My S corp pays my life insurance. Is that a deductible employee benefit?
S-Corp Owner Life-Insurance Premiums. Review the facts, records and next steps for your business.
Tax Strategy Blog: Page 5
1236 articles for business owners and real estate investors. Page 5 of 35.
Business owner planning · Real estate planning · Cost segregation · Illustrated tax lessons · Article feed
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Showing articles 145–180 of 1236.
I moved clients to a new S corp. Can the old company keep paying me?
Identify which entity now earns the revenue and receives your services.
I guaranteed the business credit line. Why can I not deduct its losses?
A guarantee by itself generally does not create shareholder debt basis.
Can my S corp borrow from me and use that cash to pay my bonus?
The cash movement, payroll and shareholder funding need separate support.
I opened a second location. Can its employees have different retirement benefits?
The analysis depends on the employer structure, plan design and applicable coverage rules.
My books show a retirement contribution, but the money was never sent. Is it deductible?
Determine the type of contribution, actual deposit date and applicable plan and tax deadlines.
We sold a successful prototype. Does that mean the earlier experimentation was not qualified research?
Selling a prototype after experimentation does not alone disqualify earlier research.
We claimed the full research credit without reviewing Section 280C. Can we leave the expense deduction unchanged?
Claiming a research credit requires coordination with Section 280C.
We paid to occupy a space before signing the lease. Are those payments rent or a deposit?
Occupancy Payments Before the Lease Is Signed. A specific owner scenario, the facts that change the answer, and the records needed for a tax review.
We refinanced our business loan. What happens to the old loan's remaining financing costs?
Unamortized Loan Fees After a Business Refinance. A specific owner scenario, the facts that change the answer, and the records needed for a tax review.
Our books classify redeemable preferred shares as a liability. Can we deduct the preferred payments as interest?
Financial-statement liability classification does not automatically make preferred-stock payments deductible interest for federal tax.
Can we use the same employee wages for the research credit and another business credit?
The same wages cannot be used freely for every business credit.
We bought another business. Can each company calculate its research credit independently?
Related businesses may need to apply controlled-group or common-control aggregation rules when calculating the research credit.
We want the research-credit payroll offset. Can the payroll provider elect it without the income-tax return?
The qualified small-business payroll research-credit election is made through the income-tax return process, not solely through payroll software.
Can a research-credit provider count my entire owner salary because I supervise product development?
An owner's salary is not wholly qualified simply because the owner oversees product development.
Our S corp generated a research credit. Is the owner's refund automatically equal to the credit amount?
A pass-through research credit is generally subject to owner-level general business credit and other applicable limitations.
A client funds our development project. Can we still claim the research credit on our costs?
Client-funded research is not automatically eligible or ineligible.
Our developer invoices say consulting only. Is payment proof enough to support a contract research credit?
Payment evidence alone does not establish qualified contract research.
We acquired a company with unused research credits. Can we immediately use all of them?
Unused research credits acquired with a company are not automatically available without limit.
I sold my business in June. Should I cancel the remaining estimates?
Estimated Taxes After a Midyear Business Sale. Review the facts, records and next steps for your business.
We bought source code and hired developers to modify it. Are all the costs treated the same?
Buying Source Code or Paying for Development?. A specific owner scenario, the facts that change the answer, and the records needed for a tax review.
We sell scrap generated during production. Is that separate revenue or a reduction of inventory cost?
Scrap receipts must be accounted for consistently with the manufacturer's inventory and income methods.
My payment processor holds a rolling reserve. Do I report sales I have not received?
Payment Processor Reserves and Taxable Sales. A specific owner scenario, the facts that change the answer, and the records needed for a tax review.
Our processor rebated fees we deducted last year. Does the refund reduce this year's sales?
Processor Fee Rebates After the Fees Were Deducted. A specific owner scenario, the facts that change the answer, and the records needed for a tax review.
Our payment processor failed while holding sales proceeds. Can we deduct the entire unpaid balance?
Merchant Funds Trapped in a Processor Bankruptcy. A specific owner scenario, the facts that change the answer, and the records needed for a tax review.
Our processor withheld federal tax from payouts. Is that a business expense or a tax credit?
Backup Withholding Deducted From Merchant Payouts. A specific owner scenario, the facts that change the answer, and the records needed for a tax review.
Our store closed, but the processor released a reserve later. Which business reports it?
Processor Reserve Released After a Store Closes. A specific owner scenario, the facts that change the answer, and the records needed for a tax review.
We prepaid services we will never use after shutting down. Is the unused balance a write-off?
Prepaid Services Left When the Company Winds Down. A specific owner scenario, the facts that change the answer, and the records needed for a tax review.
We trained staff months before opening. Are those wages ordinary payroll expenses for tax?
Employee Training Before a New Business Opens. A specific owner scenario, the facts that change the answer, and the records needed for a tax review.
We paid rent while building out our first location. Is it deductible before opening?
Rent Before the First Business Location Opens. A specific owner scenario, the facts that change the answer, and the records needed for a tax review.
Our platform pays suppliers before sending our payout. Is the net deposit our revenue?
Supplier Payments Netted From Platform Sales. A specific owner scenario, the facts that change the answer, and the records needed for a tax review.
Our store owes extra rent based on annual sales. When do we deduct the year-end true-up?
Percentage Rent and Year-End Sales True-Ups. A specific owner scenario, the facts that change the answer, and the records needed for a tax review.
Our payroll provider withdrew tax money but never deposited it. Are we still responsible?
An employer generally remains responsible for federal employment taxes when an ordinary payroll service provider fails to deposit them.
We paid an upfront patent-license amount plus minimum royalties. Is every payment a current expense?
Patent License Advances and Minimum Royalties. A specific owner scenario, the facts that change the answer, and the records needed for a tax review.
Our tax distribution exceeded a partner's current profit allocation. Does that create another deduction?
A tax distribution is generally a distribution to an owner, not a partnership income-tax deduction.
Can our partnership representative bind us in an IRS audit without every partner approving?
Under the centralized partnership audit regime, a properly designated partnership representative generally has broad authority to act for the partnership,…