Tax

Wow, how time flies! Yes, December 31 is just around the corner. 

That’s your last day to find tax deductions available from your existing business and personal (yes, personal) vehicles that you can use to cut your 2024 taxes. But don’t wait. Get on this now!

1. Take Back Your Child’s or Spouse’s Car and Sell It

We know—this sounds horrible. But stay with us.

What did you do with your old business car? Do you still have it? Is your child driving it? Or is your spouse using it as a personal car?

We ask because that old business vehicle could have a big tax loss embedded in it. If so, your strategy is easy: sell the vehicle to a third party before December 31 so you have a tax-deductible loss this year.

Your loss deduction depends on your percentage of business use. That’s one reason to sell this vehicle now: the longer you let your spouse or teenager use it, the smaller your business percentage becomes and the less tax benefit you receive.

2. Cash In on Past Vehicle Trade-Ins

In the past (before 2018), when you traded vehicles in, you pushed your old business basis to the replacement vehicle under the old Section 1031 tax-deferred exchange rules. (But remember, these rules no longer apply to Section 1031 exchanges of vehicles or other personal property occurring after December 31, 2017.)

Whether you used IRS mileage rates or the actual-expense method for deducting your business vehicles, you could still find a significant deduction here.

Check out how Sam finds a $27,000 tax-loss deduction on his existing business car. Sam has been in business for 15 years, during which he

• converted his original personal car (car one) to business use;
• then traded in the converted car for a new business car (car two);
• then traded in car two for a replacement business car (car three); and
• then traded in car three for another replacement business car (car four), which he is driving today.

During the 15 years Sam has been in business, he has owned four cars. Further, he deducted each of his cars using IRS standard mileage rates.

If Sam sells his mileage-rate car today, he will realize a tax loss of $27,000. The loss is the accumulation of 15 years of car activity, during which Sam never cashed out because he always traded cars. (This was before he knew anything about gain or loss.) 

Further, Sam thought his use of IRS mileage rates was the end of it—nothing more to think about (wrong thinking here, too).

Because the trades occurred before 2018, they were Section 1031 exchanges and deferred the tax results to the next vehicle. IRS mileage rates contain a depreciation component. That’s one possible reason Sam unknowingly accumulated his significant deduction.

To get a mental picture of how this one sale produces a cash cow, consider this: when Sam sells car four, he is really selling four cars—because the old Section 1031 exchange rules added the old basis of each vehicle to the replacement vehicle’s basis.

Examine your vehicle for this possible loss deduction. Did you procure the business vehicle you are driving today in 2017 or earlier? Did you acquire this vehicle with a trade-in? If so, your tax loss deduction could be big! 

3. Put Your Personal Vehicle in Business Service

Lawmakers enacted 80 percent bonus depreciation for 2024, creating an effective strategy that costs you nothing but can produce substantial deductions.

Are you (or is your spouse) driving a personal SUV, crossover vehicle, or pickup truck with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 6,000 pounds? Would you like to increase your tax deductions for this year?

If so, place that personal vehicle in business service before December 31.

4. Check Your Current Vehicle for a Big Deduction

Your current business vehicle, regardless of when it was purchased, could have a big deduction waiting for you.

Example. Jim purchased a $60,000 vehicle in 2021 and used it 85 percent for business. During the four years he used it (2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024), Jim depreciated the vehicle $10,000. If Jim sells the vehicle today for $25,000, Jim has a $19,750 tax loss. 

If you see opportunities for deductions that you would like to discuss with me, please call me on my direct line at 408-778-9651.

• By Leon Clinton
• November 7, 2024

Here’s an easy question: Do you need more 2024 tax deductions? If the answer is yes, continue reading. 

Next easy question: Do you need a replacement business vehicle? 

If so, you can simultaneously solve or mitigate the first problem (needing more deductions) and the second problem (needing a replacement vehicle) if you can get your replacement vehicle in service on or before December 31, 2024. Don’t procrastinate. 

To ensure compliance with the “placed in service” rule, drive the vehicle at least one business mile on or before December 31, 2024. In other words, you want to both own and drive the vehicle to ensure that it qualifies for the big deductions.

Now that you have the basics, let’s get to the tax deductions.

1. Buy a New or Used SUV, Crossover Vehicle, or Van

Let’s say that on or before December 31, 2024, you or your corporation buys and places in service a new or used SUV or crossover vehicle that the manufacturer classifies as a truck and that has a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 6,001 pounds or more. This newly purchased vehicle gives you four benefits: 

1. Elect bonus depreciation of 60 percent
2. Elect Section 179 expensing of up to $30,500.
3. Elect MACRS depreciation using the five-year table.
4. Avoid the luxury limits that cap vehicle depreciation deductions.

Example. You buy a $100,000 heavy SUV, which you will use 90 percent for business use. Your write-off will look like this:

• $30,500 in Section 179 expensing
• $35,700 in bonus depreciation
• $4,760 in 20 percent MACRS depreciation, or $1,190 if the mid-quarter convention applies because you placed more than 40 percent of your MACRS assets in service in the final quarter of the year

So the 2024 write-off on this $90,000 (90 percent business use) SUV can be as high as $70,960 ($30,500 + $35,700 + $4,760).

2. Buy a New or Used Pickup

If you or your corporation buys and places in service a qualifying pickup truck (new or used) on or before December 31, 2024, then this newly purchased vehicle gives you four big benefits: 

1. Bonus depreciation of up to 60 percent
2. Section 179 expensing of up to $1,220,000
3. MACRS depreciation using the five-year table
4. No luxury limits on vehicle depreciation deductions

To qualify for full Section 179 expensing, the pickup truck must have

• a GVWR of more than 6,000 pounds, and
• a cargo area (commonly called a “bed”) of at least six feet in interior length that is not easily accessible from the passenger compartment.

Example. You pay $55,000 for a qualifying pickup truck that you use 91 percent for business. You can use Section 179 to write off your entire business cost of $50,050 ($55,000 x 91 percent). 

Short bed. If the pickup truck passes the more-than-6,000-pound-GVWR test but fails the bed-length test, the tax code classifies it as an SUV. That’s not bad. The vehicle is still eligible for expensing of up to the $30,500 SUV expensing limit and 60 percent bonus depreciation. (See the example above for how the SUV treatment works.)

3. Buy an Electric Vehicle

If you purchase an all-electric vehicle or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, you might qualify for a tax credit of up to $7,500. You take the credit first, and then follow the rules that apply to the vehicle you purchased.

If you would like to discuss these vehicle strategies and more, please call me on my direct line at 408-778-9651.

• By Leon Clinton
• November 6, 2024

If you’ve recently been billed by the IRS with the claim that you owe a penalty for late filing, late payment, or missed employment tax deposits, I urge you to pause before making any payment. You may not have to pay that penalty at all.

The IRS often imposes steep penalties for filing tax returns late, failing to pay taxes on time, or not depositing employment taxes correctly. However, several strategies can help you get those penalties removed—and in some cases, even refunded if you have already paid them.

Common IRS Penalties and Their Impact

Some of the most common penalties include:

• Late filing penalty. For individual or C corporation returns, this can be up to 5 percent of the unpaid tax for each month the return is late, maxing out at 25 percent. Partnerships and S corporations can incur penalties of $245 per partner or shareholder per month.
• Late payment penalty. This penalty is generally 0.5 percent of the unpaid tax per month, maxing out at 25 percent.
• Failure to deposit employment taxes. This penalty ranges from 2 percent to 10 percent, depending on how late the deposit was.

Strategies for Relief

Here are a few ways to potentially avoid or reduce these penalties:

First-time abate. If this is your first time receiving a penalty—or your first time in over three years—you may be eligible for a “first-time abate.” This is one of the easiest and most common ways to remove a penalty. It applies to failure-to-file, failure-to-pay, and failure-to-deposit penalties. As long as your tax compliance history is clean, you may qualify.

Partnership relief. If your business is a partnership with 10 or fewer partners, and if all partners filed their tax items on time, you may be eligible for relief under Revenue Procedure 84-35. This is a little-known but effective option.

Reasonable cause. If neither of the first two options applies, you can request penalty relief by showing that there was a reasonable cause for your late filing or payment. This could include illness, a natural disaster, or other significant life events that impacted your ability to meet IRS deadlines.

Next Steps

If you believe any of the penalties you’re facing may qualify for relief, I’d be happy to assist you in navigating the process. You can remove many penalties with a simple phone call, and using the right approach and trigger words when speaking to the IRS can make all the difference.

If you have already paid the penalties, you can use IRS Form 843 to file for a refund if you do so within three years of filing the return or within two years of paying the penalty.

If you want to discuss penalty abatement, please call me on my direct line at 408-778-9651.

• By Leon Clinton
• November 5, 2024