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Key Employee Payroll and Tax Changes for 2026 (OBBBA)

By |2026-01-16T18:49:18+00:00January 16th, 2026|employee, News, payroll|

The Overtime and Benefit Balance Act (OBBBA) represents one of the most significant payroll and tax law changes for employees in recent years. Whether you earn overtime, receive tips, or use transit benefits, these updates could put real money back in your pocket—or at least reduce what you owe come tax time. We’ve distilled the key provisions below so you know what to expect and how to plan. As always, the details matter, so reach out if you’d like to discuss how these changes apply to your specific situation.

  • Overtime Deduction: Employees may deduct up to $12,500 ($25,000 if married filing jointly) of the “half” portion of FLSA overtime premium pay on their personal tax return (Form 1040, Schedule 1). This deduction is subject to income phase-outs and does not reduce Social Security or Medicare (FICA) taxes withheld from your paycheck. The deduction is taken at year-end and reduces your taxable income for federal income tax purposes only.
  • Tip Income Deduction: Employees in IRS-listed tipped occupations may deduct up to […]

Act soon: The OBBBA Ends Clean Energy Tax Breaks

By |2025-08-13T12:44:20+00:00August 13th, 2025|credit, energy, EV, New Tax Laws, News|

The newly enacted One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) represents a major move by President Trump and congressional Republicans to roll back a number of clean energy tax incentives originally introduced or expanded under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Below is a summary of the key individual tax credits that will soon be scaled back or eliminated.

Clean vehicle tax credits

If you’re planning to buy a clean vehicle, consider acting soon to take advantage of expiring tax benefits:

New clean vehicle credit. This credit offers up to $7,500 for qualifying new electric and fuel cell vehicles, depending on how the battery components and critical minerals are sourced. Vehicles that meet only one of the sourcing criteria may be eligible for a reduced $3,750 credit. Originally set to expire in 2032, this credit now ends on September 30, 2025.

The maximum manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $55,000 for cars and $80,000 for SUVs, trucks and vans. To qualify, your adjusted gross income (AGI) must not exceed $150,000 ($300,000 for married couples filing jointly and $225,000 for heads of households).

Used clean vehicle credit. Buyers of eligible used EVs or fuel cell vehicles may claim up to […]

It’s Your Last Chance to Claim These Clean Energy Tax Breaks

By |2026-03-25T16:09:39+00:00March 25th, 2026|energy, tax credit|

Last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) terminated several clean energy tax incentives earlier than previously scheduled. But if you bought an electric vehicle or made certain green home improvements last year, you might be eligible for a tax credit on your 2025 individual income tax return.

Remember, tax credits reduce your tax liability dollar-for-dollar (unlike deductions, which reduce the amount of income subject to tax). So tax credits are especially valuable.

Did you buy an electric vehicle?

If you bought an eligible clean vehicle by September 30, 2025, you may be able to claim one of these tax credits on your 2025 return:

New clean vehicle credit. Buyers of new electric and fuel cell vehicles may be able to claim a credit up to $7,500, depending on how the battery components and critical minerals were sourced. Vehicles that meet only one of the sourcing criteria may be eligible for a $3,750 credit. This credit was originally set to expire after 2032. But, under the OBBBA, it expired on September 30, 2025.

The maximum manufacturer’s suggested retail price for a vehicle to be eligible for the credit is $55,000 for cars and $80,000 for […]

When Medical Expenses are — and aren’t — Tax Deductible

By |2026-02-16T20:48:20+00:00February 16th, 2026|deduction, medical deduction, medical expense|

If you had significant medical expenses last year, you may be wondering what you can deduct on your 2025 income tax return. Income-based thresholds and other rules can make it hard to claim the medical expense deduction. At the same time, more types of expenses may be eligible than you might expect.

Limits on the deduction

Medical expenses are deductible only if they weren’t reimbursable by insurance or paid via tax-advantaged accounts (such as Flexible Spending Accounts or Health Savings Accounts). In addition, they’re deductible only to the extent that, in aggregate, they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI).

For example, if your 2025 AGI was $100,000, your eligible medical expenses during the year would have to total more than $7,500 for you to claim the deduction — and only the amount in excess of that floor would be deductible. If you had $10,000 in eligible expenses, your potential deduction would be $2,500.

In addition, medical expenses are deductible only if you itemize deductions. For itemizing to be beneficial, your itemized deductions must exceed your standard deduction. Due to changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that were made permanent […]

New Law Eases the Limitation on Business Interest Expense Deductions for 2025 and Beyond

By |2025-12-10T17:26:18+00:00December 10th, 2025|business, deduction, deductions, New Tax Laws|

Interest paid or accrued by a business is generally deductible for federal tax purposes. But limitations apply. Now some changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) will result in larger deductions for affected taxpayers.

Limitation basics

The deduction for business interest expense for a particular tax year is generally limited to 30% of the taxpayer’s adjusted taxable income (ATI). That taxpayer could be you or your business entity, such as a partnership, limited liability company (LLC), or C or S corporation. Any business interest expense that’s disallowed by this limitation is carried forward to future tax years.

Business interest expense means interest on debt that’s allocable to a business. For partnerships, LLCs that are treated as partnerships for tax purposes, and S corporations, the limitation on the business interest expense deduction is applied first at the entity level and then at the owner level under complex rules.

The limitation on the business interest expense deduction is applied before applying the passive activity loss (PAL) limitation rules, the at-risk limitation rules and the excess business loss disallowance rules. For pass-through entities, those rules are applied at the owner level. But the limitation on the business interest expense […]

How Will Taxes Affect Your Merger or Acquisition?

By |2025-12-02T16:26:37+00:00December 2nd, 2025|M&A|

Whether you’re selling your business or acquiring another company, the tax consequences can have a major impact on the transaction’s success or failure. So if you’re thinking about a merger or acquisition, you need to consider the potential tax impact.

Asset sale or stock sale?

From a tax standpoint, a transaction can basically be structured as either an asset sale or a stock sale. In an asset sale, the buyer purchases just the assets of a business. This may happen if a buyer only wants specific assets or product lines. And it’s the only option if the target business is a sole proprietorship or a single-member limited liability company (LLC) that’s treated as a sole proprietorship for tax purposes.

Alternatively, if the target business is a corporation, a partnership or an LLC that’s treated as a partnership for tax purposes, the buyer can directly purchase the seller’s stock or other form of ownership interest. Whether the business being purchased is a C corporation or a pass-through entity (that is, an S corporation, partnership or, generally, an LLC) makes a significant difference when it comes to taxes.

The flat 21% corporate federal income tax rate under […]

New Deduction for QPP Can Save Significant Taxes for Manufacturers and Similar Businesses

By |2025-11-20T21:34:34+00:00November 20th, 2025|deduction, deductions, New Tax Laws|

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) allows 100% first-year depreciation for nonresidential real estate that’s classified as qualified production property (QPP). This new break is different from the first-year bonus depreciation that’s available for assets such as tangible property with a recovery period of 20 years or less and qualified improvement property with a 15-year recovery period. Normally, nonresidential buildings must be depreciated over 39 years.

What is QPP?

The statutory definition of QPP is a bit complicated:

  • QPP is the portion of any nonresidential real estate that’s used by the taxpayer (your business) as an integral part of a qualified production activity.
  • qualified production activity is the manufacturing, production or refining of a qualified product.
  • qualified product is any tangible personal property that isn’t a food or beverage prepared in the same building as a retail establishment in which the property is sold. (So a restaurant building can’t be QPP.)

In addition, an activity doesn’t constitute manufacturing, production or refining of a qualified product unless the activity results in a substantial transformation of the property comprising the product.

To sum up these rules, QPP generally means factory buildings. But additional rules apply.

Meeting the placed-in-service rules

QPP 100% […]

New Itemized Deduction Limitation Will Affect High-Income Individuals Next Year

By |2025-11-18T16:22:45+00:00November 18th, 2025|deduction, deductions, New Tax Laws|

Beginning in 2026, taxpayers in the top federal income tax bracket will see their itemized deductions reduced. If you’re at risk, there are steps you can take before the end of 2025 to help mitigate the negative impact.

The new limitation up close

Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), certain itemized deductions of high-income taxpayers were reduced, generally by 3% of the amount by which their adjusted gross income exceeded a specific threshold. For 2018 through 2025, the TCJA eliminated that limitation. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) makes that elimination permanent, but it puts in place a new limitation for taxpayers in the 37% federal income tax bracket.

Specifically, for 2026 and beyond, allowable itemized deductions for individuals in the 37% bracket will be reduced by the lesser of: 1) 2/37 times the amount of otherwise allowable itemized deductions or 2) 2/37 times the amount of taxable income (before considering those deductions) in excess of the applicable threshold for the 37% tax bracket.

For 2026, the 37% bracket starts when taxable income exceeds $640,600 for singles and heads of households, $768,700 for married couples filing jointly, and $384,350 for […]

2025 in Review: Lessons Learned and Setting the Stage for 2026

By |2025-10-27T21:40:54+00:00October 27th, 2025|Advisor, year-end|

As 2025 draws to a close, it’s clear this has been a year of both opportunity and complexity. At Linkenheimer LLP, we’ve seen clients across all industries navigate evolving tax rules, shifting market conditions, and tighter reporting demands. These changes underscore one truth we’ve always believed: proactive financial management — not reactive compliance — is what drives lasting success.

This year, the conversation wasn’t just about filing returns or meeting reporting deadlines. It was about maintaining high-quality financial data, understanding where your business stands in real time, and planning strategically amid uncertainty.

Key Trends We Saw in 2025

  1. Growing Focus on Data Integrity and Financial Readiness

Clean, accurate, and timely financial information proved to be a differentiator this year. With credit conditions tightening and lenders requesting more granular reporting, companies with well-organized accounting systems and reconciled statements had a clear advantage.

  • Financial institutions increasingly required interim financials and management-prepared statements to support credit renewals.
  • Auditors and stakeholders placed greater emphasis on documentation quality, accounting estimates, and revenue recognition policies under GAAP.
  • Businesses that invested in cloud-based accounting systems, automation, and standardized chart of accounts found it easier to analyze performance and make informed […]

Review Your Business Expenses Before Year End

By |2025-10-27T19:31:54+00:00October 27th, 2025|business, expensing, New Tax Laws, tax planning, year-end|

Now is a good time to review your business’s expenses for deductibility. Accelerating deductible expenses into this year generally will reduce 2025 taxes and might even provide permanent tax savings. Also consider the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). It makes permanent or revises some Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions that reduced or eliminated certain deductions.

“Ordinary and necessary” business expenses

There’s no master list of deductible business expenses in the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). Although some deductions are expressly authorized or excluded, most are governed by the general rule of IRC Section 162, which permits businesses to deduct their “ordinary and necessary” expenses.

An ordinary expense is one that is common and accepted in your industry. A necessary expense is one that is helpful and appropriate for your business. (It doesn’t have to be indispensable.) Even if an expense is ordinary and necessary, it may not be deductible if the IRS considers it lavish or extravagant.

OBBBA and TCJA changes

Here are some types of business expenses whose deductibility is affected by OBBBA or TCJA provisions:

Entertainment. The TCJA eliminated most deductions for entertainment expenses beginning in 2018. However, entertainment expenses […]

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