Blog

We keep you up-to-date on the latest tax changes and news in the industry.

Smart Year-End Tax Moves for Small Businesses

As the year approaches its close, small business owners find themselves at a pivotal moment for reinforcing their financial management and tax strategies. This period presents a unique opportunity to effectively reduce your upcoming 2025 tax obligations. By leveraging smart savings, cash flow management, and compliance with tax deadlines, you place your business in a stronger position entering the new year. It’s essential to take action before December 31 to unlock maximum benefits. Here's a comprehensive year-end tax checklist tailored to help small businesses discover valuable savings opportunities.

Invest in Essential Equipment: One strategic move for tax savings is purchasing necessary equipment, machinery, or other fixed assets and putting them to use by the end of the year. Typically, these are capitalized and depreciated over time. However, there are immediate deduction options:

  • Section 179 Expensing - This provision permits the deduction of up to $2.5 million in expenses for qualifying assets, phased out beginning at $4 million. This break allows a business to immediately deduct costs of tangible personal property like machinery and software that are primarily used for business purposes. Some nonresidential property improvements are also eligible, helping you to streamline major expense deductions within the tax year.

  • Bonus Depreciation - Recently enhanced by the OBBBA, bonus depreciation now allows for a 100% write-off on qualified property bought post-January 19, 2025. Including both new and used items in your tax planning can provide significant tax relief for your business investments.

  • De Minimis Safe Harbor - This rule enables the immediate expensing of items under a certain cost threshold, avoiding the complex depreciation process. Entities with financial statements can deduct up to $5,000 per item, otherwise, the limit is $2,500.

Small business owner accounting

Optimize Inventory Levels: Accounting for year-end inventory significantly impacts Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) calculations, affecting gross profits and tax liabilities. By strategically managing inventory purchases and writing down obsolete stock, businesses can optimize taxable income effectively.

  • Reducing year-end purchases helps in shrinking taxable income by lowering ending inventory values, directly affecting COGS and boosting potential profits.

Retirement Plan Contributions: Investing in retirement plans like a SEP IRA offers dual benefits—significant tax deductions now and savings for your or your employees' future. Business contributions have flexible deadlines, extending until tax filings, allowing strategic planning well past December.

For sole proprietors and independent contractors, Solo 401(k) plans offer higher contribution limits due to the dual-role feature, ensuring substantial retirement savings alongside immediate tax benefits.

Maximize QBI Deduction: Leveraging the Qualified Business Income deduction allows up to 20% tax relief on qualified business revenue. Adjust income levels and carefully manage shareholder wages to maximize this benefit, ensuring deductions through Sec. 179 or bonus depreciation enhance these savings.

IRS office

Review Accounts Receivable: Writing off bad debts can provide immediate tax deductions, crucial for maintaining clean financial records and reducing taxable income. Using diligent documentation ensures these deductions meet IRS standards.

Strategic Pre-Payment: Prepaying business expenses helps manage taxable income and lower liabilities. Deducting expenses like insurance and office supplies up to 12 months in advance aligns well with cash-accounting strategies, optimizing your fiscal outcomes.

Income Deferral Techniques: Postponing income receipts to the next year keeps your taxable income below critical thresholds. Though beneficial, this strategy demands careful planning to avoid disrupting business liquidity and operation dynamics.

Entity Structure Review: End-of-year reflection on your business structure can reveal optimization opportunities relative to tax obligations and coverage. Consider how different structures, such as LLCs or S Corporations, align with your business goals and tax constraints.

Conclusion: Year-end tax planning extends beyond simple tax liability reductions. These tactics improve overall financial health by enhancing cash flow and providing strategic savings across business dimensions. Consult with us at CPA Consulting Services to fully capitalize on these strategies, ensuring your business steps into the new year stronger and more tax-efficient.

Share this article...

Want tax & accounting tips and insights?

Sign up for our newsletter.

I confirm this is a service inquiry and not an advertising message or solicitation. By clicking “Submit”, I acknowledge and agree to the creation of an account and to the and .
CPA Consulting Services LLC We love to chat!
Please feel free to use the buttons below to contact us or use our Ai powered chat assistant.
Please fill out the form and our team will get back to you shortly The form was sent successfully