In the wake of Congress’s big push to reform taxes, many people in the biofuel community have questions. We think that this blog post from accounting firm K·Coe Isom does a great job of providing some answers:
“7 Key Tax Reform Changes for the Biofuels Industry”
YEAR-END STRATEGIES AND LONG-TERM PLANNING ARE CRUCIAL
K·Coe Isom, the national agricultural accounting and business advisory firm, affirmed that the passage of the tax reform bill will present opportunities for those in the biofuels industry, but only if they develop plans taking into consideration changes to the tax code.
”Each business will need to take a fresh look at how they approach planning this year, with very little time left for calendar year tax filers, and begin now to plan for 2018 and beyond,” said Donna Funk, a Principal and CPA with KCoe Isom.
The items in the tax reform that will be key to biofuel businesses are:
- Immediate expensing and the increased bonus deprecation that includes used equipment
- Elimination of Domestic Product Activities Deduction (DPAD)
- Reduced tax on a percentage of pass-through income
- Limitation of state income tax deduction by shareholders
- Capitalization of research and experimentation costs (versus immediate expensing)
- Flat tax on C Corporation earnings (and at a lower level)
- Elimination of like-kind exchanges on equipment
In addition to year-end tax planning, K·Coe Isom recommends that businesses take a fresh look at their operations in 2018 and think about whether restructuring or adjusting operations will make sense in light of the changes in this bill.
“The changes in the tax code made by this bill are complex and will affect biofuel businesses and their shareholders in unexpected ways,” added Funk. “We encourage every business to take a fresh look at their operations early in 2018 and consider whether there are further adjustments they should make in light of these changes to the tax code.”
“We will be working closely with biofuel businesses to assess their tax situations and look at changes they may want to make given this significant rewrite of the tax code,” said Funk. “This bill doesn’t make things simpler – in many respects it actually raises new questions for businesses. While some businesses may see reduced taxes from this bill, many more will need to carefully evaluate their individual circumstances to take advantage of these changes.”
For help with the new tax code applicability and tax strategies to benefit your business, please contact your K·Coe Isom tax advisor.