Treasury, IRS Issue Additional Guidance on the Alternative Vehicle Refueling Property Credit

As reported via IR-2024-240 on 9/18/2024 The Department of Treasury and Internal Revenue Service issued proposed regulations to provide guidance for the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (the tax credit related to the installation of EV chargers). The Inflation Reduction Act amended the credit for qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property. The changes apply to qualified alternative fuel vehicle refueling property placed in service after 12/31/2022, and before 01/01/2033. Business vs Non-Business Property Property Subject to Depreciation The credit amount for property not subject to depreciation is 30% of the cost of the qualified property placed in service during the tax year.  The credit is limited to $1,000 per item of non-depreciable property Property Not Subject to Depreciation The credit amount for depreciable property is 6% of the cost of the...

Make Year-End Tax Planning Moves Before It's Too Late!

With the arrival of fall, it’s an ideal time to begin implementing strategies that could reduce your tax burden for both this year and next. One of the first planning steps is to ascertain whether you’ll take the standard deduction or itemize deductions for 2024. You may not itemize because of the high 2024 standard deduction amounts ($29,200 for joint filers, $14,600 for singles and married couples filing separately, and $21,900 for heads of household). Also, many itemized deductions have been reduced or suspended under current law. If you do itemize, you can deduct medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI), state and local taxes up to $10,000, charitable contributions, and mortgage interest on a restricted amount of debt, but these deductions won’t save...

2024 Q4 Tax Calendar: Key Deadlines for Businesses and Other Employers

Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the fourth quarter of 2024. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. Contact us to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines and to learn more about the filing requirements. Note: Certain tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines may be postponed for taxpayers who reside in or have a business in a federally declared disaster area. Tuesday, October 1 The last day you can initially set up a SIMPLE IRA plan, provided you (or any predecessor employer) didn’t previously maintain a SIMPLE IRA plan. If you’re a new employer that comes into existence after October 1 of the year, you can establish a SIMPLE IRA plan...

How Cybersecurity and Physical Security Go Hand in Hand

Protecting your small business from theft is far more complex than it used to be. Gone are the days when locking the doors was enough to minimize the likelihood of intruders. Today, companies face both physical and cyber risks, and it’s critical to understand how they’re intertwined. The problem with things Imagine that a thief breaks into one of your employee’s cars and steals a company laptop that contains your entire customer database. Here, physical theft can grant access to digital assets. Among the possibilities are that the crook: Is working for a competitor who’s looking for an unfair advantage, Will use the customer information to commit identity theft, or Might share the data with other criminals on the dark web. Or consider the risks involved with the...

Is Your Home Office a Tax Haven? Here are the Rules for Deductions

Working from home has become increasingly common. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that about one out of five workers conducts business from home for pay. The numbers are even higher in certain occupational groups. About one in three people in management, professional and related occupations works from home. Your status matters If you work from a home office, you probably want to know: Can I get a tax deduction for the related expenses? It depends on whether you’re employed or in business for yourself. Business owners working from home or entrepreneurs with home-based side gigs may qualify for valuable home office deductions. Conversely, employees can’t deduct home office expenses under current federal tax law. To qualify for a deduction, you must use at least part of...

Help Ensure Your Partnership or LLC Complies with Tax Law

When drafting partnership and LLC operating agreements, various tax issues must be addressed. This is also true of multi-member LLCs that are treated as partnerships for tax purposes. Here are some critical issues to include in your agreement so your business remains in compliance with federal tax law. Identify and describe guaranteed payments to partners For income tax purposes, a guaranteed payment is one made by a partnership that’s: 1) to the partner acting in the capacity of a partner, 2) in exchange for services performed for the partnership or for the use of capital by the partnership, and 3) not dependent on partnership income. Because special income tax rules apply to guaranteed payments, they should be identified and described in a partnership agreement. For instance: The partnership generally deducts guaranteed...

What Drives Value for Manufacturing Companies?

Manufacturers are as varied as the products they make. They come in different sizes and specialties. So no universal formula applies when determining their value. Instead, a business valuator must fully understand the subject company’s operations to arrive at an accurate value conclusion. Here’s a closer look at seven factors that affect value in the manufacturing sector: 1. Financial performance. Regardless of the subject company’s industry, value is largely driven by financial health and stability. Income statements provide insights into historical revenue trends, profit margins and cost structures. Valuators also analyze balance sheets and cash flow statements. Key metrics that are considered include liquidity ratios, debt levels, and sources and uses of operating cash flows. A strong financial position may demonstrate that a company invests in growth...

The $7,500 Federal Tax Credit for Buying an Electric Vehicle at a Glance

Electric vehicles (EVs) have become increasingly popular. According to Kelly Blue Book estimates, the EV share of the vehicle market in the U.S. was 7.6% in 2023, up from 5.9% in 2022. To incentivize the purchase of EVs, there’s a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 for eligible vehicles. The tax break for EVs and fuel cell vehicles is called the Clean Vehicle Tax Credit. The current version of the credit was created under the Inflation Reduction Act. Here are answers to some frequently asked questions. Which vehicles qualify for the credit? To qualify for the full $7,500, there are several requirements. For example: The vehicle must be a new plug-in electric or fuel cell vehicle. It must have a battery capacity of at least seven kilowatt...

It's Time for your Small Business to Think About Year-End Tax Planning

With Labor Day in the rearview mirror, it’s time to take proactive steps that may help lower your small business’s taxes for this year and next. The strategy of deferring income and accelerating deductions to minimize taxes can be effective for most businesses, as is the approach of bunching deductible expenses into this year or next to maximize their tax value. Do you expect to be in a higher tax bracket next year? If so, then opposite strategies may produce better results. For example, you could pull income into 2024 to be taxed at lower rates, and defer deductible expenses until 2025, when they can be claimed to offset higher-taxed income. Here are some other ideas that may help you save tax dollars if you act soon. Estimated...

Fraud Disasters Require a Contingency Plan Too

Your business probably has a disaster plan — or a set of procedures for dealing with a fire, natural disaster, terrorist attack or other emergency that could disrupt operations and threaten lives. Although a fraud contingency plan probably isn’t as critical, it’s still important for most companies to have one. Here’s how to draft and put a fraud contingency plan in place. Where are your weaknesses? Start by meeting with your senior management team and financial advisors to devise as many fraud scenarios as you can dream up. Consider how your internal controls could be breached — whether the perpetrator is a relatively new hire, an experienced department manager, a high-ranking executive or an outside party. Next, decide which scenarios are most likely to occur given such factors...