At Machen McChesney, we are committed to Returning Value to you through our monthly e-newsletter, The Value Report. Here, you'll find regular tips to help with your business and personal finances, as well as strategies to grow and more efficiently run your organization. 

Table of Contents

1. The IRS Recently Announced 2026 Amounts for Health Savings Accounts
2. Risky Business: How Auditors Help Combat Corporate Fraud
3. The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Could Change the Deductibility of R&E Expenses
4. 5 Tax Breaks on the Table: What Business Owners Should Know About the Latest Proposals
5. Planning a Summer Business Trip? Turn Travel into Tax Deductions
6. Confirm This: Why Your Auditors Contact Third Parties
7. QuickBooks Users: It's Time for a Mid-Year Review
8. Dos and Don'ts to Help Protect Your Business Expense Deductions
9. What's New at Machen McChesney

The IRS Recently Announced 2026 Amounts for Health Savings Accounts

The IRS recently released the 2026 inflation-adjusted amounts for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).Employees will be able to save a modest amount more in their HSAs next year. Continue reading.

Risky Business: How Auditors Help Combat Corporate Fraud

In today’s volatile economic climate, organizations face mounting pressures that can increase the risk of fraudulent activities. Auditors play a pivotal role in identifying and mitigating these risks through comprehensive fraud risk assessments and tailored audit procedures. Continue reading.

The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Could Change the Deductibility of R&E Expenses

The treatment of research and experimental (R&E) expenses is a high-stakes topic for U.S. businesses, especially small to midsize companies focused on innovation. As the tax code currently stands, the deductibility of these expenses is limited, leading to financial strain for companies that used to be able to expense them immediately. However, proposed legislation dubbed The One, Big, Beautiful Bill could drastically change that. Here’s what you need to know. Continue reading

5 Tax Breaks on the Table: What Business Owners Should Know About the Latest Proposals

Confirm This: Why Your Auditors Contact Third Parties

If your company’s financial statements are audited, chances are your auditor will send out external confirmations.These information requests may be sent directly to your customers, vendors, banks, attorneys, and benefit plan administrators. Continue reading. 

QuickBooks Users: It's Time for a Mid-Year Review

Performing a mid-year QuickBooks® cleanup is a smart habit that small business owners and bookkeepers can adopt to stay ahead of their financial responsibilities. Waiting until year end to review your accounting records can lead to unnecessary stress, missed deductions and preventable errors. Continue reading.

Dos and Don'ts to Help Protect Your Business Expense Deductions

If you’re claiming deductions for business meals or vehicle expenses, expect the IRS to closely review them. In some cases, taxpayers have incomplete documentation or try to create records months (or years) later. In doing so, they fail to meet the strict substantiation requirements set forth under tax law. Tax auditors are adept at rooting out inconsistencies, omissions, and errors in taxpayers’ records, as illustrated by one recent U.S. Tax Court case. (T.C. Memo. 2024-82). Continue reading. 

What's New at Machen McChesney?

Sponsorships, new hires, announcements
Continue reading. 

We hope you found value in The Value Report you've received this month. We look forward to finding even more ways to Return Value to you in the future.