Masters & Jorgensen, Inc.

Business website expenses: How they’re handled for tax purposes

September 16, 2024

Most businesses have websites today. Despite their widespread use, the IRS hasn’t issued formal guidance on when website costs can be deducted. But there are established rules that generally apply to the deductibility of business expenses and provide business taxpayers launching a website with some guidance about proper treatment. In addition, businesses can turn to […]

IRS issues final regulations on inherited IRAs

September 9, 2024

The IRS has published new regulations relevant to taxpayers subject to the “10-year rule” for required minimum distributions (RMDs) from inherited IRAs or other defined contribution plans. The final regs, which take effect in 2025, require many beneficiaries to take annual RMDs in the 10 years following the deceased’s death. SECURE Act ended stretch IRAs […]

IRS ramps up compliance enforcement against certain businesses

September 3, 2024

The Inflation Reduction Act provided the IRS with billions of dollars of additional funding to reduce the so-called “tax gap” between what taxpayers owe and what they actually pay. The tax agency has already launched numerous initiatives aimed at this goal, including several business-related compliance campaigns. Let’s take a closer look at three of the […]

Inflation enhances the 2025 amounts for Health Savings Accounts

August 26, 2024

The IRS recently released guidance providing the 2025 inflation-adjusted amounts for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). These amounts are adjusted each year, based on inflation, and the adjustments are announced earlier in the year than other inflation-adjusted amounts, which allows employers to get ready for the next year. Fundamentals of HSAs An HSA is a trust […]

Should you convert your business from a C to an S corporation?

August 19, 2024

Choosing the right business entity has many implications, including the amount of your tax bill. The most common business structures are sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, C corporations and S corporations. In some cases, a business may decide to switch from one entity type to another. Although S corporations can provide substantial tax benefits over C corporations in […]

Tax tips when buying the assets of a business

August 12, 2024

After experiencing a downturn in 2023, merger and acquisition activity in several sectors is rebounding in 2024. If you’re buying a business, you want the best results possible after taxes. You can potentially structure the purchase in two ways: Buy the assets of the business, or Buy the seller’s entity ownership interest if the target […]

The tax advantages of including debt in a C corporation capital structure

August 5, 2024

Let’s say you plan to use a C corporation to operate a newly acquired business or you have an existing C corporation that needs more capital. You should know that the federal tax code treats corporate debt more favorably than corporate equity. So for shareholders of closely held C corporations, it can be a tax-smart move to include […]

Growing your business with a new partner: Here are some tax considerations

July 29, 2024

There are several financial and legal implications when adding a new partner to a partnership. Here’s an example to illustrate: You and your partners are planning to admit a new partner. The new partner will acquire a one-third interest in the partnership by making a cash contribution to the business. Assume that your basis in […]

When partners pay expenses related to the business

July 22, 2024

It’s not unusual for a partner to incur expenses related to the partnership’s business. This is especially likely to occur in service partnerships such as an architecture or law firm. For example, partners in service partnerships may incur entertainment expenses in developing new client relationships. They may also incur expenses for: transportation to get to […]