Cherry Bekaert: The Tax Beat

Recent court decisions are prompting renewed discussion around how disaster relief provisions apply to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) deadlines and what actions taxpayers may take before key limitation periods expire.  The federally declared COVID-19 disaster period may have created unexpected opportunities for taxpayers to revisit penalties, interest assessments and refund claims tied to prior ta...

2025 tax law changes are reshaping depreciation, energy incentives and cash‑flow planning In this episode of the Tax Beat Podcast, Cherry Bekaert tax professionals explore recent developments benefiting cost segregation studies, the Section 179D Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings deduction (Section 179D), and bonus depreciation. Their discussion explains how these incentives help commercial rea...

As cross-border activity becomes increasingly common for middle-market companies, international tax considerations are no longer limited to large multinationals. From transfer pricing and tariffs to global tax compliance and planning, businesses expanding overseas face greater complexity and heightened scrutiny from tax authorities worldwide. Understanding where value is created, how intercompany...

Stay informed on the latest tax policy changes and economic trends with Cherry Bekaert’s Tax Beat Podcast. In this episode, hosts Brooks Nelson, Tax Partner, and Sarah McGregor, Tax Director, talk with Kasey Pittman, Managing Director of Tax Policy, about the sweeping P.L. 119-21, or the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” They also discuss Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance and what businesses and...

As we navigate through changes brought by the new administration in 2025, there are significant developments within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that will impact taxpayers and tax professionals. The IRS is aiming to streamline its operations while facing the challenge of reduced staffing levels. With proposed federal workforce reductions and shifts in technology modernization efforts, unders...

Earlier this year, final regulations were issued under Prop. Reg. Section 1.6011-10 , setting forth the criteria that classify certain micro-captive insurance arrangements as listed transactions or transactions of interest. These designations require extensive tax return disclosures and impact all parties, including related entities.  As micro-captives continue to be a focal point for Internal Rev...

Navigating the complex terrain of financial statement reporting and income tax disclosures is a major challenge for companies as they face heightened regulatory scrutiny and evolving standards. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) continues to introduce significant updates, including ASU 2023-09 , which requires greater transparency and more detailed reporting of tax provisions. These c...

In 2024, a year marked by numerous natural disasters, the IRS has stepped up to provide taxpayers with crucial relief measures. More than 60 disaster relief notices have been issued, offering postponement of tax return filing and tax payment due dates for individuals and businesses across various U.S. counties. This relief is vital as individuals and businesses begin the challenging recovery proce...

The employee retention credit (ERC) remains a hot topic as the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has opened a new window for its voluntary disclosure program, allowing employers to withdraw their claims. While the IRS is processing and paying out refunds for the ERC, it has also introduced new conditions that seem to disqualify certain wages from eligibility. In response, some eligible employers are...

The Section 179D Energy Efficient Commercial Building Deduction (Section 179D) and cost segregation studies can help commercial building owners save significantly on taxes. Section 179D provides a tax deduction for new construction and renovations to the HVAC, interior lighting and building envelope, while cost segregation studies help identify assets with shorter depreciable lives. When paired to...

For fast-growing companies, becoming a C corporation for income tax purposes can offer significant tax savings for their shareholders. Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) is a powerful tool for attracting investors with funds to fuel a company's growth.  To qualify for these tax benefits, both the company and shareholder must meet specific requirements, and non-compliance can resu...

Public Law 86-272 (PL 86-272) offers limited protection to out-of-state companies that solely solicit sales for tangible personal property within a state. Small and medium-sized businesses in the manufacturing, distribution and retail sectors have heavily relied upon this state protection since it was enacted in 1959 to decrease overall tax liability.  In 2021, the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC)...

Private aircraft ownership can be a great asset for companies, providing convenience, flexibility and efficiency for business travel. However, ownership also comes with significant costs, including purchase, maintenance, fuel and insurance. In addition to these expenses, companies that own private aircraft must also comply with various tax regulations, including properly reporting any personal use...

When expanding operations into the U.S. market, business owners must learn about the federal, state and local tax systems they will encounter. Sales tax in the U.S. is quite different from a value-added tax (VAT) or a goods and services tax (GST) assessed by many other countries. Companies selling goods and some services must comply with a sales tax system that can vary across thousands of taxing...

On December 14, 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) expanded income tax disclosure requirements for public and private companies. The expanded disclosure requirements are detailed in Accounting Standards Update No. 2023-09 (ASU 2023-09) and increase transparency of a filer’s global taxes. This will require filers to provide more details and be more descriptive in their financial...

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has taken several steps to tackle the millions of invalid Employee Retention Credit (ERC) claims. First, they temporarily halted all ERC claims until the beginning of 2024. Two new programs were introduced by the IRS to aid employers who may have filed ERC claims they didn’t qualify for without realizing it. The IRS announced the Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP...

The New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program has been issuing tax credits for more than two decades as a driving force for investors to aid low-income communities across the United States. In September 2023, Cherry Bekaert’s The Innovate Fund , a Community Development Entity (CDE), received a $50 million allocation in NMTC. With this money, The Innovate Fund will continue to support and enhance commu...

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was enacted in 2017, and part of this bill amended the lifetime exclusion amount for estate and gift tax planning. Over the last 6 years, the lifetime exclusion has ballooned from $10 million to over $13 million in 2024. Together, a married couple could leave $26 million of asset value to their family or other beneficiaries, free of federal estate tax. However, at...

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) bolstered existing clean energy tax credits and incentives and added new ones. Looking forward to 2024, it is important to stay up to date with the qualifications for these various tax credits and incentives and the growing marketplace for transferring credits between buyers and sellers. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regularly releases notices and pro...

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) was created to reward companies that continued paying employees when operations were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.   It is a proven program that helps companies recover from the negative impacts of the pandemic on their business, even when ERC refund claims are filed today. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released new guidance for how employer...

On September 8, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2023-63, providing much anticipated guidance on the application of Section 174. The Notice addresses key issues for handling specified research or experimental (SRE) expenditures that are capitalized and amortized in accordance with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changes to Section 174.  Taxpayers can apply the rules of Notice 20...

When thinking about not-for-profit or tax-exempt organizations, abiding by strict tax rules is probably not top of mind. However, it is important for members of the board of directors and organization leaders to stay informed about tax laws, regulations , and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reporting guidelines for not-for-profit organizations. Form 990 is the annual information return for most tax...

Often, after much negotiation, debt may be reduced on various projects to realign debtor and equity holders' interests in properties. Property owners restructuring debt should be wary of tax consequences that could occur. Debt cancellation, foreclosures and short sales can often increase tax liability for cancellation of debt income. On this episode of the Tax Beat Podcast, Brooks Nelson , Pa...

Wayfair v. South Dakota was a landmark case that clarified how sales tax is determined and collected. Brought about by a group of online retailers that challenged a South Dakota law, the case has had major impacts on how state and local jurisdictions throughout the U.S. establish physical presence or nexus. Since the initial ruling of the Supreme Court case, states have begun to set up their own s...

Section 179D Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings Deduction (Section 179D) was significantly enhanced through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), offering commercial building owners and designers, like architects and engineers, potential lucrative tax credits. The tax credit rewards qualifying energy-efficient commercial buildings to encourage clean energy and offset the costs of the improvements....