Returning Value Blog

Although you may have spent years building up a successful enterprise, your family may be forced to sell it soon after your death to pay the federal estate-tax bill. The full amount of estate tax is due nine months after an individual’s death. Fortunately, there is some tax relief for a family that inherits a small business.

Although summer is traditionally the time for rest and relaxation, you can still “work on” your 2016 tax bill. What’s more, special tax incentives for individuals and small-business owners have been restored by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015. Here are seven popular tax-saving ideas.

As employers have increasingly turned to high-deductible healthcare plans to offset sharp increases in employees’ healthcare plan costs, some employees have taken advantage of available Health Savings Accounts (HSA) as a way to manage these high deductions. Similar to an IRA, employees contribute a certain percentage of their pay through pre-tax deductions that accumulate tax-free until the money is spent on approved medical costs.

The Research Credit Is Back for Good

Like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character in The Terminator, the research credit is back. This valuable tax break, which had officially expired and been restored more than a dozen times in the past, was extended again by the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act, retroactive to the beginning of 2015. What’s more, the credit has been made permanent, with certain modifications, by the new PATH Act.

The Opportunity

As you consider ways to reduce your federal, state and local tax liability, be sure you don’t overlook prepaid expensing. Prepaid expenses cover any payments your business is making for goods and services to be received in the near future, such as prepaid insurance and prepaid maintenance agreements. Unlike accrued expenses, your business will receive the benefits of your payment in a later period. For accrual basis taxpayers, this means that the tax deduction for prepaid expenses won’t be available until after the cash has been expended.

Maximize tax benefits on 2015 returns

For a small-business owner who works out of his or her personal residence, a home-office deduction can provide significant tax savings, year in and year out. But keeping detailed records is critical. Although you may elect to use a simplified method for deducting home-office expenses on your 2015 tax return, the actual expense method usually produces a bigger deduction.

Special tax break for gifts of property

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg made news recently by promising to give away 99% of his net worth, including his Facebook shares, to charity. The arrangement takes advantage of a unique tax break for charitable gifts of appreciated property, such as stock.

As a savvy business owner and/or financial professional, you understand the importance of cutting taxes to maximize the success of your business. As trusted business advisors, we understand the importance of uncovering every possible legal deduction available that you should be considering.  

How parents can avoid or reduce tax

Despite its name, the “kiddie tax” is not limited to toddlers or preschool children. In fact, it may continue to apply to 20-somethings. Saving grace: At least you may be able to minimize or even eliminate this additional tax.

President Signs Extenders and Omnibus Acts, Impacting Broad Range of Provisions

Just before recessing for the holidays, the House and Senate passed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act). President Obama signed the Act and a FY 2016 omnibus on December 18.