business - Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors

The Great Subscription Creep: How Software Costs Are Quietly Eating Your Budget

Quick question: How many software subscriptions does your business pay for right now?

If you answered with confidence, you’re in the minority. If you said “I think around 10 or 15?” you’re probably closer to reality—but still low. The average small business now pays for over 15 different software subscriptions, and here’s the uncomfortable truth: you’re likely wasting 30% of that budget on seats nobody’s using.

Welcome to the era of subscription creep, where $12.99 here and $49/month there quietly compounds into a line item that would make your 2015 self faint.

Death by a Thousand Monthly Charges

Remember when software came in a box? You bought it once, installed it, and used it until the CD physically disintegrated. Those days are gone, replaced by the SaaS (Software as a Service) model that promised flexibility and always-updated tools. And it delivered! But it also delivered something else: a slow, steady drain on your operating budget that’s accelerating faster than inflation.

Here’s what the numbers look like in 2026: SaaS costs per employee hit $9,100 annually—up from $7,900 just two years ago. Total SaaS spending increased 8% year-over-year even though companies aren’t adding more tools. 61% of […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2026-02-17T18:42:53+00:00February 17th, 2026|AI, business, Tech|0 Comments

Increase Your Current Business Deductions Under Tangible Property Safe Harbors

Did your business make repairs to tangible property, such as buildings, equipment or vehicles, in 2025? Such costs may be fully deductible on your 2025 income tax return — if they weren’t actually for “improvements” that must be depreciated over a period of years.

Betterment, restoration or adaptation

In general, a cost that results in an improvement to a building structure or any of its building systems (for example, the plumbing or electrical system) or to other tangible property must be capitalized, with depreciation deductions spread over a few years or longer (depending on depreciation method and property type). An improvement occurred if there was a betterment, restoration or adaptation of the unit of property.

Under the “betterment test,” you generally must capitalize amounts paid for work that’s reasonably expected to materially increase the productivity, efficiency, strength, quality or output of a unit of property or that’s a material addition to a unit of property.

Under the “restoration test,” you generally must capitalize amounts paid to replace a part (or combination of parts) that is a major component or a significant portion of the physical structure of a unit of property.

Under the “adaptation […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2026-02-16T20:43:40+00:00February 16th, 2026|business, deductions|0 Comments

Some Small Businesses Can Still Benefit from the Health Care Coverage Credit

Tax credits reduce tax liability dollar-for-dollar. As a result, they can be more valuable than deductions, which reduce only the amount of income subject to tax. One tax credit that hasn’t been getting much attention lately but that can still be valuable for some small businesses is the credit for providing health insurance to employees.

Who’s eligible?

Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), certain small employers that provide employees with health care coverage are eligible for this tax credit. Although it’s been available for more than a decade and generally can be claimed for only two years, some small businesses may still be eligible. These may include newer businesses as well as older ones that only recently have begun offering health insurance.

The maximum credit is 50% of group health coverage premiums paid by the employer, if it contributes at least 50% of the total premium or of a benchmark premium. For 2025, the full credit is available for employers with 10 or fewer full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) and average annual wages of $33,300 or less per employee. Partial credits are available on a sliding scale to businesses with fewer than 25 […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2026-02-16T20:14:31+00:00February 16th, 2026|business, Health care, tax credit|0 Comments

The Great Hardware Squeeze: What Rising Tech Costs Mean for Your Business (And Your Budget)

Remember when you could order a new laptop and have it show up in a week without breaking a sweat—or your budget? Those days are feeling increasingly like a distant memory.

If you’ve tried to purchase computers, upgrade servers, or even just buy some additional RAM for your business lately, you’ve probably noticed something: prices are climbing. Fast. And unlike past tech price fluctuations, this one has some staying power behind it. Let’s unpack what’s happening, why it matters to your business, and what you can actually do about it.

What’s Driving the Price Surge?

Two major forces have collided to create what industry analysts are calling a “Component Cost Super-Cycle.” Think of it as the perfect storm, except instead of rain, it’s dollar signs pouring out of your IT budget.

The AI Appetite is Insatiable

Here’s the twist nobody saw coming: artificial intelligence isn’t just changing how we work—it’s fundamentally reshaping the hardware supply chain. The massive data centers powering AI models like ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and countless enterprise tools […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2026-01-27T15:08:31+00:00January 27th, 2026|AI, business, Tech, technology|0 Comments

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

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 […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2025-12-10T17:26:18+00:00December 10th, 2025|business, deduction, deductions, New Tax Laws|0 Comments