North Texas Dentistry Volume 9 Issue 6 2019 ISSUE 6 DE | Page 28

money matters
End-of-Year
Tax-Planning
Reminders
by Paula Allgood
If you want to make the most of every-
thing from tax deductions to retirement
accounts this year, here are a few tax sav-
ings opportunities to consider that could
help reduce your tax liability for 2019.
Once the new year dawns, it will be
too late.
Business Owners
1 Purchase equipment or a vehicle.
Depreciation rules are still very favorable
for 2019 and allow business owners a
number of options to write off equip-
ment. One key consideration is the equip-
ment must be “placed in service” prior to
year-end. That means it must be received
and in use, not just on order.
2 Review your current retirement plan
and evaluate your needs for 2019 and
2020.
3 Maximize your discretionary busi-
ness expense opportunities and get a
reimbursement from the business.
Things like auto expense, networking
meals, cell phone, home internet, home
office, and paying family members are all
worth consideration.
Bonuses to employees – the IRS
requires that all cash or cash equivalent
employee gifts be added to their W-2.
Unfortunately, this includes gift cards.
Non-cash gifts valued at $75 or less are
not taxable.
4
5 Holiday parties – unlike regular busi-
ness meals, holiday parties for your com-
pany can be 100% tax deductible.
6 Stock up on office and medical sup-
plies used routinely in your business.
7 Research and development credits –
for those businesses innovating processes
and technologies, it is worth exploring
opportunities in this area.
8 Cost segregation studies – for those
businesses with a new building or expan-
sion space, this tool can yield great
tax results by accelerating depreciation
deductions.
28 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www.northtexasdentistry.com
Individuals & Families
1
Payment of home property taxes
before year-end to get the deduction in
2019.
2 Charitable giving strategies – here
are some great tools for consideration:
Gifting appreciated securities.
Compared with donating cash, or sell-
ing your appreciated securities and
contributing the after-tax proceeds,
donating appreciated securities is a
very tax-efficient means of gifting. You
avoid paying capital gains tax on the
profit of those securities and you can
take a tax deduction for the full fair
market value of your donation (subject
to limitations).
Qualified Charitable Distribu-
tions (QCDs). These are distributions
made from an Individual Retirement
Account (IRA) directly to a qualified
charity. Only individuals age 70½ and
older are allowed to make QCDs as they
count towards the taxpayer’s Required