The IRS has broken the deductibility of meals and entertainment down into multiple categories. Some expenses are fully deductible and while others are not deductible at all. Learn more about the expense categories we would like you to maintain in your books so we can properly report your meals and entertainment expense.
Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) was implemented by Congress under the Obama administration as a funding mechanism to pay for the Affordable Care Act. The 3.8% tax is assessed on the income from invested assets when the household income exceeds certain thresholds. But there are ways to reduce your exposure to this tax.
We all know the value of finding a diamond in the rough! Opportunity Zones are the real estate investment equivalent of that diamond in the rough. Created as part of the Trump tax cuts in 2017, Opportunity Zones are 8,700 plus geographic tax havens in all 50 states. The Zones are designated to attract new real estate investment capital to improve and revitalize distressed areas. Some of these areas are a bit rough but you will find many great areas where lawmakers want to encourage growth. Significant tax incentives are offered to real estate investors to entice fresh capital into projects in these areas. If you are engaged in new real estate investment activities where significant dollars are going to be deployed for the building or improvement of the property, visit the interactive map at HUD.gov to see if your proposed property is eligible for the tax incentives we are talking about today.
Contractors or businesses with long-term revenue sources can use a Work-in-Progress to properly align revenue with the costs associated with revenue production. In this video, we are going to accomplish two things. First, we want you to know exactly how to calculate your percentage of completion and your over/under billings and second, we want to share the main pitfalls and solutions contractors have in preparing an accurate job schedule.
If all of the following are true about your circumstances, please watch our video to learn more about a great way to increase tax deductions during your most expensive tax years
Many companies consider the services of a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) to gain additional assistance in human resources functions and benefits. Many PEOs charge 1-2% of wages through fees and higher worker’s compensation and state unemployment taxes. ADP is a great resource to consider for a competitive quote from a national provider with great technology!
Under certain circumstances, business owners can deduct 20% of their business income. There are industry and income limitations to this valuable deduction. Where possible, our fall tax planning focuses on ways to ensure you are eligible. Learn more about what the limitations of this big deduction.
We installed this inexpensive box on each of our building’s electrical panels. Our power usage dropped by nearly 50% immediately after the Box was turned on. Learn more about this great tool in time for using it as a great tax deduction for this year.
Research and Development Tax Credits are lucrative and are available to many business owners that don’t claim them. Find out more about eligibility for R&D Tax Credits.
Generally, our guidance to our clients is to form one or more trusts to hold most or all of their assets. Consider the benefits of a revocable and irrevocable trusts. Clients with a net worth over $5 million (single) or $10 million (married) often have both kinds of trusts.
Taxation of business income varies depending on the organization structure. Differences between LLC’s taxed as a partnership vs. corporations or LLCs that have made an election to be treated by the IRS as an S-Corp exist. One primary difference is how self-employment taxes, often called payroll taxes, are assessed on company profits. Find out more the differences in self-employment taxes assessed on owners of entities taxed as a partnership vs. an S-Corp.
Mandated state retirement plans are becoming more popular in democratic-leaning states. 16 states either require them or are considering state mandated retirement plans. As an employer, if you operate in one of these states, it is an administrative nightmare that can cost you significant penalties if you are not handling it correctly. Learn how you can avoid being subject to state mandated retirement plans.
The Trump tax cuts severely limited the deductions available for high-income earning taxpayers that pay substantial state income, sales or property taxes each year. However, many states, including Utah, Arizona and California have passed laws that enable us to help you recapture those valuable tax deductions for state and local tax payments. Watch the video to learn more!
Donating appreciated publicly traded or small business stock is a great tool that does just that – eliminates taxes on income that would otherwise be paid. Watch today to learn about the mechanics of this tax tip!
9 states have no state income tax. When you live more than half of the year in one of these 9 states, you can reduce your total income tax exposure by as much as 25% by eliminating a state tax. As your approach retirement, you may find it to be a prime opportunity to consider tax-free states as a place to call home.
Tax loss harvesting is the timely selling of securities at a loss in order to offset the amount of capital gains tax due on the sale of other securities. If you hold stocks that are currently valued at a loss, learn how selling those stocks may help you reduce your tax this year. You could even repurchase those stocks more than 30 days later if you still want to own those stocks.
Tips are defined as income for those earning them. As an employer, you include tips in the wages that are subject to employer payroll taxes. The tip tax credit is a mechanism to get your employer paid payroll taxes that are associated with employee tips back. This valuable tax credit is available to any employer that employs tip-based employees.
Have you been named as a trustee on someone’s trust? Or perhaps you are in the process of naming trustees for your own trust. Learn what roles a trustee fulfills and what factors should you consider as you name trustees.
Up to 25% of your new hire’s salary can be reimbursed to an employer through federal tax credits when your new hire meets one of 9 classifications designated by the Department of Labor, including:
We have found ADP’s worker’s compensation insurance to be a better bargain compared to your current provider in many circumstances.
We want to highlight why a 1031 Exchange is a big deal. By deferring tax, you keep more of your dollars invested in real estate projects. Similar to a 401(k) plan, your dollars are growing and providing a return to you instead of sitting in the IRS’ bank account. Watch to learn more about the mechanics of a 1031 exchange!
Business owners that also own a primary residence may be eligible for additional tax deductions for renting their home to their business for business meetings up to 14 days a year. The Augusta Rule – named after Internal Revenue Code Section 280(A) that allows a homeowner to rent their personal residence for up to 14 days a year without claiming the rental income on your tax return. The Augusta rule is named after the famous Master’s tournament held in Augusta, Georgia where 50,000 spectators descend on the community every year to see the world’s best golfers. Homeowners routinely vacate their residences for a few weeks a year to rent their homes out to visitors for top dollar – retaining every dollar of income and paying no income taxes!
If your business does not have an operating agreement or bylaws, you should. These documents establish agreed upon procedures for business partners to address a variety of difficult circumstances they may find themselves in, including death of a partner, divorce, or disagreements between business partners.
f you own income producing real estate, you are likely sitting on a big tax break since the day you bought the property. It is called accelerated depreciation. Consider this. When you buy office supplies, you deduct those costs as a tax-deductible expense. But what happens to the costs associated with buying real estate? Do you get to deduct those costs like paper clips, deducted as an expense in the year you buy it? The IRS says no. You need to spread that big deduction out over decades, creating a steady stream of small tax benefits each year.
Each tax season, we find a number of proposed client charitable donations that do not meet the IRS requirements. Learn about the nuances of claiming a charitable donation on your tax return so you can get the maximum benefit each year.
The IRS gives every taxpayer a free tax breaks off their taxable income based on the chart shown here. Depending on your filing status and the year in question, we are talking about $13-26k of tax breaks even if you don’t home a home or give to charities. Deduction stacking “stacks” two years of these deductions into one year so you can take advantage of the freebie the IRS gives every year. This planning tip is ideal for clients that don’t have a home mortgage or consistently high annual medical bills but who generally contribute generously to charities every year.
Do you have clients you sell products or services to in other states? Even if you have no physical presence in a state but you sell to customers that operate or reside in that state, you may have additional state income and/or sales taxes in that state. Recent changes brought about by the Supreme Court case of South Dakota v. Wayfare have increased your tax compliance in other states. Watch today to learn how.
Education tax credits are limited for married taxpayers that earn less than $180,000 and single taxpayers earning less than $90,000. Many business owners earn too much to qualify for tax credits associated with their children’s education. However, higher earning business owners may have a pathway to facilitate a way to claim these credits. Watch the video to learn more.
The CARES Act and its affiliated laws and IRS regulations established a lucrative tax credit many business owners are eligible to claim. Linked Accounting will do the heavy lifting to determine your eligibility, calculate the credit and file the necessary forms with the IRS. Watch to learn more about the specifics of this tax credit.
As the term suggests, an estate plan consists of advanced planning to name the people or organizations you want to receive the things you own after you die and taking steps now to make carrying out your plan as easy as possible later. Please let us know if you do not have an estate plan. Existing plans should be revisited at least every 5 years to consider changes in your assets and intentions.
In life, it is said you can plan on two things: death and taxes. But what about the perfect storm where death and taxes exist in the same sentence? Today, we are talking about one of my favorite tax tips to reduce your estate’s exposure to the death tax. Did you know that all net worth over $12 million for a single taxpayer or $24 million for a married taxpayer is subject to a death tax equal to 34% to the IRS plus applicable state death taxes, which will vary by state but can add as much as 20% in state taxes due upon death. And did you know those taxable exemptions are due to be cut in half in under 5 years? That means more of your dollars from many more estates will be subject death taxes. So what can we do? Watch our Family Limited Partnership video to learn about one tool!
Does your business fuel equipment that is used for non-highway use? Examples of non-highway fuel use includes heavy equipment and refrigerated trailers. Watch to learn the mechanics of this valuable tax credit that is as good as cash for you and your business.
If you have a high deductible health plan, you should consider seriously fully funding your HAS even if your annual medical costs are minimal. Learn how your HSA can be used to reduce your annual tax exposure and add value to you later in life!
For most taxpayers, the odds of experiencing an audit is under 1%. Learn what categories of taxpayers can increase your chances of an audit – including reporting a loss in your business. Please let us know immediately if the IRS communicates with you about any tax returns we have prepared.
Let us introduce ADP. We partner with ADP on payroll processing, retirement accounts, workers' compensation insurance and many tax credits. Dave Bevan is a superstar in all of these areas. We would encourage you to consider the nation’s payroll processing company to serve these areas for your company.
Businesses that carry and sell inventory may have a tax deduction sitting under the dust on its shelves. Inventory is only deducted when it is sold or written off your books as obsolete inventory. Watch to find out the mechanics of how this potential deduction could work for you.
Businesses that carry and sell inventory may have a tax deduction sitting under the dust on its shelves. Inventory is only deducted when it is sold or written off your books as obsolete inventory. Watch to find out the mechanics of how this potential deduction could work for you.
Generally, our guidance to our clients is to form one or more trusts to hold most or all of their assets. While many factors are considered when recommending an irrevocable trust, any client with a net worth over $5 million (single) and $10 million (married) is a strong candidate.
If you own a business with one or more partners, a Management Company may be a nice compliment to your tax planning toolkit. During our consultations over the last decade, we have found a common theme emerge amongst business partners when it comes to how they handle business expenses that are personal in nature. The Internal Revenue Code states that all expenses that are both necessary and ordinary for a business to operate are deductible. But in most cases, the IRS leaves the costs associated with those business expenses wide open. How do you handle these business justified costs but are more personal in nature when the amounts do not align with ownership percentages? Our video on Management Companies provides a few illustrative examples of how this tax planning tool can help reduce your tax bill!