Here is a guide to potential moves for business partnerships and corporations.

• Taxpayers other than corporations may be entitled to a deduction of up to 20% of their qualified business income. For 2020, if taxable income exceeds a specified threshold ($326,600 for a married couple filing jointly and $163,300 for singles, marrieds filing separately, and heads of household), the deduction may be limited based on whether the taxpayer is engaged in a service-type trade or business (such as law, accounting, health, or consulting), the amount of W-2 wages paid by the trade or business, and/or the unadjusted basis of qualified property (such as machinery and equipment) held by the trade or business. The limitations are phased in; for example, the phase-in applies to joint filers with taxable income between$326,600 and $426,600, and to all other filers with taxable income between $163,300 and $213,300.
• Taxpayers may be able to achieve significant savings with respect to this deduction, by deferring income or accelerating deductions so as to come under the dollar thresholds (or be subject to a smaller phaseout of the deduction) for 2020. Depending on their business model, taxpayers also may be able increase the new deduction by increasing W-2 wages before year-end.
• More small businesses are able to use the cash (as opposed to accrual) method of accounting than were allowed to do so in earlier years. To qualify as a small business a taxpayer must, among other things, satisfy a gross receipts test. For 2020, the gross receipts test is satisfied if, during a three-year testing period, average annual gross receipts don’t exceed $26 million (the dollar amount was $25million for 2018, and for earlier years it was $1 million for most businesses). Cash method taxpayers may find it a lot easier to shift income, for example, by holding off billings till next year or by accelerating expenses, or by paying bills early or making certain prepayments.
• Businesses should consider making expenditures that qualify for the liberalized business property expensing option. For tax years beginning in 2020, the expensing limit is $1,040,000, and the investment ceiling limit is $2,590,000. Expensing is generally available for most depreciable property (other than buildings) and off-the-shelf computer software. It is also available for qualified improvement property (generally, any interior improvement to a building’s interior, but not for enlargement of a building, elevators or escalators, or the internal structural framework), for roofs, and for HVAC, fire protection, alarm, and security systems. The generous dollar ceilings mean that many small and medium sized businesses that make timely purchases will be able to currently deduct most ifnot all their outlays for machinery and equipment. What’s more, the expensing deduction is not prorated for the time that the asset is in service during the year. The fact that the expensing deduction may be claimed in full (if you are otherwise eligible to take it) regardless of how long the property is in service during the year can be a potent tool for year-end tax planning. Thus, property acquired and placed in service in the last days of 2020, rather than at the beginning of 2021,can result in a full expensing deduction for 2020.
• Businesses also can claim a 100% bonus first year depreciation deduction for machinery and equipment bought used (with some exceptions) or new if purchased and placed in service this year, and for qualified improvement property, described above as related to the expensing deduction. The 100% write-off is permitted without any proration based on the length of time that an asset is in service during the tax year. As a result, the 100% bonus first-year write-off is available even if qualifying assets are in service for only a few days in2020.
• Businesses may be able to take advantage of the de minimis safe harbor election (also known as the book-tax conformity election) to expense the costs of lower-cost assets and materials and supplies, assuming the costs don’t have to be capitalized under the Code Sec.263A uniform capitalization (UNICAP) rules. To qualify for the election, the cost of a unit of property can’t exceed $5,000 if the taxpayer has an applicable financial statement (AFS; for example, a certified audited financial statement along with an independent CPA’s report). If there’s no AFS, the cost of a unit of property can’t exceed $2,500. Where the UNICAP rules aren’t an issue, a business should consider purchasing such qualifying items before the end of2020.
• A corporation (other than a large corporation) that anticipates a small net operating loss (NOL) for 2020 and substantial net income in 2021 may find it worthwhile to accelerate just enough of its 2021income (or to defer just enough of its 2020 deductions) to create asmall amount of net income for 2020. This will permit the corporation to base its 2021 estimated tax installments on the relatively small amount of income shown on its 2020 return, ratherthan having to pay estimated taxes based on 100% of its much larger2021 taxable income.
• To reduce 2020 taxable income, taxpayers should consider deferring a debt-cancellation event until 2021.
• Another strategy to reduce 2020 taxable income is disposing of a passive activity in 2020 if doing so will allow the taxpayer to deduct suspended passive activity losses.

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Or feel free to call Mike at 630-461-5841 or email mike@cogcpa.com.