Will the lame-duck Congress revive expired tax breaks for 2014?

With the midterm elections now behind us and control of the U.S. Senate set to shift parties in January, it’s time to revisit the valuable tax breaks that expired at the end of 2013. Will the lame-duck 113th Congress revive any of them for 2014? Or will nothing happen until the 114th Congress goes into session after the new year begins?

Here are some of the breaks in question:

• The deduction for state and local sales taxes in lieu of state and localincome taxes,
• Tax-free IRA distributions to charities,
• 100% bonus depreciation,
• Enhanced Section 179 expensing,
• Accelerated depreciation for qualified leasehold improvement, restaurant and retail improvement property,
• The research tax credit,
• The Work Opportunity tax credit, and
• Various energy-related tax incentives.

For you to benefit on your 2014 tax return from any breaks that are revived, you might need to take additional action by Dec. 31. So it’s a good idea to consider what you’d need to do so you can act quickly if applicable breaks are indeed revived. If you have questions about what you can do to prepare, please contact us.