Minnesota and Federal Tax Code Conformity

This year when I stopped in at my accountant to pick up our tax forms I was quite surprised at the cost. It was exactly double what it was last year! There was a note on the bill saying that because the Minnesota Tax Code was so different than the Federal Code, it took a lot more time to do the taxes this year! When I was at the State FFA Convention I saw Minnesota Commissioner of Agriculture Thom Peterson and asked if there was a chance this could be fixed this Legislative Session.

Remember there were provisions in the Omnibus Bill the last session that addressed the differences between the Federal and Minnesota Tax codes. It was passed in the House and Senate but Governor Dayton vetoed the bill. There were other parts of the bill Governor Dayton did not agree with so the entire bill was vetoed.

Commissioner Peterson said he thought there was a very good chance Minnesota's tax code would  be changed this session to conform to the Federal Code. This morning I read that the Minnesota House approved their tax bill and it includes full federal conformity on Section 178 capital equipment expensing. The Senate Taxes Committee has approved their tax bill and will be considered by the full Senate soon.

The Senate tax bill also includes full federal conformity on section 179 making it retroactive to 2018 and allows full deduction for the tax year property was put in service. It is encouraging the Senate version is similar to the House provision on Section 179 and the Governor's budget. So, lets hope we get conformity in the tax codes this session. It does make you wonder why it could not have been "fixed" last year?