Washington Lawmakers Pass a 9.9% Tax on Income Above $1 Million
A new law would end Washington's status as an income-tax-free state for top earners starting in 2028, layering a 9.9% levy on top of the state's existing capital gains tax.
WA
Coverage
News
Bessent's 210-Day Term as Acting IRS Commissioner Lapses in the Middle of Filing Season
Senate Democrats say the Vacancies Act clock ran out March 6 with no nominee, leaving the IRS without a Senate-confirmed leader as complex filers wait on guidance and service.
SENATE
Treasury Proposes Erasing 2025 Disclosure Rules for Partnership Basis-Shifting Deals
A new proposal would remove the transaction-of-interest reporting regime for related-party partnership basis adjustments and let participants treat it as if it never took effect.
Federal Register (IRS)
Trump Accounts Rules Proposed: Form 4547 Opens Accounts and Claims the $1,000 Deposit
Two sets of proposed IRS regulations explain who can open a child's Trump Account, how parents claim the $1,000 Treasury contribution and what families should know before deposits begin July 4, 2026.
IRS
IRS Warns Investors of Fake Capital Gains Refund Claims on Form 2439
The 2026 Dirty Dozen list flags fabricated undistributed capital gains credits and AI-enhanced impersonation calls, both aimed at taxpayers with investment income.
IRS
First Crypto 1099-DAs Show Proceeds Without Basis as IRS Proposes Paperless Delivery
Brokers' first Forms 1099-DA report only gross proceeds for 2025 sales, leaving investors to prove their own cost basis, while Treasury proposes letting brokers deliver the forms electronically.
IRS
IRS Sets 2026 Depreciation Caps for Business Cars at $20,300 First Year
Revenue Procedure 2026-15 lifts the luxury-auto depreciation ceilings slightly for 2026, but the bigger number for owners buying a heavy SUV is the separate $32,000 Section 179 limit paired with full bonus depreciation.
Journal of Accountancy
Stripe's $159 Billion Tender Offer Gives Employees Liquidity, and a Tax Bill
Stripe's latest employee share sale values the payments company at $159 billion, and the tax treatment of the proceeds depends on how each employee's shares were granted.
stripe.com
Tax Court Disallows $714 Million Partnership Basis Deduction in Otay Project
A memorandum decision in Otay Project LP v. Commissioner shows how the IRS unwinds a partnership basis step-up it views as engineered mainly for tax deferral.
U.S. Tax Court
IRS Notice 2026-16 Opens 100% Expensing for Factories, Farms and Refineries
The February 20 guidance defines which manufacturing, agricultural and refining buildings qualify for an immediate write-off, sets tight construction and placed-in-service windows, and flags a 10-year recapture trap.
IRS
Supreme Court Strikes Down IEEPA Tariffs, Opening a $175 Billion Refund Question
The February 20 ruling found the emergency-powers law never authorized import tariffs, voiding two rounds of duties and setting off refund claims that Penn Wharton estimates could reach $175 billion.
budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu
Washington Senate Votes to Cut Estate Tax Rate From 35% Back to 20%
A bipartisan 38-11 vote sends a bill undoing last year's rate increase toward the House, with the lower rate applying only to deaths on or after July 1, 2026.
WA
Anthropic's $350 Billion Tender Offer: The Tax Math of Selling vs. Holding
Anthropic told employees it would let them cash out stock at a $350 billion valuation, and for many the decision to sell now or wait for an IPO turns on capital gains timing, QSBS and California's tax code.
Bloomberg
SpaceX Buys xAI in a $1.25 Trillion All-Stock Deal: The Tax Rules Behind It
Elon Musk combined SpaceX and xAI in the largest all-stock merger on record, and for employees holding xAI shares and options, the tax bill turns almost entirely on one word: stock.
Fortune
IRS Overtime FAQs Limit the New Deduction to the FLSA Premium, With Phaseouts Above $150,000
Treasury's answers make clear that salaried exempt professionals get nothing and that only the half in time-and-a-half counts, though some affluent households may still claim it through a spouse or relative.
IRS
Fifth Circuit Rejects IRS Test for Limited Partners' Self-Employment Tax
A Fifth Circuit ruling says state-law limited partners can skip self-employment tax on their share of the business even if they help run it, reversing an IRS test used in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
currentfederaltaxdevelopments.com
IRS Rewrites Model 401(k) Rollover Notices for SECURE 2.0 in Notice 2026-13
The model 402(f) explanations plans give departing employees now cover new penalty exceptions, a $7,000 cashout limit, RMD ages 73 and 75, and the end of RMDs for plan Roth accounts.
IRS
IRS Notice 2026-11 Sets Rules for Permanent 100% Bonus Depreciation on Property Bought After Jan. 19, 2025
The interim guidance explains when property counts as acquired, how the 40% election works and what taxpayers may rely on, a roadmap for real estate owners weighing cost-segregation studies.
IRS
Trump Moves to Bar Large Institutional Investors From Buying Single-Family Homes
A January 7 announcement sent single-family rental stocks down about 10% intraday; the follow-up executive order limits federal support for big buyers but leaves the key definitions to Treasury.
WHITEHOUSE
Discord Files Confidentially for an IPO: A Tax Checklist for Its Employees
With a listing possibly landing by March 2026, Discord employees holding RSUs and options face withholding, AMT and lockup decisions that are easier to manage before shares start trading.
Bloomberg
IRS Proposes Rules for the $10,000 Car Loan Interest Deduction, and Most High Earners Are Phased Out
Treasury's proposed regulations define which US-assembled vehicles and loans qualify and create new lender reporting, but the benefit fades above $100,000 of income, or $200,000 for joint filers.
IRS
Larry Page and Peter Thiel Weigh Leaving California Ahead of a Proposed 5% Billionaire Tax
A union-backed ballot initiative would tax people who lived in California on January 1, 2026, which is why moves being discussed now, in the last days of 2025, matter more than any vote next November.
Fortune
IRS Proposes a Six-Year, 20% Penalty Framework for Its Voluntary Disclosure Practice
Taxpayers with unreported income or offshore accounts would get a fixed penalty menu and three months to file and pay in full under the proposal, now open for public comment until March 22, 2026.
IRS
Medline's $6.26 Billion IPO, the Year's Largest, Spotlights the RSU Withholding Gap
The private-equity-backed supplier jumped 41% in its Nasdaq debut. For employees of companies that list, stock settling at a public price often comes with a tax bill larger than what payroll withholds.
CNBC