News

Congress created a valuable new tax break for tipped workers under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The No Tax on Tips deduction applies retroactively beginning January 1, 2025, and the IRS has designated 2025 as a transition year. As a result, the deduction operates differently for 2025 than...

If your business pays a large lump-sum commission to terminate a salesperson or vendor, the tax treatment matters. In many cases, you can deduct the full payment in the year you pay it rather than spreading the deduction over many years. Consider a common situation: You operate an investment...

Many taxpayers assume that tax law looks only at the stock they actually own. Section 318 proves that assumption wrong The Section 318 attribution rules can treat you as owning business interests you never purchased, simply because of family relationships, entity ownership, or even stock options. When that happens,...

Serious real estate investors rely on the Section 1031 exchange because it allows them to grow wealth faster while legally deferring federal income taxes.  When you sell rental property without using a 1031 exchange, capital gains tax and depreciation recapture immediately reduce the cash you can reinvest. A properly...

We continue to see aggressive advice circulating about routing personal commissions through an S corporation to reduce self-employment tax. This strategy sounds attractive, but it fails under long-standing tax law and creates significant audit risk. Consider a common setup: An individual earns commissions under contracts issued in his personal...

If you receive mileage reimbursements from your employer or your corporation, you may face an unexpected tax result when you sell or trade your vehicle.  Many employees assume that mileage reimbursements end the tax story. That assumption often leads taxpayers to miss a valuable deduction—or to get blindsided by...

Taxpayers often assume that clothing purchased for work qualifies as a tax deduction. The tax law takes a much narrower view.  As a general rule, the IRS does not allow a deduction for work clothing if it serves as everyday streetwear. This rule applies even when a taxpayer buys...

Many taxpayers panic when they hear the term “depreciation recapture” and decide to skip depreciation on a home office to avoid future tax.  That strategy usually backfires. The tax law creates unexpected consequences when you claim zero depreciation, and those consequences often cost more than the recapture tax you...

Your tax refund will no longer arrive by paper check. The IRS recently announced that it will stop issuing refund checks, with limited exceptions, and will require taxpayers to receive refunds electronically. Why the Change? Paper checks cost more, create security risks, and take much longer to process. In...

You plan to send holiday gift baskets to colleagues, referral partners, and select customers, and you want to deduct the cost. You can take a deduction, but the IRS limits you to $25 per recipient per year.  This rule comes straight from 1962, and lawmakers have never increased the...

If you’re considering buying a business, it’s important to understand how the related investigation and acquisition costs are treated for federal income tax purposes—especially if a deal falls through. A recent example illustrates how these rules work. Jim, an employee looking to become a business owner, spent $15,000 researching...

I want to alert you to an important deadline that affects your upcoming projects. The federal energy efficient home builder credit offers up to $5,000 per qualifying home, but the opportunity ends on June 30, 2026. You still have time to benefit, but you must act quickly. This credit...