Businesses usually want to delay recognition of taxable income into future years and accelerate deductions into the current year. But when is it wise to do the opposite? And why would you want to?
Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines that apply to businesses and other employers during the second 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.
If you operate a business, or you’re starting a new one, you know records of income and expenses need to be kept. Specifically, you should carefully record expenses to claim all the tax deductions to which you’re entitled. And you want to make sure you can defend the amounts reported on your tax returns in case you’re ever audited by the IRS.
It is generally a best practice for businesses to maximize current year depreciation write-offs for newly acquired assets. Two federal tax breaks can be a big help in achieving this goal—the first-year Section 179 depreciation deduction, and the first-year bonus depreciation deduction. These two deductions can potentially allow businesses to write off some or all of their qualifying asset expenses in Year 1. However, they’re moving targets due to annual inflation adjustments and tax law changes that phase out bonus depreciation. With that in mind, here’s how to coordinate these write-offs for optimal tax-saving results.
The qualified business income (QBI) deduction is available to eligible businesses through 2025. After that, it’s scheduled to disappear. If you’re eligible, you may want to make the most of the deduction while it’s still on the books - it can potentially be a big tax saver.
The credit for increasing research activities, often referred to as the research and development (R&D) credit, is a valuable tax break available to certain eligible small businesses. Claiming the credit involves complex calculations, which we’ll take care of for you.
As of January 1, 2024, the federal lifetime gift and estate tax exemption amount has increased to $13.61 million per person (up from $12.92 million in 2023). This means that individuals may now transfer up to $13.61 million - tax-free - during their lifetime or at death. Married couples may now transfer up to $27.22 million with proper estate planning.
The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) was introduced during the pandemic, when COVID-19 temporarily closed many businesses. The credit provided cash that helped enable struggling businesses to retain employees. Although the ERTC expired for most employers at the end of the third quarter of 2021, it could still be claimed on amended returns after that.
Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the first quarter of 2024. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. If you have questions about filing requirements, contact us. We can ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines.
The United States has taxed the estates of decedents since 1916, and gifts since 1924, with tax rates and exemption levels that have varied greatly over the last two decades.
