The confetti has settled, and the books for last year are closing. As a business owner, January isn't just about making resolutions—it's about setting the financial strategy for the next 12 months.
This year is different. With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the tax code has shifted in favor of investment and growth. Strategies that made sense two years ago might now be leaving money on the table.
To help you hit the ground running, here are the top four things you need to do immediately to maximize your cash flow and tax savings for the year ahead.
For the last few years, we watched "Bonus Depreciation" slowly fade away. That trend has officially reversed.
The Change: Under the new tax law, 100% Bonus Depreciation is back for qualified property. Additionally, the Section 179 expense limit has nearly doubled to $2.5 million.
The Action Item: Review your capital expenditure (CapEx) budget for the year. If you need new machinery, vehicles, or technology, buying them this year allows you to write off the entire cost immediately rather than spreading it out over years. Don't wait until December to decide; planning now helps manage cash flow better.
If your business develops software, designs products, or improves processes, you likely felt the sting of the recent requirement to amortize Research & Experimental (R&E) expenses over five years.
The Change: The new bill restores immediate expensing for domestic R&E costs.
The Action Item: Sit down with your development team. Projects that were previously tax-inefficient are now fully deductible in the year the money is spent. This is the green light to reinvest in innovation.
Interest rates have been a challenge, but the tax treatment of that interest just got friendlier for many businesses.
The Change: The limitation on deducting business interest expense (Section 163(j)) has reverted to the EBITDA standard (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization).
The Action Item: If you have been hesitant to take on debt for expansion because of the stricter "EBIT" limits, it’s time to run the numbers again. Your capacity to deduct interest expenses may have just increased significantly, lowering the effective cost of borrowing.
The new "No Tax on Tips" and "No Tax on Overtime" rules don't just help your employees; they can be a powerful retention tool if managed correctly.
The Change: Qualified tips and overtime pay are now largely deductible for employees.
The Action Item: Ensure your payroll provider is correctly categorizing "tips" and "overtime" on pay stubs and W-2s. Educating your team about these new perks can boost morale without costing the company a dime. It shows you are looking out for their bottom line, not just the company's.
The "New Year" is more than a calendar flip—it’s a fresh fiscal start. The government has handed business owners a new playbook focused on growth, investment, and manufacturing.
Don't let these opportunities pass you by. Schedule a planning session with us this month to ensure your 2026 strategy is aligned with these new tax incentives.