New Tax Laws - Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors

Current Pending Legislation Affecting Businesses and Individuals

Introduction

As your trusted advisors, we at Linkenheimer LLP strive to keep you informed about the latest legislative developments that could impact your business and personal financial planning. In this edition, we highlight significant pending legislation at both the state and federal levels that may affect our clients, including business owners, winery and restaurant owners, and individuals. We have not received any updates regarding potential federal adjustments for PG&E payments and Research & Development expense capitalization, and unfortunately, we remain pessimistic about any forthcoming changes. As a result, beginning July 1, 2024, we will proceed with finalizing the returns that were on hold pending this legislation.

State-Level Proposed Legislation

California AB 1181: Minimum Wage Increase

AB 1181 proposes to increase the state minimum wage to $16 per hour for all employees, regardless of the size of the business, by January 1, 2025. For small business owners, this could mean higher payroll costs and a need to revisit pricing strategies and workforce management.

California AB 543: Paid Family Leave Expansion

AB 543 seeks to extend the duration […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2024-07-09T20:43:30+00:00July 1st, 2024|ca, CA tax, california, law, New Tax Laws, propositions|0 Comments

What Might Be Ahead as Many Tax Provisions are Scheduled to Expire?

Buckle up, America: Major tax changes are on the horizon. The reason has to do with tax law and the upcoming elections.

Our current situation

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which generally took effect in 2018, made sweeping changes. Many of its provisions are set to expire on December 31, 2025.

With this date getting closer each day, you may wonder how your federal tax bill will be affected in 2026. The answer isn’t clear because the outcome of this November’s presidential and congressional elections is expected to affect the fate of many expiring provisions. A new political landscape in Washington could also mean other tax law changes.

Corporate vs. individual taxes

The TCJA cut the maximum corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. It also lowered rates for individual taxpayers, with the highest tax rate reduced from 39.6% to 37%. But while the individual rate cuts expire in 2025, the law made the corporate tax cut “permanent.” (In other words, there’s no scheduled expiration date. Tax legislation could still change the corporate tax rate.)

In addition to lowering rates, the TCJA revised tax law in many other ways. On the individual side, standard deductions were […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2024-06-27T21:52:32+00:00June 27th, 2024|New Tax Laws, tcja|0 Comments

Important Update: The Corporate Transparency Act and Its Impact on Your Business

Starting January 1, 2024, a significant change will affect many businesses. The Corporate Transparency Act mandates corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), limited partnerships, and other entities such as non-U.S. companies that register to do business in the U.S. through a filing with a Secretary of State to file a report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). This report will disclose detailed information about the entity’s “beneficial owners.” Most entities must file these reports by January 1, 2025. However, new entities formed in 2024 must file the report within 90 days of the entity’s formation.

Key Points to Note:

Purpose: This federal initiative aims to combat money laundering and tax evasion by shedding light on the actual individuals behind corporate entities.
Reporting Requirements: The information required includes the legal name, residential address, date of birth, and an identification number (from a passport, driver’s license, or state ID) of the beneficial owners; the entity will also have to provide an image of any of these forms of documentation.
Penalties for Non-Compliance: Failing to report or update this information can lead to substantial fines, including fine of up to $500 per day until the violation […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2024-01-04T17:01:35+00:00January 4th, 2024|business, llc, New Tax Laws, News, s corp|0 Comments

Education Benefits Help Attract, Retain and Motivate Your Employees

One popular fringe benefit is an education assistance program that allows employees to continue learning and perhaps earn a degree with financial assistance from their employers. One way to attract, retain and motivate employees is to provide education fringe benefits so that team members can improve their skills and gain additional knowledge. An employee can receive, on a tax-free basis, up to $5,250 each year from his or her employer under a “qualified educational assistance program.”

For this purpose, “education” means any form of instruction or training that improves or develops an individual’s capabilities. It doesn’t matter if it’s job-related or part of a degree program. This includes employer-provided education assistance for graduate-level courses, including those normally taken by individuals pursuing programs leading to a business, medical, law or other advanced academic or professional degrees.

More requirements

The educational assistance must be provided under a separate written plan that’s publicized to your employees, and must meet a number of conditions, including nondiscrimination requirements. In other words, it can’t discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees. In addition, not more than 5% of the amounts paid or incurred by the employer for educational assistance during the […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2023-05-01T16:23:49+00:00May 1st, 2023|benefits, New Tax Laws|0 Comments

California Conforms to IRS: More Time to File State Taxes for Californians Impacted by Winter Storms

SACRAMENTO – In addition to tax relief measures that Governor Gavin Newsom announced in January, California is also extending the state tax filing and payment due dates to October 16, 2023 for Californians impacted by the winter storms in December and January. This aligns California with the Biden Administration, which announced that the IRS extended various due dates until October 16, as well.

“As communities across the state continue recovering from the damage caused by the winter storms, California is working swiftly to help recovering Californians get back on their feet,” said Governor Newsom. “The state is aligning with the Biden Administration and extending the tax filing deadline in addition to the tax relief announced earlier this year.”

Last month, Governor Newsom announced tax relief for those impacted by winter storms, giving people the ability to claim a deduction for disaster loss and extending certain filing deadlines.

The following counties are eligible for this extended tax relief, per the IRS announcements here and here:

Residents and businesses in Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Inyo, Kings, Lake, Los Angeles, Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Mono, Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Orange, […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2023-03-07T19:48:04+00:00March 3rd, 2023|CA tax, california, disaster, filing deadline, ftb, irs, New Tax Laws|0 Comments