When the end of the year rolls around, it’s time to start looking at your inventory—including your current vehicles. If any of your cars, vans, trucks, or SUVs could be claimed for a tax deduction, now is the time to find out! Here’s what you need to know about how to do this. As a…
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Crystal Royce Honored at 2018 Executive Excellence Awards
It’s always nice to be recognized for your hard work. That’s why Tucson Local Media and Inside Tucson Business have created the Executive Excellence Awards. The team here at the Royce CPA Firm recently attended the 2018 Executive Excellence Awards, and we had a wonderful time! This year’s Executive Excellence Awards took place at the…
A Look at Family Tax Deduction Strategies
How does having a family affect your end-of-the-year tax calculations? The answer is: It depends! Whether you’re married or divorced, have kids or are childless, or are supporting any of your relatives, here are some tax strategies to keep in mind for the coming year. If your children work for you, treat them as employees….
Section 199A Deduction Strategies to Keep in Mind
Is it time to start thinking about your Section 199A deduction? If the end of the year is approaching, the answer is yes—that’s the best way to ensure that you’re able to claim a deduction at all! If you have income that is $157,000 or more, then it’s possible to reduce or even eliminate your…
What You Need to Know About Medical and Retirement Deductions
As the end of the year gets closer, it’s time to start seriously thinking about your taxes—and that means it’s also time to think about your medical plan and your retirement account. A little preparation now can pay off in the long run! Here are some important steps you can take that will help you…
Planning Your General Business Deductions for the End of the Year
The end of the year means it’s time to make sure that your financial affairs are in good order—and that means planning your general business deductions. Fortunately, this is easier than you might imagine! Here are some smart strategies that will help you reduce your tax obligation. Pay next year’s expenses in advance. If you…
Stock Portfolio Tax Strategies for the End of 2018
Are you planning your year-end stock portfolio? If not, there’s a very good reason you might want to do so—it can end up paying off! As long as you know how to handle your stock portfolio wisely, you can come up with a smart year-end tax strategy. Your goals are to steer clear of the…
The Royce CPA Firm at QB Connect 2018
We headed to San Jose earlier this month to attend QB Connect and we had an incredible time! Our team enjoyed hearing featured speakers like Mindy Kaling and Alex Rodriguez share their knowledge, and we had a great time exploring, learning, and networking. You can read about this year’s conference and get a snapshot of…
IRS Changes Rule on Deductions for Business Meals
In a much-welcome development, the Internal Revenue Service has announced that both client and prospect business meals are now considered to qualify as tax deductions, in keeping with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. But what exactly does the new rule mean for you? Under the new guidelines from the IRS, you are…
Are Expenses Deductible for an S Corporation?
Here’s a common scenario: You’ve decided to dissolve your corporation, and then you suddenly realize that you’ve got some additional expenses for that corporation. Since the corporation doesn’t exist anymore, you pay them yourself. Is this a tax-deductible expense for you? In fact, it isn’t. Since you didn’t incur the expenses through a corporation that…
Tax Time Bomb: Passive Foreign Investment Companies
Passive foreign investment companies, or PFICs, are subject to some of the most complex provisions of the tax law. You may own one and not even know it. A passive foreign investment company is any foreign corporation for which: 75 percent or more of its gross income for the tax year is from passive income,…
How Cost Segregation Can Turn Your Rental into a Cash Cow
Cost segregation breaks your real property into its components, some of which you can depreciate much faster than the typical 27.5 years for a residential rental or 39 years for nonresidential real estate. When you buy real property, you typically break it into two assets for depreciation purposes: land, which is non-depreciable; and building (residential…
Tax Implications of Goodwill
Here’s a primer to help you avoid confusion about goodwill: As the seller, you have self-created goodwill when the total sales price of your business exceeds the fair market value of its assets, both tangible and intangible. You have acquired goodwill when you purchase the assets of another company for more than the value of…
Convert Your Personal Vehicle to Business and Deduct up to 100 Percent
You probably like your personal vehicle just as it is. But wouldn’t you like it far better if it were producing tax deductions? Perhaps big deductions, immediately. And the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act gives you the tax reform road map on how to do this. Of course, to make this happen, you need to…
TCJA Changes to Your Tax-Free Supper Money
Here’s how the TCJA applied its tax reform to your supper money meal allowances. Before tax reform, you deducted 100 percent of the supper money cost. Now, because of tax reform, your tax deduction for supper money is subject to a 50 percent cut for amounts paid during tax years 2018 through 2025. The regulations…
Tax Reform Changes Affecting Partnerships and LLCs and Their Owners
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) includes several changes that affect partnerships and their partners, and LLCs that are treated as partnerships for tax purposes and their members. Most of the changes are good news. Here are some highlights: Technical Termination Rule Repealed (Good) Under prior law, a partnership or an LLC treated as…
Will Renting Your Home Destroy Your $250,000 Exclusion?
The days when you could convert your rental property or vacation home to a principal residence and then use the full $250,000/$500,000 home-sale exclusion to avoid taxes are gone. Here’s how the $250,000/$500,000 exclusion works today. You must divide your period of home ownership into two categories—qualified and nonqualified use: Qualified use means the time…
How the 90-Day Mileage Log Rule Works for You
Often in an IRS audit, the examiner will ask for your mileage log at the beginning of the audit. If you do not have a mileage log, then you are in danger of losing more than just vehicle deductions. Think about it. If you don’t have a log for mileage, what is the IRS examiner…
Reduce Your Taxes by Making Your Spouse a Business Partner
Tax reform changed the rules of the game when choosing your best tax structure. In looking over the possibilities, a properly structured spousal partnership could be your best choice. Here are the tax benefits to you: Your spouse’s income is free from self-employment tax. You and your spouse both still qualify for the new pass-through…
Tax Reform Expands Your Section 179 Deduction Privilege
The new and improved Section 179 deduction gives you more ways to take advantage of immediate tax deductions. It’s somewhat like having a flexible tax shelter in your back pocket for when you need it (and also need the property, of course). As in years past, the Section 179 deduction is available for both new…