470 tagged with "Tax Planning"
Strategic tax planning to minimize liability and maximize savings
Section 163(j) Interest Expense Limitation: 30% ATI, the Small Business Exemption, and the Real Property Trade Election
Section 163(j) caps the business interest deduction at 30% of adjusted taxable income, and OBBBA restored the EBITDA-style add-back for tax years beginning after December 31, 2024. This guide walks through the calculation, the small business exemption under Section 448(c), the irrevocable real property trade or business election, the partnership EBIE basis trap, and the Form 8990 reporting choreography.
Section 174 R&D Expensing in 2026: How Software Startups Recover From the TCJA Capitalization Trap
OBBBA's new Section 174A restores immediate expensing for domestic R&D in tax years after December 31, 2024, and qualifying small businesses can amend 2022–2024 returns by July 6, 2026 to recover overpaid tax. A guide to the three coexisting Section 174 regimes, the Section 41 credit add-back, foreign 15-year amortization, and the statement in lieu of Form 3115.
Section 195 and Section 248: The First $5,000 Every Founder Can Deduct
Section 195 and Section 248 let founders deduct the first $5,000 of startup costs and the first $5,000 of organizational costs in year one, with the remainder amortized over 180 months. A guide to the $50,000 phase-out, the deemed election, and the mistakes that forfeit the deduction for LLCs, partnerships, and corporations.
Section 2032A Special-Use Valuation: Cut Up to $1.46 Million Off the Estate Value of a Family Farm or Closely Held Business in 2026
Section 2032A lets executors value qualifying farm or closely held business real property at productive use rather than fair market value, with a 2026 reduction cap of $1,460,000 — worth up to $584,000 in federal estate tax at the 40% rate. The election is irrevocable, requires material participation, and triggers a 10-year recapture period.
Section 245A Participation Exemption: How U.S. C Corporations Repatriate Foreign Profits Tax-Free
Section 245A grants a 100% dividends-received deduction on qualifying foreign dividends to U.S. C corporations, but only when the 365-day holding period, hybrid dividend, extraordinary disposition, and PTEP ordering rules all hold. This guide explains how the participation exemption coordinates with GILTI and Subpart F, the traps that disqualify the deduction, and the bookkeeping that keeps it defensible on audit.
Section 338(h)(10) Election: How Buyers and Sellers Turn a Stock Deal Into an Asset Deal
A practical guide to the federal tax election that lets buyers and sellers of S corporations and consolidated-group subsidiaries treat a stock purchase as an asset purchase for tax purposes — covering Form 8023, the seller gross-up, purchase price allocation under Section 1060, and the mistakes that commonly kill the election.
Section 367 Outbound Transfer Rules: The Hidden Tax Trap When U.S. Companies Move Stock, IP, or Operations Abroad
Section 367 overrides corporate non-recognition rules the moment U.S. property crosses into a foreign corporation, forcing immediate gain on outbound asset and IP transfers. This guide explains Sections 367(a), (b), (d), and (e), the GRA and Form 8838 deferral path, the 10% Form 926 penalty, the TCJA expansion to goodwill and workforce in place, and the 2024 final regulations on IP repatriation.
Section 451(c) Advance Payments: The One-Year Deferral Rule SaaS Founders Need to Understand
Section 451(c) lets accrual-method SaaS businesses defer advance payments — annual subscriptions, gift cards, prepaid services — by one tax year. Here is how the AFS deferral method interacts with ASC 606, how to elect it on Form 3115, and where the timing traps lurk.
Section 469 Passive Activity Loss Rules: How Real Estate Investors Unlock Trapped Losses
A practical guide to Section 469 for real estate investors and side-business owners — the seven material participation tests, the $25,000 active-rental allowance, the real estate professional carve-out, the short-term rental angle, and the disposition rules that release suspended losses.
Section 471(c) Inventory Exception: The $32M Rule That Lets Small Businesses Skip UNICAP
For tax year 2026, businesses with a three-year average of gross receipts at or below $32 million can elect Section 471(c) to skip UNICAP, treat inventory as non-incidental materials and supplies, and file Form 3115 — often producing a one-time Section 481(a) deduction in the year of change.
The Section 691(c) Deduction: How IRA Beneficiaries Recover Estate Tax
Beneficiaries of taxable estates can claim a Section 691(c) income tax deduction for federal estate tax already paid on inherited IRAs and other IRD assets. This guide covers eligibility, the with-and-without calculation, where to claim it on Schedule A, and the errors that cost families six figures.
Section 7701(b) Substantial Presence Test for Foreign Entrepreneurs: The 183-Day Formula, Closer Connection, and Treaty Tie-Breakers
A practical walkthrough of IRC Section 7701(b) for globally mobile founders — the 31-day floor, the weighted three-year 183-day formula, exempt-individual rules, the closer connection exception (Form 8840), and treaty tie-breakers (Form 8833) — with a worked example showing how 130 U.S. days in 2026 can trigger worldwide taxation.