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Businesses usually want to delay recognition of taxable income into future years and accelerate deductions into the current year. But when is it wise to do the opposite? And why would you want to?

One reason might be tax law changes that raise tax rates. The Biden administration has proposed raising the corporate federal income tax rate from its current flat 21% to 28%. Another reason may be because you expect your non-corporate pass-through entity business to pay taxes at higher rates in the future and the pass-through income will be taxed on your personal return. There have also been discussions in Washington about raising individual federal income tax rates.

If you believe your business income could be subject to tax rate increases, you might want to accelerate income recognition into the current tax year to benefit from the current lower tax rates. At the same time, you may want to postpone deductions into a later tax year, when rates are higher and the deductions will be more beneficial.

To Fast-Track Income

Consider these options if you want to accelerate revenue recognition into the current tax year:

• Sell appreciated assets that have capital gains in the current year, rather than waiting until a later year.
• Review the company’s list of depreciable assets to determine if any fully depreciated assets are in need of replacement. If fully depreciated assets are sold, taxable gains will be triggered in the year of sale.
• For installment sales of appreciated assets, elect out of installment sale treatment to recognize gain in the year of sale.
• Instead of using a tax-deferred like-kind Section 1031 exchange, sell real property in a taxable transaction.
• Consider converting your S corporation into a partnership or LLC treated as a partnership for tax purposes. That will trigger gains from the company’s appreciated assets because the conversion is treated as a taxable liquidation of the S corp. The partnership will have an increased tax basis in the assets.
• For construction companies with long-term construction contracts previously exempt from the percentage-of-completion method of accounting for long-term contracts: Consider using the percentage-of-completion method to recognize income sooner as compared to the completed contract method, which defers recognition of income until the long-term construction is completed.

To Postpone Deductions

Consider the following actions to postpone deductions into a higher-rate tax year, which will maximize their value:

• Delay purchasing capital equipment and fixed assets, which would give rise to depreciation deductions.
• Forego claiming big first-year Section 179 deductions or bonus depreciation deductions on new depreciable assets and instead depreciate the assets over a number of years.
• Determine whether professional fees and employee salaries associated with a long-term project could be capitalized, which would spread out the costs over time.
• Buy bonds at a discount this year to increase interest income in future years.
• If allowed, put off inventory shrinkage or other write-downs until a year with a higher tax rate.
• Delay charitable contributions into a year with a higher tax rate.
• If allowed, delay accounts receivable charge-offs to a year with a higher tax rate.
• Delay payment of liabilities where the related deduction is based on when the amount is paid.

Contact us to discuss the best tax planning actions in the light of your business’s unique tax situation.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) established and expanded numerous incentives to encourage taxpayers to increase their use of renewable energy and adoption of a range of energy efficient improvements. In particular, the law includes funding for nearly $9 billion in home energy rebates.

While the rebates aren’t yet available, many states are expected to launch their programs in 2024. And the IRS recently released some critical guidance (Announcement 2024–19) on how it’ll treat the rebates for tax purposes.

The Rebate Programs

The home energy rebates are available for two types of improvements. Home Efficiency Rebates apply to whole-house projects that are predicted to reduce energy usage by at least 20%. These rebates are applicable to consumers who reduce their household energy use through efficiency projects. Examples include the installation of energy efficient air conditioners, windows and doors.

The maximum rebate amount is $8,000 for eligible taxpayers with projects with at least 35% predicted energy savings. All households are eligible for these rebates, with the largest rebates directed to those with lower incomes. States can choose to provide a way for homeowners or occupants to receive the rebates as an upfront discount, but they aren’t required to do so.

Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates are available for low- or moderate-income households that upgrade to energy efficient equipment and appliances. They’re also available to individuals or entities that own multifamily buildings where low- or moderate-income households represent at least 50% of the residents. These rebates cover up to 100% of costs for lower-income families (those making less than 80% of the area median income) and up to 50% of costs for moderate-income families (those making 80% to 150% of the area median income). According to the Census Bureau, the national median income in 2022 was about $74,500 — meaning some taxpayers who assume they won’t qualify may indeed be eligible.

Depending on your state of residence, you could save up to:

• $8,000 on an ENERGY STAR-certified electric heat pump for space heating and cooling
• $4,000 on an electrical panel
• $2,500 on electrical wiring
• $1,750 on an ENERGY STAR-certified electric heat pump water heater
• $840 on an ENERGY STAR-certified electric heat pump clothes dryer and/or an electric stove, cooktop, range or oven.

The maximum Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate is $14,000. The rebate amount will be deducted upfront from the total cost of your payment at the “point of sale” in participating stores if you’re purchasing directly or through your project contractors.

The Tax Treatment

In the wake of the IRA’s enactment, questions arose about whether home energy rebates would be considered taxable income by the IRS. The agency has now put the uncertainty to rest, with guidance stating that rebate amounts won’t be treated as income for tax purposes. However, rebate recipients must reduce the basis of the applicable property by the rebate amount.

If a rebate is provided at the time of sale of eligible upgrades and projects, the amount is excluded from a purchaser’s cost basis. For example, if an energy-efficient equipment seller applies a $500 rebate against a $600 sales price, your cost basis in the property will be $100, rather than $600.

If the rebate is provided at a later time, after purchase, the buyer must adjust the cost basis similarly. For example, if you spent $600 to purchase eligible equipment and later receive a $500 rebate, your cost basis in the equipment drops from $600 to $100 upon receipt of the rebate.

Interplay with the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit

The IRS guidance also addresses how the home energy rebates affect the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit. As of 2023, taxpayers can receive a federal tax credit of up to 30% of certain qualified expenses, including:

• Qualified energy efficiency improvements installed during the year
• Residential energy property expenses
• Home energy audits.

The maximum credit each year is:

• $1,200 for energy property costs and certain energy-efficient home improvements, with limits on doors ($250 per door and $500 total), windows ($600) and home energy audits ($150)
• $2,000 per year for qualified heat pumps, biomass stoves or biomass boilers

Taxpayers who receive home energy rebates and are also eligible for the Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit must reduce the amount of qualified expenses used to calculate their credit by the amount of the rebate. For example, if you purchase an eligible product for $400 and receive a $100 rebate, you can claim the 30% credit on only the remaining $300 of the cost.

Act Now?

While the IRA provides that the rebates are available for projects begun on or after August 16, 2022, projects must fulfill all federal and state program requirements. The federal government, however, has indicated that it’ll be difficult for states to offer rebates for projects completed before their programs are up and running. In the meantime, though, projects might qualify for other federal tax breaks. Contact us to determine the most tax-efficient approach to energy efficiency.

On today’s episode of Tax Insights, Jeff shares crucial information about an upcoming deadline that every nonprofit organization needs to be aware of. Neglecting the May 15th deadline for nonprofit tax returns can jeopardize an organization’s tax-exempt status, risking their hard-earned benefits. Join the conversation and stay informed to maintain your tax benefits.

If your business doesn’t already have a retirement plan, it might be a good time to take the plunge. Current retirement plan rules allow for significant tax-deductible contributions.

For example, if you’re self-employed and set up a SEP-IRA, you can contribute up to 20% of your self-employment earnings, with a maximum contribution of $69,000 for 2024 (up from $66,000 for 2023). If you’re employed by your own corporation, up to 25% of your salary can be contributed to your account, with a maximum contribution of $69,000. If you’re in the 32% federal income tax bracket, making a maximum contribution could cut what you owe Uncle Sam for 2024 by a whopping $22,080 (32% × $69,000).

Other Possibilities

There are more small business retirement plan options, including:

• 401(k) plans, which can even be set up for just one person (also called solo 401(k)s)
• Defined benefit pension plans
• SIMPLE-IRAs.

Depending on your situation, these plans may allow bigger or smaller deductible contributions than a SEP-IRA. For example, for 2024, a participant can contribute $23,000 to a 401(k) plan, plus a $7,500 “catch-up” contribution for those age 50 or older.

Watch the Calendar

Thanks to a change made by the 2019 SECURE Act, tax-favored qualified employee retirement plans, except for SIMPLE-IRA plans, can now be adopted by the due date (including any extension) of the employer’s federal income tax return for the adoption year. The plan can then receive deductible employer contributions that are made by the due date (including any extension), and the employer can deduct those contributions on the return for the adoption year.

Important: This provision didn’t change the deadline to establish a SIMPLE-IRA plan. It remains October 1 of the year for which the plan is to take effect. Also, the SECURE Act change doesn’t override rules that require certain plan provisions to be in effect during the plan year, such as the provisions that cover employee elective deferral contributions (salary-reduction contributions) under a 401(k) plan. The plan must be in existence before such employee elective deferral contributions can be made.

For example, the deadline for the 2023 tax year for setting up a SEP-IRA for a sole proprietorship business that uses the calendar year for tax purposes is October 15, 2024, if you extend your 2023 tax return. The deadline for making a contribution for the 2023 tax year is also October 15, 2024. For the 2024 tax year, the deadline for setting up a SEP and making a contribution is October 15, 2025, if you extend your 2024 tax return. However, to make a SIMPLE-IRA contribution for the 2023 tax year, you must have set up the plan by October 1, 2023. So, it’s too late to set up a plan for last year.

While you can delay until next year establishing a tax-favored retirement plan for this year (except for a SIMPLE-IRA plan), why wait? Get it done this year as part of your tax planning and start saving for retirement. We can provide more information on small business retirement plan options. Be aware that, if your business has employees, you may have to make contributions for them, too.

Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines that apply to businesses and other employers during the second quarter of 2024.