Delcare the pennies on your eyes

“ …‘Cause I’m the taxman, yeah, I’m the taxman. And you’re working for no one but me.”

It’s a line from Taxman, a little ditty from The Beatles. While I did get The Beatles Rock Band for Christmas, it’s not the reason I’m singing that song. I’m working on my taxes. And when I say “working,” I mean staring at stacks of papers with a glazed look and sighing deep, loud sighs.

2009 tax law changes

• ARRA extended the 50 percent bonus first-year depreciation allowance available in 2008 to 2009.
• During 2009, businesses can choose to expense and immediately deduct up to $250,000 of the cost of qualifying property and equipment. The $250,000 maximum expensing amount is reduced if the cost of all Section 179 property placed in service in 2009 exceeds $800,000.
• For tax years beginning in either 2009 or 2010, ARRA eliminates the corporate level tax on the built-in gains of an S corporation that converted from regular C corporation status at least seven tax years before the current tax year.

And there are some tax laws that expire in 2009. Make sure you don’t miss them.

• Reduced estimated tax payments for small businesses
• The tax credit for research and experimentation expenses
• Increased alternative minimum tax (AMT) exemption amounts
• Renewal community tax incentives
• The FUTA surtax of 0.2 percent

If you missed the tax story the first time, that’s okay. Click here to read the article.