Year-End Strategies For Small Business Owners | Tax Tip of the Week | No. 119

Year-End Tax Planning-Part 3

The following is a summary of actions for small business owners to consider as 2011 draws to a close.  To read a more detailed discussion of these items click here.- Reevaluate, or establish, the company’s retirement plan.  Some plans need to be established prior to 12/31/11, even though they may not be funded until 2012.  In addition to gaining significant tax savings, some retirement plans offer the potential to receive a tax credit.- Consider how to depreciate any assets you purchased.  Evaluate both the Section 179 option (ability to immediately write-off up to $500,000) and the Bonus Depreciation option (which gives the ability to write-off up to 100% of the asset purchase price).  Qualified leasehold improvements are also eligible for Section 179 and the bonus depreciation for 2011.  They are also eligible for the special 15 year recovery period.  These special rules are not available after 12/31/11.- Determine if a Cost Segregation study should be conducted.  Buildings and other real estate may not qualify for the above mentioned accelerated depreciation treatments.  However, land improvements and qualified leasehold improvements have special depreciation rules.- Make sure you do not miss any of the available r and d tax credits.- Make sure you do not miss taking the Health Insurance tax credits which were offered for the first time in 2011.- Review your new hires in 2011 to see if they qualify for any of the employment credits available in 2011.- If you own a pass-through entity (LLC, partnership or S corporation) and expect to show a loss this year you need to determine if you can take the loss on your personal tax return.- Should any dividends be paid (if you own a C corporation)?- Now is a good time of year to review your company’s financial ratios.These are a few ideas you should consider if you own a business.  Give us a call if you want to schedule a personalized year-end planning meeting.

We are also excited to announce an addition to the Tax Tip of the Week series, a video portion!  We would love to know what you think:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAyuATyDud0Let us know if you have any questions.

You can contact us in Dayton at 937-436-3133 and in Xenia at 937-372-3504.  Or visit our website.Rick Prewitt - the guy behind TTW...until next week.