tax credit - Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors

Pocket a Tax Break for Making Energy-Efficient Home Improvements

An estimated 190 million Americans have recently been under heat advisory alerts, according to the National Weather Service. That may have spurred you to think about making your home more energy efficient — and there’s a cool tax break that may apply. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, you may be able to benefit from an enhanced residential energy tax credit to help defray the cost.

Eligibility rules

If you make eligible energy-efficient improvements to your home on or after January 1, 2023, you may qualify for a tax credit up to $3,200. You can claim the credit for improvements made through 2032.

The credit equals 30% of certain qualified expenses for energy improvements to a home located in the United States, including:

Qualified energy-efficient improvements installed during the year,
Residential “energy property” expenses, and
Home energy audits.

There are limits on the allowable annual credit and on the amount of credit for certain types of expenses.

The maximum credit you can claim each year is:

$1,200 for energy property costs and certain energy-efficient home improvements, with limits on doors ($250 per door and $500 total), windows ($600 total) and home energy audits ($150), as […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2023-08-16T19:19:40+00:00August 16th, 2023|energy, tax credit|0 Comments

Child Tax Credit: The Rules Keep Changing But It’s Still Valuable

If you’re a parent, you may be confused about the rules for claiming the Child Tax Credit (CTC). The rules and credit amounts have changed significantly over the last six years. This tax break became more generous in 2018 than it was under prior law — and it became even better in 2021 for eligible parents. Even though the enhancements that were available for 2021 have expired, the CTC is still valuable for parents. Here are the current rules.

For tax years 2022 and 2023, the CTC applies to taxpayers with children under the age of 17 (who meet CTC requirements to be ‘’qualifying children’’). A $500 credit for other dependents is available for dependents other than qualifying children.

CTC amount

The CTC is currently $2,000 for each qualifying child under the age of 17. (For tax years after 2025, the CTC will go down to $1,000 per qualifying child, unless Congress acts to extend the higher amount.)

Refundable portion

The refundable portion of the credit is a maximum $1,400 (adjusted annually for inflation) per qualifying child. The earned income threshold for determining the amount of the refundable portion for these years is $2,500. (With a refundable […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2023-02-15T16:27:49+00:00February 15th, 2023|child, tax credit|0 Comments

Work Opportunity Tax Credit Provides Help To Employers

In today’s tough job market and economy, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) may help employers. Many business owners are hiring and should be aware that the WOTC is available to employers that hire workers from targeted groups who face significant barriers to employment. The credit is worth as much as $2,400 for each eligible employee ($4,800, $5,600 and $9,600 for certain veterans and $9,000 for “long-term family assistance recipients”). It’s generally limited to eligible employees who begin work for the employer before January 1, 2026.

The IRS recently issued some updated information on the pre-screening and certification processes. To satisfy a requirement to pre-screen a job applicant, a pre-screening notice must be completed by the job applicant and the employer on or before the day a job offer is made. This is done by filing Form 8850, Pre-Screening Notice and Certification Request for the Work Opportunity Credit.

Which new hires qualify?

An employer is eligible for the credit only for qualified wages paid to members of a targeted group. These groups are:

Qualified members of families receiving assistance under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program,
Qualified veterans,
Qualified ex-felons,
Designated community residents,

[…]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2022-09-27T17:18:01+00:00September 27th, 2022|business, employer, tax credit|0 Comments

The Election To Apply The Research Tax Credit Against Payroll Taxes

The credit for increasing research activities, often referred to as the research and development (R&D) credit, is a valuable tax break available to eligible businesses. Claiming the credit involves complex calculations, which we can take care of for you. But in addition to the credit itself, be aware that the credit also has two features that are especially favorable to small businesses:

Eligible small businesses ($50 million or less in gross receipts) may claim the credit against alternative minimum tax (AMT) liability.
The credit can be used by certain even smaller startup businesses against the employer’s Social Security payroll tax liability.

Let’s take a look at the second feature. Subject to limits, you can elect to apply all or some of any research tax credit that you earn against your payroll taxes instead of your income tax. This payroll tax election may influence you to undertake or increase your research activities. On the other hand, if you’re engaged in — or are planning to undertake — research activities without regard to tax consequences, be aware that you could receive some tax relief.

Why the election is important

Many new businesses, even if they have some […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2022-03-02T20:45:38+00:00March 2nd, 2022|research credit, tax credit|0 Comments

California Tax Updates for 9/29

Update 1:

A lucrative new business tax credit may help California’s small businesses hit hard by economic disruption in 2020 and 2021. Governor Gavin Newsom has signed the Main Street Small Business Tax Credit II bill providing financial relief to qualified businesses that have suffered unprecedented job losses. The credit, which can be up to $150,000 per employer, can be used against income taxes or by an irrevocable election, applied to sales and use taxes. To qualify, businesses must have had no more than 500 employees on Dec. 31, 2020, whose wages were subject to CA withholding laws. They must also have seen a decrease of at least 20% in gross receipts. Here are the details: https://bit.ly/3CA61dy

Update 2:

The California Trucking Association (CTA) seeks help from the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2020 the CA worker classification law (AB5) took effect. It applies the ABC test to determine whether workers are employees or independent contractors, with […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2021-09-29T22:53:20+00:00September 29th, 2021|business, CA tax, covid-19, tax credit|0 Comments