Well, the tax extenders were signed into tax law for 2014. Everyone who wants expanded section 179 depreciation for their business is breathing a sigh of relief. But not so fast! It is now January, 2015 and those 2014 extenders have expired again. If not extended by the end of the year, section 179 depreciation write off reduces back from $500,000 to $25,000. That could be a big tax increase for many small businesses who purchase assets to grow their businesses. Are there other tax credits and deductions that would make it profitable to purchase these expensive assets? There are a couple other items that generate tax savings: 1. Fifty percent bonus depreciation – another acceleration of normal depreciation, it can allow you to expense half of a purchase of a new asset (but this also expired at the end of 2014 and will have to be renewed.) 2. Research and Experimentation Credit – 20% of certain R & D costs are allowed to be taken as tax credit (but this also expired at the end of 2014 and will have to be renewed.) However, the most important thing to remember is that tax savings are only one component in [...]
Burbank CPA Tax Musings: Senators Unveil Bill to Regulate Tax Preparers
Well the Senate is finally acting! Two Senators on the finance committee are introducing legislation to give the IRS authority to regulate tax preparers. The federal courts in the Loving case had determined that the IRS lacked this authority under current law. See the breakdown in the following article by Michael Cohn in Accounting Today: http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/government-news/senators-unveil-bill-to-regulate-tax-preparers-73270-1.html?utm_campaign=daily-jan%209%202015&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&ET=webcpa%3Ae3623068%3A2498807a%3A&st=email This is obviously only the first step in a long path to get the IRS authority to regulate tax preparers. Hopefully if they get this authority they will not abuse it by forcing a lot of unnecessary purchases on preparers to fund the program (who am I kidding?) For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa
Burbank CPA Musings: Remember that Medicare Surtaxes Increase Taxes for Many
Let’s rewind to the 2013 tax filing season – the two medicare taxes were causing lots of higher income people to pay more in taxes and everyone was getting surprised by this (even though tax preparers were warning about this for months before.) Well, guess what? The tax is still here this year and going to cause people the same problems as last year. See this in Accounting Web by Julian Block for the details: http://www.accountingweb.com/article/friendly-reminder-medicare-surtaxes-increase-taxes-many/224233 This will not be going away for some time (but if the administration changes, anything is possible.) For financial, accounting and tax musings, You can count on us to count for you! Email: bstonercpa@sbcglobal.net Phone: 818-317-6035 Website: www.briantstonercpa.com Android and the IPhone: Has been Featured On https://twitter.com/bstonercpa