Defer Tax with a Like-Kind Exchange

Do you want to sell commercial or investment real estate that has appreciated significantly? One way to defer a tax bill on the gain is with a §1031 “like-kind” exchange where you exchange the property rather than sell it. With real estate prices up in some markets (and higher resulting tax bills), the like-kind exchange strategy may be attractive. A like-kind exchange is any exchange of real property held for investment or for productive use in your trade or business (relinquished property) for like-kind investment, trade or business real property (replacement property). For these purposes, like-kind is broadly defined, and most real property is considered to be like-kind with other real property. However, neither the relinquished property nor the replacement property can be real property held primarily...

2022 Standard Business Mileage Rate

After two years of no increases, the optional standard mileage rate used to calculate the deductible cost of operating an automobile for business will be going up in 2022 by 2.5 cents per mile. The IRS recently announced that the cents-per-mile rate for the business use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be 58.5 cents (up from 56 cents for 2021). The increased tax deduction partly reflects the price of gasoline. On December 21, 2021, the national average price of a gallon of regular gas was $3.29, compared with $2.22 a year earlier, according to AAA Gas Prices. Don’t want to keep track of actual expenses?  Businesses can generally deduct the actual expenses attributable to business use of vehicles. This includes gas, oil, tires, insurance, repairs,...

2022 Q1 Tax Calendar: Key Deadlines for Businesses

Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the first quarter of 2022. 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. January 17 (The usual deadline of January 15 is a Saturday) Pay the final installment of 2021 estimated tax. Farmers and fishermen: Pay estimated tax for 2021. January 31  File 2021 Forms W-2, “Wage and Tax Statement,” with the Social Security Administration and provide copies to your employees. Provide copies of 2021 Forms 1099-MISC, “Miscellaneous Income,” to recipients of income from your business where required. File 2021 Forms 1099-MISC, reporting nonemployee compensation payments...

Providing a Company Car? Heres How Taxes are Handled

The use of a company vehicle is a valuable fringe benefit for owners and employees of small businesses. This perk results in tax deductions for the employer as well as tax breaks for the owners and employees using the cars. (And of course, they get the non-tax benefit of getting a company car.) Plus, current tax law and IRS rules make the benefit even better than it was in the past. The rules in action Let’s say you’re the owner-employee of a corporation that’s going to provide you with a company car. You need the car to visit customers, meet with vendors and check on suppliers. You expect to drive the car 8,500 miles a year for business. You also expect to use the car for about...

Tax Implications of Owning a Corporate Aircraft

If your business is successful and you do a lot of business travel, you may have considered buying a corporate aircraft. Of course, there are tax and non-tax implications for aircraft ownership. Let’s look at the basic tax rules. Business travel only In most cases, if your company buys a plane used only for business, the company can deduct its entire cost in the year that it’s placed into service. The cases in which the aircraft is ineligible for this immediate write-off are: The few instances in which neither the 100% bonus depreciation rules nor the §179 small business expensing rules apply or When the taxpayer has elected out of 100% bonus depreciation and hasn’t made the election to apply §179 expensing. In those cases, the depreciation schedule...

There May Still Be Time to Cut Your Small Business 2021 Taxes

Don’t let the holiday rush keep you from considering some important steps to reduce your 2021 tax liability. You still have time to execute a few strategies. Purchase assets Thinking about buying new or used equipment, machinery or office equipment in the new year? Buy them and place them in service by December 31, and you can deduct 100% of the cost as bonus depreciation. Contact us for details on the 100% bonus depreciation break and exactly what types of assets qualify. Bonus depreciation is also available for certain building improvements. Before the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), bonus depreciation was available for two types of real property: land improvements other than buildings (for example fencing and parking lots), and “qualified improvement property,” a broad category of...

Infrastructure Law Sunsets Employee Retention Tax Credit Early

The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) was a valuable tax credit that helped employers survive the COVID-19 pandemic. A new law has retroactively terminated it before it was scheduled to end. It now only applies through September 30, 2021 (rather than through December 31, 2021) — unless the employer is a “recovery startup business.” The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA 2021), which was signed by President Biden on November 15, 2021, doesn’t have many tax provisions but this one is important for some businesses. If you anticipated receiving the ERTC based on payroll taxes after September 30 and retained payroll taxes, you must determine how and when to repay those taxes and address any other compliance issues. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)...

Recent FTB Clarifications on Pass-Through Entity Tax (AB-150)

Recent pass-through entity (PTE) tax (AB-150) clarifications from the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) underscore that detailed planning is critical when considering this credit. For an overview of AB-150, also see our initial 8/15/21 post on this subject: "California AB-150 Provides SALT Cap Workaround". PTE Election The election to pay the tax is: made annually, is irrevocable, and can only be made on an original, timely filed return, including extensions   PTE Tax Due Date (2021 Tax Year) For the initial year the PTE tax credit concepts exists (2021) the tax is due by original due date of the 2021 tax year return, without regard to extensions.  For calendar-year taxpayers, that is March 15, 2022. Logistics of PTE Tax Payments / K-1 Recipient Credits Prior to the original due date of the tax...

Showing Appreciation and Gain Tax Breaks with Holiday Business Gifts and Parties

The holiday season will soon be here. At this time of year, your business may want to show its gratitude to employees and customers by giving them gifts or hosting holiday parties again after a year of forgoing them due to the pandemic. It’s a good time to brush up on the tax rules associated with these expenses. Are they tax deductible by your business and is the value taxable to the recipients? Gifts to customers If you give gifts to customers and clients, they’re deductible up to $25 per recipient per year. For purposes of the $25 limit, you don’t need to include “incidental” costs that don’t substantially add to the gift’s value. These costs include engraving, gift wrapping, packaging and shipping. Also excluded from the...

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Business Entity

Are you planning to launch a business or thinking about changing your business entity? If so, you need to determine which entity will work best for you — a C corporation or a pass-through entity such as a sole-proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC) or S corporation. There are many factors to consider and proposed federal tax law changes being considered by Congress may affect your decision. The corporate federal income tax is currently imposed at a flat 21% rate, while the current individual federal income tax rates begin at 10% and go up to 37%. The difference in rates can be mitigated by the qualified business income (QBI) deduction that’s available to eligible pass-through entity owners that are individuals, estates and trusts. Note that non-corporate taxpayers...