Returning Value Blog

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, 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?

As 2021 draws to a close, employers should review whether they have properly included the value of common fringe benefits in their employees' and (if applicable) 2% S corporation shareholders' taxable wages. This is especially true for 2021 since COVID relief brought about a number of changes to the rules relating to traditional fringe benefits.

Are employees at your business traveling again after months of virtual meetings? In Notice 2021-52, the IRS announced the fiscal 2022 “per diem” rates that became effective October 1, 2021. Taxpayers can use these rates to substantiate the amount of expenses for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses when traveling away from home. (Taxpayers in the transportation industry can use a special transportation industry rate.)

Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the fourth quarter of 2021. 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.

Note: Certain tax-filing and tax-payment deadlines may be postponed for taxpayers who reside in or have a business in federally declared disaster areas.

If you use an automobile in your trade or business, you may wonder how depreciation tax deductions are determined. The rules are complicated, and special limitations that apply to vehicles classified as passenger autos (which include many pickups and SUVs) can result in it taking longer than expected to fully depreciate a vehicle.

The week of September 13-17 has been declared National Small Business Week by the Small Business Administration. To commemorate the week, here are three tax breaks to consider.

The Treasury Department’s Green Book outlines proposals supported by the Biden Administration that would increase federal tax rates for corporations and high-income individuals, generally effective for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2021. Under these proposals:

As we’ve reported this year, the Biden Administration has made tax policy a legislative priority, and the Treasury Department’s Green Book, released on May 28, provides additional details on these tax policy proposals. Congressional Democrats have also indicated their interest in tax legislation. The question is: Will we see federal tax legislation in the near future? To answer this question, we need to look at the Administration’s and Congress’ infrastructure legislative plans.

By now, most restaurant operators are familiar with the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). As we discussed in a previous blog post, the ERC is a fully refundable payroll tax credit designed to encourage businesses to retain and compensate employees during periods in which businesses are not fully operational. 

Do you play a major role in a closely held corporation and sometimes personally spend money on corporate expenses? These costs may wind up being non-deductible by an officer and the corporation unless proper steps are taken. This issue is more likely to arise in connection with a financially troubled corporation.