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III removes it from § 280E’s deduction prohibition — potentially cutting cannabis operators’ effective tax burden from 50-60% of operating income to closer to normal corporate rates, and…
Which states are pushing state wealth tax 2026 proposals on millionaires and billionaires? At least a dozen states — including California, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, and Virginia — have advanced new tax proposals targeting the wealthiest taxpayers in 2026. Mechanisms range from one-time billionaire net-worth levies (California ballot) to pied-à-terre property taxes (NYC),…
What is the IRS conservation easement settlement opportunity announced in 2026? Per IR-2026-63 (May 6, 2026), the IRS updated its Conservation Easement site with expanded warnings on abusive transactions and recent court decisions, and announced a forthcoming time-limited settlement program — letting eligible partnerships resolve disputed federal tax consequences with certainty before pursuing litigation. If…
What is the IPA tariff refund CAPE system and how do importers claim refunds? Following the Supreme Court’s invalidation of IEEPA-based tariffs, CBP launched the CAPE refund mechanism on April 20, 2026 — a new submission system within the ACE environment for recovering an estimated $166 billion collected between April 2025 and February 2026 across…
What is the SEC’s proposed semiannual reporting framework? On May 5, 2026 the SEC proposed rules allowing public companies to opt into semiannual reporting via a new Form 10-S — replacing three Form 10-Q filings per year with one mid-year report. Quarterly remains the default; semiannual is an annual opt-in election made on the cover…
What does Rev. Proc. 2026-21 change about IRS letter rulings on corporate transactions? Rev. Proc. 2026-21 establishes a new letter ruling program under the Associate Chief Counsel (Corporate) — modifying Rev. Proc. 2026-1 and 2026-3 to expand the scope of significant-issue and transactional rulings available for §§ 332, 351, 355, 368, and 1036 reorganizations, while…
What are the most important state tax updates from May 8, 2026? A California appellate court rejected the FTB’s “unitary business” theory against a Texas-based remote contractor, Maryland enacted OBBBA decoupling and PTET changes via the BRFA of 2026, New York’s appellate court affirmed Article 9-A’s P.L. 86-272 internet activity rule, Massachusetts addressed penny-shortage rounding…
What are the most important international tax updates from May 8, 2026? Deloitte World Tax Advisor highlights ten cross-border developments — most notably the OECD’s Global Minimum Tax Implementation Toolkit, Korea’s Pillar Two filing notices to over 10,000 entities for the May–June 2026 first filing season, and New Zealand’s compliance simplification act — alongside Australia,…
What is a Section 127 educational assistance program and how much can employers provide tax-free? Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code allows employers to exclude up to $5,250 per calendar year per employee from gross income for educational assistance — covering tuition, fees, books, supplies, and (through December 31, 2025, unless extended) qualified student…
Why use the IRS Withholding Estimator OBBBA update for mid-year tax planning? The IRS Tax Withholding Estimator now reflects all the new OBBBA deductions and credits — tipped income, overtime pay, car loan interest, enhanced senior deduction, plus updated family, homeownership, and charitable giving items — making mid-year withholding adjustments essential to avoid surprise balance-due…
What is the new wagering losses 90% limitation under OBBBA? Section 70114(a) of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act amended IRC Section 165(d) to limit the deduction of wagering losses to 90% of the amount lost during the year — and only to the extent of wagering gains. Treasury’s proposed regulations (REG-113229-25) implement this change…
What were the major Capitol Hill tax developments the week of May 1, 2026? The House Ways and Means Committee held a hospital-CEO hearing on healthcare costs and OBBBA impact, the House passed the FY2026 budget resolution 215-211 to launch border-security reconciliation, the chamber approved tax administration and relief bills with strong bipartisan margins, and…
What are the most important state tax updates for May 2026? Deloitte’s State Tax Matters (Issue 2026-17) highlights five income/franchise developments — California’s agribusiness three-factor apportionment ruling, Idaho’s Supreme Court fiscal-year tax rate decision, Illinois’s intercompany interest addback, Kansas’s GILTI deletion, and Kentucky’s IRC §174A modifications — plus key sales/use updates. For multistate tax teams…
What is the new ERC disallowance Form 907 extension process? The IRS announced on April 27, 2026 (IR-2026-58) a streamlined way for taxpayers facing the 2-year refund-suit deadline after an Employee Retention Credit disallowance (Letter 105-C or 106-C) to submit Form 907 via the IRS Document Upload Tool — extending administrative review time and preserving…
What are the California PTE elective tax 2026 deadlines and SB 132 changes? Qualified entities must make the PTE elective tax initial payment by June 15, 2026 — the greater of 50% of last year’s elective tax or $1,000 — or face a 12.5% reduction in PTE credit allocated to consenting partners under Senate Bill…
What are the most important international tax updates for May 2026? Deloitte’s World Tax Advisor (1 May 2026) highlights nine cross-border developments — including Australia’s revised transfer pricing for inbound distributors, Kuwait’s exemption from the 5% retention rule for Pillar Two MNEs, a UK Court of Appeal ruling on a treaty main purpose test, and…
What is the qualified opportunity zone designation process for 2027? Rev. Proc. 2026-14 sets the procedure for State CEOs to nominate census tracts as QOZs effective January 1, 2027 — implementing the OBBBA’s overhaul of Sections 1400Z-1 and 1400Z-2, which now includes a new Qualified Rural Opportunity Fund (QROF) category and a flexible “applicable start…
What is ASU 2023-09 and how are companies handling the new income tax disclosures in their first year? ASU 2023-09 requires public business entities to disclose an eight-category income tax rate reconciliation in both percentages and dollar amounts, plus jurisdictional disaggregation by state and country — and Fortune 500 first-year adoption shows California and Canada…
