Business Tax Lawyers | Certain End-of-Year Tax Deadlines and Reminders (2010)

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The following are some upcoming tax deadlines and reminders for the December of 2010. (This list may not include all applicable tax deadlines for your situation, and does not constitute tax advice; please, consult Sherayzen Law Office for more information and assistance with your tax planning needs.)

Selected General Deadline Reminders for Individuals: December 31, 2010

Traditional IRA to Roth IRA Conversion. Last date for taxpayers to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA for the tax year 2010 (provided a taxpayer meets the other applicable criteria).

Keogh plan deadline. Keogh plans must be established by the last date of the year (December 31, for calendar year basis taxpayers) in order for contributions to be deductible for the tax year 2010.

Capital Gains and Losses. Capital gains and losses for individual taxpayers are determined by the last trading date of the tax year. This is the case even though the settlement date (the date the shares-sold are actually exchanged and cash is received by the broker) may be several days later. Thus, even though the settlement date may occur in early 2011 for shares sold on the last trading date of 2010, the capital gains and/or losses will be established in 2010.

Short Sale Gains (But not Losses). Gains on shares sold short are also determined by trading date because of an IRS ruling treating the transaction as a constructive sale. Thus, shares sold short for gain on the last trading date of 2010 will be treated as capital gains for the tax year 2010, even though actual delivery of the shares may occur in 2011. Note, however, that for losses on shares sold short, the losses are not deductible until the shares are actually delivered to a broker. Taxpayers should plan accordingly if a loss is anticipated.

Marital Status. Taxpayers should note in general that marital status as of the last date of the year will determine the status for the entire tax year 2010.

General Tax Calendar Deadlines and Information (From IRS Publication 509)

December 10: Employees who work for tips. If you received $20 or more in tips during November, report them to your employer. You can use Form 4070.

December 15: Corporations. Deposit the fourth installment of estimated income tax for 2010. A worksheet, Form 1120-W, is available to help you estimate your tax for the year.

Selected Tax Deadlines for Employers Based on Monthly Deposit Rule

Social security, Medicare, and withheld income tax. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in November by December 15, 2010.

Non-payroll withholding. If the monthly deposit rule applies, deposit the tax for payments in November by December 15, 2010.

Employer’s Tax Deadlines: Payroll Due Dates for Deposit of Taxes for 2010 Under the Semiweekly Rule

Nov 24-26: Dec 1
Nov 27-30: Dec 3
Dec 1-3: Dec 8
Dec 4-7: Dec 10
Dec 8-10: Dec 15
Dec 11-14: Dec 17
Dec 15-17: Dec 22
Dec 18-21: Dec 27
Dec 22-24: Dec 29
Dec 25-28: Jan 3
Dec 29-31: Jan 5

Excise Tax Deadlines

December 10: Communications and air transportation taxes under the alternative method. Deposit the tax included in amounts billed or tickets sold during the first 15 days of November.

December 14: Regular method taxes. Deposit the tax for the last 15 days of November.

December 28: Communications and air transportation taxes under the alternative method. Deposit the tax included in amounts billed or tickets sold during the last 15 days of November.

December 29: Regular method taxes. Deposit the tax for the first 15 days of December.

Have more questions about tax deadlines, or need help in planning for your year-end tax decisions? Call Sherayzen Law Office to discuss your tax situation with an experienced tax lawyer!

Depreciation Deductions: Passenger Cars & Light Trucks, Vans and SUVs

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Assuming that a taxpayer does not use the IRS standard mileage deduction, for qualifying vehicles used for business purposes and placed in service in 2009 or 2010, taxpayers may deduct various costs including depreciation, registration fees, insurance, and many others under the actual expense method. This article will examine depreciation deductions for certain categories of vehicles.

Passenger Cars

For purposes of calculating depreciation, a car is defined to be any four-wheeled vehicle for use on public roadways, with a gross vehicle weight of 6,000 pounds or less (subject to certain exceptions). Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, taxpayers may generally take bonus depreciation of $8,000 for newly purchased cars placed in service for business use in 2009 (Congress has extended the bonus depreciation for 2010, as well). Taxpayers may take an additional $2,960 maximum depreciation deduction for 2009 ($3,060 for cars purchased and placed in service in 2010). The 2009 depreciation rates for subsequent years are as follows: $4,800 for the second year; $2,850 for the third year; and $1,775 for each tax year thereafter. Depreciation limits are periodically adjusted for inflation.

Note that the above depreciation amounts assume 100% business use. Depreciation amounts must be reduced proportionately by any personal use percentage that is less than 100% business use and more than 50%. If business use is less than 50%, straight-line depreciation must be used (also reduced proportionately by personal use percentages) and the bonus depreciation amount is not available. Bonus depreciation is also not available for purchases of used cars.

Light Trucks, Vans and SUVs

A light truck, van or SUV that has a gross vehicle weight of 6,000 pounds or less may also qualify for certain depreciation deductions. As with passenger cars, an $8,000 bonus depreciation allowance is available for newly purchased vehicles in this category placed in service in 2009 or 2010. For 100% business use, taxpayers may generally take an additional $3,060 maximum depreciation deduction for 2009 ($3,160 for 2010). 2009 Depreciation rates for vehicles in this category for subsequent years are as follows: $4,900 for the second tax year; $2,950 for the third tax year; and $1,775 for each tax year thereafter.

As with passenger cars, depreciation amounts must be reduced proportionately by any personal use percentage that is less than 100% business use and more than 50%. If business use is less than 50%, straight-line depreciation must be used (also reduced proportionately by personal use percentages) and the bonus depreciation amount is not available. Bonus depreciation is also not available for purchases of used vehicles in this category.

Do you have questions about maximizing your tax savings on newly purchased business vehicles or equipment? Sherayzen Law Office can assist you with your tax needs.

Call NOW  to discuss your case with an experienced tax attorney!

Business Tax Planning Lawyers: When to Schedule a Review with Your Business Tax Lawyer

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While the exact schedule of your business tax planning reviews may often depend on the exact nature of your business, I want to point out in this article certain events which should trigger a review of your tax strategies by a Minnesota business tax lawyer.

A. Business Formation

A review of your business tax strategies should be scheduled during business formation or at least within several months of your company’s existence. Unfortunately, a lot of business owners neglect obtaining the advice of a business tax attorney during the first year of the existence of their businesses. The anxiety over what the future might bring and the desire to cut costs are usually proffered as the explanation of this tendency.

Yet, this is a mistaken view. In reality, it often leads to a completely opposite result: more money is being spent inefficiently, higher tax costs are incurred, and there is a higher likelihood of creating huge legal and tax liabilities down the road. A company may even go out of business due to its neglect of legal and tax planning.

One of the main functions of a business tax lawyer is to structure business transactions in such a way as to fully comply with U.S. tax laws (and the laws of other relevant tax jurisdictions where appropriate) while making sure that full advantage is taken of these laws to reduce and even eliminate business tax waste. For example, where appropriate, a business tax attorney may advise to hasten a purchase order in order to reduce tax liability in this tax year. If the purchase is being made in a foreign country, this business tax lawyer may advise that the contract is signed in that foreign country in order to offset foreign income that the company received from the sales of its product in that country. This may further favorably impact the situation with respect to the foreign tax credit.

B. One Month Prior to the End of a Fiscal Year

The next tax planning session should be scheduled about a month prior to the end of each fiscal year. By this time, sufficient economic data about the performance of the business should be collected by the company’s accountant. This will allow your business tax lawyer to review the assumptions about income and expenses that were made at the beginning of the fiscal year. Based on this review, the business tax attorney may revise the tax planning strategies and give advice on what to do during this last month of the fiscal year to make sure that full advantage is taken of the Internal Revenue Code provisions.

C. Business Tax Filing

In order to maximize its benefits, business tax filing should consist of three steps. First, the accountant prepares a tax return for the business. If you use your tax attorney to prepare the tax return, then you can skip this step. Second, prior to filing the tax return, submit it for a review to your business tax lawyer. Following this step may bring two important benefits: a.) you get a “second opinion” on the tax return, and b.) the tax lawyer may modify the tax return in order to harmonize it with the rest of the business and tax planning strategies (which may sacrifice short-term benefits in order to achieve your company’s long-term business goals or reduce overall long-term tax liability). Finally, the third step is to use the already filed tax return in conjunction with the economic analysis and projections for the next fiscal year in order to formulate a new business tax plan. This new tax plan will later be reviewed at the end of the year as indicated in Section “B” above.

Thus, in reality, your business tax planning strategies should be reviewed at least twice a year by your tax attorney: while filing the tax return and at the end of the year. This holds true unless there is a material change of your company’s circumstances.

D. Material Change of Circumstances

Every time an event occurs that may materially modify the tax situation of your business, it is necessary to immediately contact your business tax lawyer to review the tax situation and tax strategies of the business. Moreover, it is important to remember that such situations are likely to give rise to additional tax compliance and legal liability issues which may be identified only by a tax professional.

E. Conclusion

Business tax planning should become a natural and routine practice of your overall business planning. In the long run, the benefits of tax planning are likely to far outweigh whatever immediate legal expenses your business may incur, not to mention the protection it offers against future legal liability. At the very least, two reviews of your business tax strategies should be scheduled during a fiscal year: when you file your business taxes and about a month before the end of the year. If an event occurs that may materially change the tax situation of your company, then an emergency tax and legal liability session with your business tax lawyer should be scheduled.

Sherayzen Law Office can help you throughout this process. We can help you properly analyze your business tax situation, identify the problems and opportunities, and adopt the right business and tax strategies to take full advantage of the U.S. tax laws while reducing potential future liabilities.

Call to discuss your tax situation with Mr. Sherayzen an experienced business tax lawyer!

Office of Administrative Hearings: Sources of Procedure and Procedural Rights

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If you appealed your business license denial and your case is pending effectively in the Office of Administrative Hearings, it is essential to understand the procedural rules of this administrative court as well as your procedural rights. This means that you and/or your attorney must have a good understanding of the sources of the administrative rules and procedural rights.

There are five main sources of the administrative procedure, including procedural rights, for the cases pending in the Office of Administrative Hearings. First, the Due Process Clause of the U.S. and Minnesota constitutions. Due process rights must be afforded to parties irrespective of whether they are explicitly mentioned in a relevant statute. The two most important rights include: a right to notice and a right to a hearing. A deep understanding of the due process clause may be required to mount an effective defense against the state’s claims or to support your arguments for approval of your business license application.

Second, Minnesota Administrative Procedure Act can be found in Chapter 14 of the Minnesota Annotated Statutes. It constitutes is an important source of the procedural rules for Minnesota state agencies, and, among other things, sets up the procedures for an agency’s rulemaking and applicant petitioning.

The most direct source of the OAH procedures are the rules of the Office of Administrative Hearings(OAH). The Rules can be found in Chapter 1400 of the Minnesota Administrative Rules. Knowledge of the rules is crucial for effective pre-hearing practice as well as the conduct of the actual hearing.

Fourth, a specific statute or an agency’s procedural rules may provide for the specific procedural rules and even substantive requirements.

Finally, where an agency or the OAH has not promulgated a rule to govern unanticipated circumstances, the administrative law judge is likely to rely on the Minnesota Rules of Civil Procedure. In fact, the OAH rules specifically mention the Rules of Civil Procedure as a guide for an administrative law judge in situations where the administrative rules are silent.

I have already detailed elsewhere (click here) the great importance of timely hiring an attorney to represent you in case of a business denial appeal. Here, I will just reiterate that hiring a business lawyer knowledgeable in the OAH rules and procedures is likely to save you nerves, time, money, and even determine the outcome of your case.

Sherayzen Law Office can help you every step of the way in your business license denial appeal case. We will make the utmost use of the pre-hearing process and will provide a vigorous and creative defense of your interests during the hearing.

Call NOW to schedule the consultation!

Section 179 Deduction for SUVs and Certain Other Vehicles

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Section 179 of the Internal Revenue Code allows taxpayers to purchase certain types of vehicles for business purposes and write off the cost. Specifically, taxpayers may expense up to $25,000 of the cost of any “heavy” SUV, pickup or van placed into service during the tax year, and used for over 50% for business purposes. Both new and used vehicles may qualify for the deduction.

A heavy vehicle for the purpose of the statute is generally any 4-wheeled vehicle with a gross vehicle weight above 6,000 pounds and not more than 14,000 pounds. Certain other specified vehicles are not subject to the $25,000 limit. For qualifying heavy vehicles, taxpayers may take regular depreciation (20% for the first year) in addition to the $25,000 write-off. However any percentage of non-business use below 100% must be reduced accordingly by the same percentage.

Call NOW to get help with your business tax return!