Tax Planning

You may have heard that in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), passed in December of 2017, there was a prohibition put in place against entertainment expenses. Historically, there was a deduction allowed of up to 50% of those entertainment expenses that were otherwise an ordinary and necessary business expense. However the TCJA removed…

Today, many retail businesses are running customer loyalty programs that offer customers discounts on future gasoline purchases after they make qualifying purchases. In some cases the discounts are limited to gasoline purchases and customers may end up not using the discount before the expiration date. If your business uses, Generally Accepted Accounting Principals (GAAP), for it’s accounting, you would…

A recent memorandum from the IRS Chief Counsel contained seemingly good news about the taxation of gift cards.  Unfortunately the IRS couldn’t help but leave themselves a backdoor to challenge business operators, on the subject. When a business receives an advanced payment for the sale of goods, the deferral of taxable income, is by the grace…

Does your business provide deferred compensation to key employees, aside from qualified retirement plans? If you providing 401K, SEP, SIMPLE type plans for your employees, those are qualified plans. However what if you simply agree to pay a group of executives, future bonuses for their hard work and commitment? Delaying compensation for key players who…

Qualifying expenses as research for tax purposes is a step toward claiming the Federal Research and Experimentation Credit for your business.  There are a number of criteria to consider when evaluating whether any expenditure qualifies for the credit.  A portion of employee salaries are usually one of the primary costs  that are classified as research.  Can…

If you sell property for a gain, taking a note receivable instead of cash upfront can be a tax deferral opportunity.  The installment method of accounting allows you to report your gain proportionally to the payments received each year.  Thus, you can spread your gain out over the collection period on your note.  Gain on…

I believe in standing out, but not when it comes to your business deductions.  The tax standard for a business is that your deductions should be ordinary and necessary.  That standard can sometimes be subjective and difficult to apply, but when you are paying a related party for service that wasn’t even performed, it’s pretty…