Under Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code, companies can “expense” the full cost of qualifying fixed assets to reduce their taxable income. This means they can deduct the purchase amount currently rather than having to depreciate the asset over many years. Both new and used fixed assets can qualify. The election is available for qualified property placed in service anytime during the tax year.
Make 2023 Annual Exclusion Gifts by December 31
”One of the most effective estate-tax-saving techniques is also one of the simplest: making use of the gift tax annual exclusion. It allows you to give to an unlimited number of family or friends cash or property valued up to a “specified” amount each year without owing gift tax or using up any of your lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. For 2023, the annual exclusion amount is $17,000.“One of the most effective estate-tax-saving techniques is also one of the simplest: making use of the gift tax annual exclusion. It allows you to give to an unlimited number of family or friends cash or property valued up to a “specified” amount each year without owing gift tax or using up any of your lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. For 2023, the annual exclusion amount is $17,000.
Withdrawing ERC Claims
Halted Employee Retention Credit Claim Withdrawals
Recently, the IRS halted the processing of claims for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) due to a high volume of fraudulent claims. The moratorium is through at least the end of 2023. ERC claims that were already filed are now subject to longer processing, including heightened scrutiny to weed out fraud.
Follow IRS Rules to Nail Down a Charitable Tax Deduction
Donating cash and property to your favorite charity is beneficial to the charity but also to you in the form of a tax deduction if you itemize. However, to be deductible, your donation must meet certain IRS criteria.
New Per Diem Rates for Business Travel
The IRS has announced the per diem rates for ordinary and necessary business travel expenses in the fiscal year 2023-24:
What Exactly Is a “Small Business”?
Although your business may seem big to you, you may wonder how the government classifies it. A recent report by the Joint Committee on Taxation, a nonpartisan committee of the U.S. Congress, discusses what a “small business” is for tax purposes. As the report states, there’s no one definition of a small business. Instead, different definitions apply depending on the context, various criteria, and certain thresholds.
Tax Treatment of Cryptocurrency
Questions surrounding the tax treatment of cryptocurrency are complex. According to recent IRS Revenue Ruling 2023-14, the process of verifying ownership of cryptocurrency is called “ staking.” And when a taxpayer has successfully staked his or her units of cryptocurrency, he or she may also receive “ staking rewards” consisting of additional units.
IRS Guidance on SECURE 2.0 Catch-Up Contribution Changes
In Notice 2023-62, the IRS addressed a technical error in the SECURE 2.0 Act that wouldn’t have allowed catch-up contributions to 401(k)s and similar plans after 2023.
The Home Office Tax Deduction for Small Business
If you’re a small business owner who uses your home for business, you may be eligible to claim the home office deduction, which allows you to deduct certain home expenses on your tax return. The benefit to this, of course, is that it can reduce the amount of your taxable income.
What To Know About Keeping Good Tax Records
It’s January, and tax season is right around the corner. For many people, that means scrambling to collect receipts, mileage logs, and other tax-related documents needed to prepare their tax returns. If this describes you, chances are, you’re wishing you’d kept on top of it during the year so you could avoid this scenario yet again. With this in mind, here are seven suggestions to help taxpayers like you keep good records throughout the year: