Towards the end of 2014, the Ohio House and Senate finally passed House Bill 5. Governor Kasich has not yet signed the bill as of this writing, although he is expected to do so.

The IRS has increased the standard mileage rate for business purposes, but lowered the rate for medical or moving purposes.

The federal unemployment tax rate for employers increased for the fourth year for 2014 due to an automatic repayment system for states that haven’t repaid their debts.

Just before Christmas, Congress finally passed the “tax extenders” for 2014. These “extenders” refer to a set of about 60 tax incentives that are scheduled to lapse after a certain number of years. We have seen Congress act at the last minute three times in the past: October 2008, December 2010 and January 2013.

Virtually all Ohio small business owners and investors will be eligible for a 75% tax deduction on the first $250,000 of business income when they file their 2014 Ohio tax return. This is an increase from the 50% deduction they took on their 2013 tax returns.

The Internal Revenue Service is being urged to move up its W-2 filing deadline to January 31 and to lower the threshold for requiring electronic filing of W-2 returns in an effort to curb the growing trend of identity theft related tax fraud.