Most business owners would like to offer their employees a 401(k) retirement savings plan with all the bells and whistles. But for small businesses with lean budgets and small staffs, offering such benefits may be out of the question. Fortunately, SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs are less expensive and easier to administer. Might one of these tax-advantaged options work for your workforce?

SEP: Flexible and zero setup fees

Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRAs are individual retirement accounts you establish on behalf of each participant. (Self-employed individuals can also establish SEP IRAs.) Participants own their accounts, so they’re immediately 100% vested. If participants decide to leave your company, their account balances go with them. Most people roll their accounts over into a new employer’s qualified plan or traditional IRA account.

SEP IRAs don’t require annual employer contributions. That means you can choose to contribute only when cash flow allows. In addition, there are typically no setup fees for SEP IRAs. But participants generally must pay trading commissions and fund expense ratios (a fee typically set as a percentage of the fund’s average net assets).

In 2026, the SEP IRA annual contribution limit is 25% of a participant’s compensation, up to $72,000. That amount is higher than the standard 401(k) account contribution limit of $24,500 (in 2026). What’s more, employer contributions are tax-deductible. Meanwhile, participants won’t pay taxes on their SEP IRA funds until they’re withdrawn.

However, there are a few downsides to consider. Although participants own their accounts, only employers can make SEP IRA contributions. And if you contribute sparsely or sporadically, participants may see little value in the accounts. Also, unlike many other qualified plans, SEP IRAs don’t permit participants age 50 or over to make additional “catch-up” contributions.

SIMPLE: Easy and participant-friendly

Another possibility is to offer a Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) IRA. As with a SEP IRA, your business creates a SIMPLE IRA for each participant, who’s immediately 100% vested in the account. Unlike SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs allow participants to contribute to their accounts if they choose.

Other advantages of SIMPLE IRAs include:

• They’re relatively easy for employers to set up and administer.
• They don’t require your business to file IRS Form 5500, “Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan.”
• You don’t need to submit the plan to nondiscrimination testing.
• Participants pay no setup fees and enjoy tax-deferred growth on their account funds.
• Participants can contribute up to $17,000 annually in 2026.
• Participants age 50 or over can make catch-up contributions of up to $4,000 in 2026 ($5,250 for those ages 60 to 63).

Participants can contribute more to a SIMPLE IRA than to a self-owned traditional or Roth IRA. But SIMPLE IRA contribution limits are lower than limits for 401(k)s. Also, because contributions are made with pretax dollars, participants can’t deduct them. They also can’t take out plan loans. Then again, making pretax contributions does lower their taxable income. 

Perhaps most important is that employer contributions to SIMPLE IRAs are mandatory, regardless of your cash-flow situation. However, in general, you can deduct contributions as a business expense.

SIMPLE Roth IRAs are available, too. Ask your financial and employee benefits advisors whether this might be a better option for your business.

Lower-cost options

If you’ve thought you can’t afford to offer workers a retirement plan, think again. In addition to SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, there are now some lower-cost 401(k) options available as well. We can review your budget, tax situation and benefit needs and suggest how best to proceed. Contact us.

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Recognize the issue

Many business owners don’t realize how far behind they’ve fallen until they need, for example, to file a tax return or complete a loan application. Take notice if you:

• Haven’t reconciled bank and credit card accounts in months,
• Have unfiled tax returns or unanswered tax notices,
• Are missing receipts or have incomplete expense records,
• Are uncertain about cash flow or profitability,
• Can’t generate accurate, timely financial reports, or
• Spend significant time searching for basic financial information.

If these issues sound familiar, you’re not alone. Growing businesses often outpace the systems and processes that once worked well. Acknowledging the problem is the first step toward solving it.

Start with the basics

When recordkeeping lags and you try to catch up, it’s tempting to focus on everything at once. A more effective approach is to prioritize the essentials, starting with key financial documents. First, gather bank and credit card statements, invoices, payroll records, and tax filings. Organizing these records by month can make the cleanup process more manageable.

Next, identify which bookkeeping tasks are incomplete. For instance, you may need to reconcile accounts, categorize transactions, record outstanding invoices or update payroll information. Creating a checklist can help you tackle the work systematically and avoid overlooking important items. Technology may also help streamline the process. QuickBooks® and other accounting platforms can automate routine tasks and simplify account reconciliations.

Address tax issues promptly

If your tax filings or payments aren’t up-to-date, address the situation as soon as possible. Delays can increase IRS penalties and interest, as well as complicate administration.

Begin by determining which returns have been filed and which obligations remain outstanding. If you’ve received notices from the IRS or other taxing authorities, review them carefully and respond within the required time frame. This can help limit penalties and prevent small problems from becoming major ones. Accurate bookkeeping plays an important role here. If your records are current, it will be easier to prepare returns, substantiate deductions and respond to questions.

View cleanup as an opportunity

Updating records does more than fix past issues. The process can also provide valuable insight into your business’s current financial position and future growth opportunities.

Once your books are current, you’ll be better equipped to evaluate cash flow, monitor profitability and make informed business decisions. Clean books provide the foundation for reliable budgeting and planning. Updating records may also reveal opportunities to improve efficiency and focus your business strategy on the most profitable activities.

Ask for help

You might be able to address minor bookkeeping issues yourself, but more complex situations call for professional assistance. Don’t wait until the next tax deadline or business opportunity exposes the problem. Contact us. We can help you update your financial records and provide the timely, reliable information you need to monitor profitability, manage cash flow and grow your business.

© 2026

Projecting your business’s income for this year and next can allow you to time income and deductible expenses to your tax advantage. It’s generally better to defer tax — unless you expect to be in a higher tax bracket next year. Timing income and expenses can be easier for cash-basis taxpayers. But accrual-basis taxpayers have some unique tax-saving opportunities when it comes to deductions.

Review incurred expenses

The key to saving tax as an accrual-basis taxpayer is to properly record and recognize expenses that were incurred this year but won’t be paid until 2026. This will enable you to deduct those expenses on your 2025 federal tax return. Common examples of such expenses include:

• Commissions, salaries and wages,
• Payroll taxes,
• Advertising,
• Interest,
• Utilities,
• Insurance, and
• Property taxes.
• 
  

You can also accelerate deductions into 2025 without actually paying for the expenses in 2025 by charging them on a credit card. (This works for cash-basis taxpayers, too.)

Look at prepaid expenses

Review all prepaid expense accounts. Then write off any items that have been used up before the end of the year.

If you prepay insurance for a period of time beginning in 2025 and ending in 2026, you can expense the entire amount this year rather than spreading it between 2025 and 2026, as long as a proper method election is made.

More tips to consider

Be sure to review your outstanding receivables and write off any that you can establish as uncollectible. Also, pay interest on shareholder loans. For more information on these strategies and to discuss other ways your business can reduce 2025 taxes, contact us.

© 2025

If you’re a real estate developer or a small business owner who owns commercial real estate, you might be thinking about selling a property. If it has appreciated significantly, a Section 1031 like-kind exchange may allow you to defer tax on some or all of the gain. With this transaction, you exchange one property for another qualifying property rather than sell the property outright. You generally don’t pay tax on the gain on the relinquished property until you sell the replacement property.

You may be familiar with the basics of a Sec. 1031 exchange, but you might not understand all the rules and restrictions. Here are four common myths to be aware of so you can avoid missing planning opportunities or facing unexpected taxes.

Myth 1: The replacement property must be identical to the property you give up

The definition of like-kind property is surprisingly broad. To qualify for Sec. 1031 exchange treatment, you may exchange any real property held for investment or productive use in your trade or business (relinquished property) for like-kind investment, trade or business real property (replacement property).

For these purposes, most real property is considered like-kind with other real property. However, neither the relinquished property nor the replacement property can be real property held primarily for sale.

Myth 2: You never have to pay current-year tax in a like-kind exchange

A properly structured Sec. 1031 exchange can defer gain. But that doesn’t mean every exchange is completely tax-free.

If it’s a straight property-for-property exchange, you generally won’t have to recognize any gain from the exchange. You’ll take the same basis (your cost for tax purposes) in the replacement property that you had in the relinquished property. Even if you don’t have to recognize any gain on the exchange, you must report it on Form 8824, “Like-Kind Exchanges.”

However, the properties aren’t always equal in value. In these situations, some cash may be added to the deal. This cash is known as “boot.” If you receive boot, you’ll have to recognize gain up to the amount of boot received.

For example, let’s say you exchange a building with a basis of $100,000 for a building valued at $125,000, plus $10,000 in cash. Your realized gain on the exchange is $35,000 because you received $135,000 in value for an asset with a basis of $100,000. However, because it’s a Sec. 1031 exchange, you have to currently recognize (and pay tax on) only $10,000 of your gain — the amount of cash (boot) you received.

It’s also important to remember that no matter how much boot you receive, you’ll never recognize more than your actual realized gain on the exchange. In addition, your basis in the like-kind replacement property you receive equals the basis you had in the relinquished property reduced by the amount of boot you received but increased by the amount of any gain recognized.

Myth 3: Cash is the only type of boot

Boot can take forms other than cash. If the property you’re exchanging is subject to debt from which you’re being relieved, the amount of the debt is generally treated as boot. The reason is that if someone takes over your debt, it’s equivalent to that person giving you cash.

Of course, if the replacement property is also subject to debt, then you’re treated as receiving boot only to the extent of your net debt relief, the amount by which the debt you become free of exceeds the debt you pick up.

Myth 4: You must have the replacement property lined up immediately

It’s possible, but rare to find someone who wants to simultaneously swap like-kind properties with you. Fortunately, you don’t have to acquire the replacement property from the same party you relinquish your property to. And you don’t have to acquire the replacement property on the same day you transfer the relinquished property.

In most Sec. 1031 exchanges, the relinquished property is sold first, and the taxpayer uses the exchange proceeds to acquire a replacement property. However, a qualified intermediary must hold the proceeds from the relinquished property until they’re transferred to acquire the replacement property. And deadlines apply: Generally, you must 1) identify a potential replacement property within 45 days after transferring the relinquished property, and 2) complete the acquisition of the replacement property within 180 days.

These deadlines are strictly enforced. Missing either one can cause the entire transaction to lose tax-deferred treatment. While you don’t need to have the replacement property lined up immediately, you do need a plan. Begin evaluating replacement property options as early as possible and work closely with your professional advisors throughout the process.

Don’t let misconceptions derail your Sec. 1031 exchange

Like-kind exchanges can be a tax-savvy way to dispose of investment or business real property and retain working capital for your business or investment activities. But you’ll need to meet all the requirements. If you’re considering selling investment or business real estate, contact us to discuss this strategy further.

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Asset protection and estate planning advantages

Owning real estate in a separate legal entity can wall off an operating business from its real estate’s potential liabilities (and vice versa). A creditor who targets your business generally can’t reach real estate held in a separate entity. And if, for example, someone slips and falls in your office, factory or warehouse and sues, holding the property in a separate entity may help protect your operating business’s other assets.

Such protection extends to bankruptcy. If your business is forced to file for bankruptcy, creditors typically can’t recover separately owned real estate. However, there’s at least one exception. Real estate you’ve pledged as collateral for a business loan may still be subject to claims by lenders.

Owners of real estate in LLCs or limited partnerships also enjoy estate planning and succession flexibility. Let’s say you have two grown children, but only one is actively involved in the business. You can equitably divide assets by transferring the business to the actively involved child and the real estate to the other. Also, gradually gifting interests in a separate entity holding real estate can reduce the value of your taxable estate.

Tax matters

C corporations that hold real estate can risk unnecessary taxes. Real estate expenses are treated as ordinary expenses on the company’s income statement. If the property is sold, any profit is subject to double taxation: first at the corporate level and then at the owner’s individual level when proceeds are distributed. If you instead own real estate in a pass-through entity, and then lease it to your company, the profit upon sale would be taxed only once, at the individual owner level. Also, your operating business might be able to deduct lease payments so long as the rent is reasonable.

To simplify matters, some business owners buy business real estate themselves. However, this can transfer the property’s liabilities directly to owners and put other personal assets: including the business interests, at risk. So it’s generally best to hold real estate in its own limited liability entity. Just make sure your entity carries adequate insurance coverage.

Possible downsides

Aside from the costs, there are possible downsides to owning real estate separately. For instance, you’ll need to manage separate finances, tax filings and legal structures. But for most small to midsize businesses, the advantages outweigh any disadvantages. Contact us to discuss this strategy and determine what’s right for your situation.

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The basics

The most basic kind of business insurance is general liability. Essentially, it covers claims for bodily injury to third parties and property damage arising from business operations. For example, general liability typically protects your business if a customer slips and falls in your facility because someone failed to clean up a slippery floor. Or, in a more extreme example, it might cover the fallout if a piece of equipment explodes, injuring customers and employees and damaging the property you rent.

Other coverage related to and often included in general liability policies includes:

Product liability. This type of policy protects businesses against harm or injury caused by product defects. This coverage is especially important if you sell products that could potentially harm people, such as chemicals, electronics and automobiles.

Professional liability or errors and omissions (E&O). Sometimes general liability and E&O can be rolled into a single policy, but you might not need E&O. It generally applies to negligence when providing a professional service, including legal, engineering, consulting, accounting and architectural services.

Property. This is the business equivalent of homeowner’s insurance. It protects your organization against the cost of losses from factors beyond your control, such as fires and natural disasters. You might also need auto insurance if your business owns and operates vehicles.

Business interrupted

Even if you have general liability and property coverage, you may also need business interruption insurance. This coverage comes into play when a business must halt operations due to a manmade or natural disaster. So if, for instance, a fire forces you to suspend operations for weeks or months while making repairs to your facility, a business interruption policy could help you pay bills in the meantime.

Your operations might also be disrupted by a cyberattack or data breach. Cyberinsurance can help your business respond to losses related to hacking, ransomware attacks and compromised customer or employee data. Depending on the policy, coverage may include costs associated with business interruptions, data recovery, legal claims and regulatory response.

Key person insurance protects against another type of disaster: The sudden loss of a business partner or executive. If an owner dies unexpectedly, the policy can provide living owners with the cash to buy the deceased owner’s shares. Or it could help cover lost profits associated with a key person’s death or pay for the costs of replacing the key person.

Employee risks

Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) is valuable to any business with employees, regardless of industry. Typically, it protects against violations of Civil Rights Act. EPLI coverage areas include employment discrimination, wrongful termination, sexual harassment and emotional distress. If such violations occur in your organization and you fail to take necessary remedial action, an EPLI policy can cover your defense fees and settlement costs.

EPLI may also cover wage and hour violations. These generally relate to a business’s failure to comply with the Fair Labor Standards Act, including on minimum wage and overtime rules.

Make informed choices

To make smarter insurance decisions for your business, you’ll need to determine which types of coverage fit your risks and how much protection is appropriate for your operations. An independent insurance broker who isn’t employed by a specific insurance provider can help you evaluate the options. Make sure your broker is familiar with any insurance requirements in your industry. Also talk to us. We can help you evaluate potential coverage gaps and manage business risk cost-effectively.

© 2026

The passive activity loss (PAL) rules may limit your ability to deduct losses from a business structured as a limited liability partnership (LLP) or limited liability company (LLC). Depending on how your ownership interest is treated under these rules, you may have more or less flexibility to claim losses in the current year. Here’s a closer look.

The basics

Under the PAL rules, you generally can use passive activity losses only to offset income from other passive activities. (Keep in mind that other limitations, such as basis and at-risk rules, may apply before the PAL rules.)

There are two types of passive activities: 1) trade or business activities in which you don’t materially participate during the year, and 2) rental activities, even if you do materially participate (unless you qualify as a real estate professional under the PAL rules). Disallowed losses may be carried forward to future years and deducted from passive income or recovered when the passive business interest is sold.

If you’re an LLP or LLC owner, you can avoid passive treatment by materially participating in the business’s activities. This allows you to use LLP or LLC losses to offset nonpassive income, such as wages, interest, dividends and capital gains.

7 factors

Material participation in this context means participation on a “regular, continuous and substantial” basis. Unless you’re treated as a limited partner, you’re deemed to materially participate in a business activity during the year by meeting one of the following seven criteria:

1. You participate in the activity more than 500 hours during the year.
2. Your participation constitutes substantially all the participation for the year by anyone, including nonowners.
3. You participate more than 100 hours and as much or more than any other person.
4. The activity is a “significant participation activity”, that is, you participate more than 100 hours, but you participate less than one or more other people yet your participation in all your significant participation activities for the year totals more than 500 hours.
5. You materially participated in the activity for any five of the preceding 10 tax years.
6. The activity is a personal service activity in which you materially participated in any three previous tax years.
7. Regardless of the number of hours, based on all the facts and circumstances, you participate in the activity on a regular, continuous and substantial basis.
8. Limited partners face more restrictive rules; they can establish material participation only by satisfying criterion 1, 5 or 6.

Supporting your deductions

If you’re an LLC or LLP owner, it’s important to track the time you spend on business activities. In addition, if your spouse also participates in an activity, you can combine your hours to meet the material participation standards. Contact us for additional guidance on documenting your hours, applying the material participation test and maximizing business loss deductions.

© 2026