accounting - Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors

What’s the Best Accounting Method Route for Business Tax Purposes?

Businesses basically have two accounting methods to figure their taxable income: cash and accrual. Many businesses have a choice of which method to use for tax purposes. The cash method often provides significant tax benefits for eligible businesses, though some may be better off using the accrual method. Thus, it may be prudent for your business to evaluate its method to ensure that it’s the most advantageous approach.

Eligibility to use the cash method

“Small businesses,” as defined by the tax code, are generally eligible to use either cash or accrual accounting for tax purposes. (Some businesses may also be eligible to use various hybrid approaches.) Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) took effect, the gross receipts threshold for classification as a small business varied from $1 million to $10 million depending on how a business was structured, its industry and factors involving inventory.

The TCJA simplified the small business definition by establishing a single gross receipts threshold. It also increased the threshold to $25 million (adjusted for inflation), expanding the benefits of small business status to more companies. For 2024, a small business is one whose average annual gross receipts for the three-year period ending […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2024-02-14T17:04:53+00:00February 14th, 2024|accounting, business, cash, tax basis|0 Comments

Tax Reform Expands Availability of Cash Accounting

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), many more businesses are now eligible to use the cash method of accounting for federal tax purposes. The cash method offers greater tax-planning flexibility, allowing some businesses to defer taxable income. Newly eligible businesses should determine whether the cash method would be advantageous and, if so, consider switching methods.

What’s changed?

Previously, the cash method was unavailable to certain businesses, including:

C corporations — as well as partnerships (or limited liability companies taxed as partnerships) with C corporation partners — whose average annual gross receipts for the previous three tax years exceeded $5 million, and
Businesses required to account for inventories, whose average annual gross receipts for the previous three tax years exceeded $1 million ($10 million for certain industries).

In addition, construction companies whose average annual gross receipts for the previous three tax years exceeded $10 million were required to use the percentage-of-completion method (PCM) to account for taxable income from long-term contracts (except for certain home construction contracts). Generally, the PCM method is less favorable, from a tax perspective, than the completed-contract method.

The TCJA raised all of these thresholds to $25 million, beginning with the 2018 tax year. In […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:25+00:00November 27th, 2018|accounting, business, New Tax Laws, tax planning|0 Comments

Choosing the Right Accounting Method for Tax Purposes

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) liberalized the eligibility rules for using the cash method of accounting, making this method — which is simpler than the accrual method — available to more businesses. Now the IRS has provided procedures a small business taxpayer can use to obtain automatic consent to change its method of accounting under the TCJA. If you have the option to use either accounting method, it pays to consider whether switching methods would be beneficial.

Cash vs. accrual

Generally, cash-basis businesses recognize income when it’s received and deduct expenses when they’re paid. Accrual-basis businesses, on the other hand, recognize income when it’s earned and deduct expenses when they’re incurred, without regard to the timing of cash receipts or payments.

In most cases, a business is permitted to use the cash method of accounting for tax purposes unless it’s:

Expressly prohibited from using the cash method, or
Expressly required to use the accrual method.

Cash method advantages

The cash method offers several advantages, including:

Simplicity. It’s easier and cheaper to implement and maintain.

Tax-planning flexibility. It offers greater flexibility to control the timing of income and deductible expenses. For example, it allows you to defer income to next year by […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2018-08-20T23:32:05+00:00August 20th, 2018|accounting, New Tax Laws, tax, tax planning|0 Comments

Tax Deadline is Around the Corner, So Here’s Some Humor to Help You Through It…

So April 15th is just a few days away, and yes, we know the real deadline is the 18th, but we’re telling our clients it’s the 15th (we don’t want to get shoeboxes of receipts next Monday afternoon). To help ease the stress that sometimes is associated with this time of the year, it seems some humor might be appropriate. We hope you enjoy and remember, no dropping off boxes of receipts on the 18th; boxes of chocolate on the other hand… they will be accepted.

“Two things you need to know about taxes. They’ve extended the deadline to April 18, and when you write your check, just make it out to China.” –David Letterman

“Tax day is the day that ordinary Americans send their money to Washington, D.C., and wealthy Americans send their money to the Cayman Islands.” –Jimmy Kimmel

“Because of a holiday, the deadline for taxes is April 18, so you have three extra days to dig through restaurant dumpsters for receipts.” –Jimmy Kimmel

“Worried about an IRS audit? Avoid what’s called a red flag. That’s something the IRS always looks for. For example, say you have some money left in your bank account after […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:05:13+00:00April 14th, 2016|accounting, Linkenheimer, tax, tax time|0 Comments

Fly Fishing & Accounting

Recently Linkenheimer LLP took all of its employees to the beautiful Clearwater Lodge in Fall River Mills, CA for two days of fly fishing. When it was announced to the staff that we would be taking this trip, the overall response was “Fly fishing??” (Yes) and, “How many hours does it take to drive there?” (5+). To say there was skepticism would be an accurate statement, but the lodge looked beautiful, the menu appetizing, and no agenda other than learning to fly fish, all made for an intriguing idea for a trip. So we met up early one Thursday morning, had previously been assigned drivers and riders and off we went.

One of the hall marks of Linkenheimer and its partners and staff is the longevity of everyone who works here, and the close relationships developed over this extended time, so it goes without saying that we know each other pretty well. When placed in a new environment, doing something completely new, you find new-found interests, commonalities and life experiences; not to mention the hilarity of seeing a circle of accountants practicing fly fishing techniques on the lawn of the lodge. The next morning we were up, suited with waders, boots […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:05:49+00:00September 12th, 2013|accounting, CPA, cpa firm, firm, fly fishing, Santa Rosa, santa rosa cpa|0 Comments