2018 - Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors

It’s Not Too Late: You Can Still Set Up a Retirement Plan for 2018

If most of your money is tied up in your business, retirement can be a challenge. So if you haven’t already set up a tax-advantaged retirement plan, consider doing so this year. There’s still time to set one up and make contributions that will be deductible on your 2018 tax return!

More benefits

Not only are contributions tax deductible, but retirement plan funds can grow tax-deferred. If you might be subject to the 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT), setting up and contributing to a retirement plan may be particularly beneficial because retirement plan contributions can reduce your modified adjusted gross income and thus help you reduce or avoid the NIIT.

If you have employees, they generally must be allowed to participate in the plan, provided they meet the qualification requirements. But this can help you attract and retain good employees.

And if you have 100 or fewer employees, you may be eligible for a credit […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:25+00:00November 27th, 2018|retirement, tax planning|0 Comments

Buy Business Assets Before Year End to Reduce Your 2018 Tax Liability

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has enhanced two depreciation-related breaks that are popular year-end tax planning tools for businesses. To take advantage of these breaks, you must purchase qualifying assets and place them in service by the end of the tax year. That means there’s still time to reduce your 2018 tax liability with these breaks, but you need to act soon.

Section 179 expensing

Sec. 179 expensing is valuable because it allows businesses to deduct up to 100% of the cost of qualifying assets in Year 1 instead of depreciating the cost over a number of years. Sec. 179 expensing can be used for assets such as equipment, furniture and software. Beginning in 2018, the TCJA expanded the list of qualifying assets to include qualified improvement property, certain property used primarily to furnish lodging and the following improvements to nonresidential real property: roofs, HVAC equipment, fire protection and alarm systems, and security systems.

The maximum Sec. 179 deduction for […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2018-11-16T17:57:15+00:00November 16th, 2018|business, liability, New Tax Laws, year-end|0 Comments

Voted Best Place to Work by the North Bay Business Journal for 2018

Once again, we are honored to be recognized as one of the Best Places to Work in the North Bay for 2018. This is the 8th year in a row that Linkenheimer has been voted Best Place to Work in the North Bay and it is truly a testimony to the amazing, hard working team we have here and the community and clients that have supported us all these years. We are grateful to call Sonoma County home and it’s also why we feel the importance of giving back. Over the past year, we’ve volunteered over 1,000 hours as a firm to community projects locally and abroad, including Rotary, Redwood Empire Food Bank, Nicaraguan Eye Care Projects, Elsie Allen High School Foundation and many other incredible organizations focused on making our great community better for everyone.

From the North Bay Business Journal Press Release:

Along with our co-presenters, Nelson Family of Companies, Exchange Bank; Kaiser Permanente and underwriter Trope Group, we are pleased to inform you that Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors has been selected as one of the Best Places to Work in the North Bay in the thirteenth-annual […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:28+00:00October 2nd, 2018|award, best, best place to work, Community|0 Comments

IRS Releases Updated Withholdings Calculator and 2018 W-4 Form

The IRS has completed updating its online withholding calculator that individual taxpayers can use to determine how many withholding allowances they should claim for 2018. The IRS also issued a new 2018 Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. The IRS had previously announced that taxpayers could use the old 2017 Form W-4, as modified in Notice 2018-14, until 30 days after the new form was issued.

The calculator and new Form W-4 are designed to implement changes made by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (passed earlier this year), which increased the standard deduction, removed personal exemptions, increased the child tax credit, limited or discontinued certain deductions, and changed the tax rates and brackets, among many other changes.

To use the calculator, taxpayers should have certain information available, including an estimate of their 2018 income and other items that affect their taxes, including the number of children claimed for the child tax credit and the earned income tax credit. The IRS emphasized that the calculator is used to compute the amount of tax to be […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:42+00:00March 2nd, 2018|irs, New Tax Laws, withhold|0 Comments

Tax Extenders Reinstated

In the massive budget deal passed last week, Congress has bestowed surprise tax breaks on homeowners, students and the climate conscious. There are tax breaks for mortgage insurance premiums, higher-education expenses, energy-efficient home-improvement projects and more. These were tax breaks that expired at the end of 2016, but are now back on for 2017, now that Trump has signed them into law.

The immediate good news for taxpayers: You could see additional tax savings on the tax return you’re filing now—for the 2017 tax year. Below are some highlights. For a complete list, click here.

Tax Relief for Families and Individuals

Extension and modification of exclusion from gross income of discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness. The provision extends through 2017 the exclusion from gross income of a discharge of qualified principal residence indebtedness. The provision also modifies the exclusion to apply to qualified principal residence indebtedness that is discharged pursuant to a binding written agreement entered into in 2017.

Extension of mortgage insurance premiums treated as qualified residence interest. The provision extends through 2017 the treatment of qualified mortgage insurance premiums as interest for purposes of the […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:43+00:00February 13th, 2018|deduction, deductions, New Tax Laws, tax, tax implications|0 Comments