Press Release

Majority of Insurers Not Up to Speed with Additional Tax Reform Guidance

CHICAGO (Dec. 13, 2018) – A flash poll conducted by Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP (Baker Tilly) indicates over 50 percent of insurers do not feel their company is staying up to date with the additional guidance that has been released since the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

“The TCJA presents a lot of gray areas in the U.S. tax code that are often subject to interpretation,” Carrie Small, CPA, MST, partner and leader of Baker Tilly’s insurance tax practice, said. “However, it is important to note that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) indicated they will be reasonable with enforcement of the TCJA as long as tax payers make a good faith effort to comply.”

“There are many items that are being considered for additional guidance, updates or technical corrections needed as a result of tax reform,” Michael Gehr, CPA, MST, senior tax manager with Baker Tilly’s financial services practice, said. “The fact that the IRS has made its top 17 regulation projects in its priority guidance plan all related to tax reform speaks loudly for the amount of uncertainty that was created from the TCJA.”

Baker Tilly recently held an educational webinar, End-of-year tax update for insurance organizations, to assist insurance industry professionals understand the components in the TCJA, the additional guidance that has been released since its enactment and the impact these changes have on insurance organizations.

The webinar presenters discussed:

  • An overview of the key components in the TCJA
  • The additional guidance released since the passage of the TCJA
  • The impact these changes have had on insurance organizations
  • The components that need to be updated in financial statement disclosures

A recording of the webinar is available at bakertilly.com/insights/end-of-year-tax-update-for-insurance-organizations.

About Baker Tilly US, LLP (bakertilly.com)

Baker Tilly US, LLP (Baker Tilly) is a leading advisory, tax and assurance firm whose specialized professionals guide clients through an ever-changing business world, helping them win now and anticipate tomorrow. Headquartered in Chicago, Baker Tilly, and its affiliated entities, have operations in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Baker Tilly is an independent member of Baker Tilly International, a worldwide network of independent accounting and business advisory firms in 145 territories, with 34,700 professionals. The combined worldwide revenue of independent member firms is $3.6 billion. Visit bakertilly.com or join the conversation on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.