---
title: Keys to Year-End Tax Savings for Businesses
description: 2020 has been an unpredictable year. Businesses have faced all-encompassing challenges ranging from protecting employee health and safety to managing unexpected costs to dealing with severe fluctuatio
---

[Member News | CGCCUSA ](https://www.cgccusa.org/en/news)

# [Keys to Year-End Tax Savings for Businesses](https://www.cgccusa.org/en/news/keys-to-year-end-tax-savings-for-businesses)

 Written by [CGCC](https://www.cgccusa.org/en/news/author/cgcc) | December 11, 2020

Source: [BDO](https://www.bdo.com/insights/tax/federal-tax/keys-to-year-end-tax-savings-for-businesses?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twtax&utm_campaign=FederalTax&utm_content=Tax&utm_term=)

### *Whatever 2021 holds, these tips can help lower your tax liability*

2020 has been an unpredictable year. Businesses have faced all-encompassing challenges ranging from protecting employee health and safety to managing unexpected costs to dealing with severe fluctuations in supply and demand for products and services. Some businesses were able to enter new markets and achieve fresh levels of growth, while others had to make tough choices just to endure.

 The outlook for 2021 is uncertain. While COVID-19 continues to surge through the U.S., a new administration is preparing to take office, and control of the Senate—which will have major implications for the future of tax reform—remains undecided. In this environment, many businesses are left wondering which strategies will be effective to help lower their tax liability and increase savings.

 Regardless of which [stage of recovery](https://www.bdo.com/resource-centers/tax-resource-center/tax-relief-strategies-for-resilience) your business is in, or what is on the horizon, consider whether any of the year-end tax strategies outlined below could help your business start off 2021 on the right track.

 When determining which strategies to leverage, a business should consider whether it expects one of the following scenarios to occur:2020 has been an unpredictable year. Businesses have faced all-encompassing challenges ranging from protecting employee health and safety to managing unexpected costs to dealing with severe fluctuations in supply and demand for products and services. Some businesses were able to enter new markets and achieve fresh levels of growth, while others had to make tough choices just to endure.2020 has been an unpredictable year. Businesses have faced all-encompassing challenges ranging from protecting employee health and safety to managing unexpected costs to dealing with severe fluctuations in supply and demand for products and services. Some businesses were able to enter new markets and achieve fresh levels of growth, while others had to make tough choices just to endure.

 The outlook for 2021 is uncertain. While COVID-19 continues to surge through the U.S., a new administration is preparing to take office, and control of the Senate—which will have major implications for the future of tax reform—remains undecided. In this environment, many businesses are left wondering which strategies will be effective to help lower their tax liability and increase savings.

 Regardless of which [stage of recovery](https://www.bdo.com/resource-centers/tax-resource-center/tax-relief-strategies-for-resilience) your business is in, or what is on the horizon, consider whether any of the year-end tax strategies outlined below could help your business start off 2021 on the right track.

 When determining which strategies to leverage, a business should consider whether it expects one of the following scenarios to occur:

1. Income is constant or lower in  
    2021 than in 2020, or tax rates are expected to remain constant or  
    decrease as compared to 2020.
2. Income is higher in 2021 than in  
    2020, or income tax rates are expected to increase as compared to 2020.

### Scenario 1: Income or income tax rates are expected to be constant or decrease in 2021

**Defer Income:** If  
 income or tax rates are expected to remain the same or drop in 2021, businesses  
 may wish to defer income to 2021, given the time value of money or given that  
 the income would be taxed at a lower rate than it would if the income were  
 recognized in 2020. For cash-basis taxpayers, which recognize revenue and  
 expenses at the time money is actually exchanged, deferring income is fairly  
 easy as taxpayers can delay sending bills until 2021. For accrual-basis  
 taxpayers—where revenue and expenses are recognized when earned or  
 incurred—deferral of income can be more complex. However, the 2017 tax reform  
 bill known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) amended the rules governing when  
 an accrual-basis taxpayer should recognize income, i.e., such taxpayers can  
 choose an accounting method that allows the business to report the advance  
 payment amount as gross income as of the time that amount is reflected as  
 revenue on the taxpayer’s applicable financial statements. This provision  
 effectively allows for a one-year deferral for the reporting of advance  
 payments.

**Accelerate  
 Deductions:** Companies may  
 wish to make payments on expenses that would be deductible in 2020 rather than  
 2021. For cash-basis taxpayers, paying their bills quickly and using credit to  
 cover deductible expenses is one way to ensure those purchases take place  
 before the end of 2020. Again, for accrual-basis taxpayers, this is more  
 complicated, but not impossible with the right accounting strategies.

**Expense  
 Capital Assets:** Taxpayers  
 should consider reviewing their capitalized costs on their balance sheets such  
 as prepaid expenses or software development costs and consider possible changes  
 to accounting methods. Also, given the new liberalized bonus deprecation rules,  
 businesses could look to place tangible assets in service by December 31, 2020  
 that could secure an immediate deduction for 2020.

**Close  
 on Taxable Business Acquisitions:** Taxpayers  
 looking to make business acquisitions that would result in part of the purchase  
 price being allocated to tangible personal property, such as machinery,  
 computers or other equipment, may wish to try to do so before the end of 2020  
 so they can expense the purchase immediately and claim a deduction on their  
 tangible personal property tax in 2020 rather than in 2021. The TCJA amended  
 the rules to allow bonus depreciation for used property with a MACRS life of 20  
 years or less.

  

### Scenario 2: Taxable income or the income tax rate is expected to increase in 2021

**Accelerate Income: **When a  
 taxpayer expects to be taxed at a higher rate in the next year, the strategies  
 discussed in Scenario 1 are reversed. In this case, rather than deferring  
 income to 2021, a taxpayer may wish to recognize income before 2020 ends, so that  
 it is taxed at the presumed lower rate. Accrual-basis taxpayers might be able  
 to accelerate income by completing work contracts and billing clients or  
 customers before the end of 2020. Cash-basis businesses simply need  
 constructive receipt (i.e., the funds are under their control) of payment  
 before year end to recognize income in 2020.  

**Deduct  
 Deferrals:** While  
 accelerating income, taxpayers should ascertain whether it is possible to defer  
 taxable expenses until 2021 or simply defer placing 2020 purchases in service  
 until 2021 when their overall income tax rate is higher, for example, by  
 delaying placing purchases in service for equipment or supplies that will  
 generate a deduction in the following year.

**Capitalize  
 Assets: **With respect to  
 capitalized assets, taxpayers may wish to consider waiting to place assets in  
 service until after December 31, 2020 to postpone any resulting deductions.

**Delay  
 Business Acquisitions:** Businesses  
 should consider delaying until 2021 the completion of any acquisitions that  
 could result in a tangible personal property deduction.

  

#### Other Year-End Tax Strategies to Consider

- [**R&D Tax Credit**](https://www.bdo.com/r-d-tax-credit-calculator)**: **A company that has dedicated  
   resources to developing new or improving existing products, processes or  
   software may qualify for the R&D tax credit, which could result in  
   significant tax savings. Taxpayers seeking to maximize the benefit of  
   immediately deducting R&D expenditures should consider the effective  
   date of the required amortization rule (i.e., December 31, 2021) and, if  
   possible, accelerate their R&D activities prior to 2022.   
- [**Section 199A**](https://www.bdo.com/insights/tax/federal-tax/final-regulations-of-section-199a)**:** Certain non-corporate taxpayers  
   may be entitled to a deduction of up to 20% of their qualified business  
   income. Pass-through businesses may be able to increase the Section 199A  
   deduction by increasing W-2 wages before the end of 2020.
- **Bonus Planning:** There may be opportunities for  
   a business to claim deductions on bonuses or postpone them until 2021,  
   depending on the individual taxpayer’s situation. An accrual basis  
   corporation can take a deduction for its current tax year for a bonus not  
   actually paid to its employee until the following tax year if: 
    - The employee does not own more  
       than 50% in value of the corporation’s stock,
    - The bonus is properly accrued on  
       its books before the end of the current tax year,
    - The overall bonus pool is fixed  
       at year-end, and
    - The bonus is actually paid  
       within the first two and a half months of the following tax year (for a  
       calendar year taxpayer, no later than the first half of March 2021).

For cash-basis employees, the bonus will not be taxable  
 income until the following year. 

- **S Corporation Planning: **Consider advancing funds to the  
   business in the form of capital or a loan to increase the tax basis of the  
   shareholder to allow for losses by creating sufficient tax basis before  
   the end of 2020. Also, consider advising shareholders how much additional  
   time needs to be spent before the end of the year working in the business  
   to avoid application of the passive activity loss rules.
- **Partnership Losses:** A partner’s share of  
   partnership losses is deductible only to the extent of his or her  
   partnership basis at the end of the year in which the loss is incurred.  
   The basis amount can be increased by a capital contribution, which  
   increases the partner’s share of partnership liabilities, but a decrease  
   in a partner’s share of the partnership liability will reduce basis. While  
   all liability allocations increase basis for distribution purposes,  
   recourse or at-risk liabilities increase tax basis for loss purposes.
- **Timing Distributions of  
   Appreciated Property:** Delaying  
   a distribution of appreciated property or a corporate liquidation into  
   2021 can defer taxes on that distribution for an entire year.
- **Increase Business Interest  
   Deductions: **Review  
   the options for taking advantage of the benefits of the Coronavirus Aid,  
   Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, as well as [regulations on the  
   deduction of business interest expense](https://www.bdo.com/insights/tax/federal-tax/final-and-proposed-reliance-regulations-on). These options include  
   increasing the percentage multiplied against adjusted taxable income from  
   30% to 50% for most taxpayers in 2019 and all taxpayers in 2020.
- **Section 382 Studies: **Certain techniques are available  
   to increase the annual limitation on net operating losses.
- **Entity Simplification or  
   Restructuring:** In  
   the context of closely held businesses, taxpayers can increase their tax  
   basis for loss utilization and tax-free distributions and allow for  
   additional interest expense by combining income in a closely held context.  
   In the context of large corporate entity structures, entity simplification  
   or restructuring could help to identify worthless stock deductions for a  
   domestic subsidiary in a consolidated or affiliated group context, and for  
   foreign subsidiaries.
- **Transaction Cost Analysis:** Most taxpayers incur many  
   fees for all types of merger and acquisition transactions, as well as for  
   the raising of capital and debt exchanges. Millions of dollars of  
   otherwise capitalized and non-deductible losses could be freed up and  
   utilized immediately to offset taxable income for the year or to create a  
   net operating loss.
- **Qualified Small Business Stock:** Qualifying taxpayers can  
   exclude gains of up to the greater of $10 million or 10 times their tax  
   basis for stock that has been held for five years and that otherwise meets  
   all the corporate qualifications.
- **IRS Account and Interest Recovery  
   Services:** Consider  
   undertaking a project to identify potential IRS errors in processes and  
   posting payments and to recover misapplied payments and interest as tax  
   savings in this area could offset other year-end tax costs.

This article outlines some—but not all—considerations for  
 year-end tax planning. A trusted advisor can help businesses determine which  
 strategies would be effective in helping them lower their [total tax  
 liability](https://www.bdo.com/resources/total-tax-liability) for the year ahead.

For any questions regarding this article etc, kindly contact  
 Larry Miao ([smiao@bdo.com](http://smiao@bdo.com))

[View full post](https://www.cgccusa.org/en/news/keys-to-year-end-tax-savings-for-businesses)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "CGCC"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2025-01-28T00:33:06.513Z",
  "datePublished" : "2020-12-11T20:25:46Z",
  "headline" : "Keys to Year-End Tax Savings for Businesses",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 60,
    "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
    "width" : 60
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://www.cgccusa.org/en/news/keys-to-year-end-tax-savings-for-businesses",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "News"
  }
}
```