As record numbers of boomers reach retirement age, more private companies than ever must wrestle with transition challenges.

A gifting strategy that considers minority interest discounts, the timing of gifts and anticipated appreciation can save millions of dollars in taxes.

Hoensheid v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo 2023-34) underscores the significance of timing and proper appraisal in tax planning, particularly concerning charitable contributions.

If you audit or manage a startup company or other privately held business, don’t overlook the treatment of stock-based compensation. If you do, the financials might not stand up to an audit, which could compromise the company’s capital-raising efforts going forward.

On December 22, 2023, the IRS released Rev. Proc. 2024-09 containing new and revised procedural guidance concerning specified research and experimental (SRE) expenditures under IRC Section 174.

This publication summarizes the new accounting standards with mandatory[1] effective dates in the first quarter of 2024 for public entities, as well as new standards that take effect in annual 2023 financial statements for nonpublic entities. Those effective dates reflect the deferral of certain major standards provided in ASU 2019-10.

The sweeping tax reform enacted in 2017 (the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act) significantly reworked the ways in which individuals, corporations, and pass-through entities are taxed. However, one important but often overlooked change was the shift from a worldwide tax system to a hybrid tax system that’s a cross between the territorial system and the worldwide system.

Cybersecurity is a top concern for many U.S. businesses and industries. The retirement plan industry holds over $37 trillion in total participant retirement accounts, yet only 27 percent of plan sponsors have a written cybersecurity policy, according to the 65th annual Survey of Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plans by the Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA).

With the elevated exemption sunsetting at the end of 2025, now is an ideal time to start planning with high-net-worth clients (commonly general partners in private equity, venture capital, or hedge funds) whose compensation includes carried interest. There are many high-impact planning opportunities to consider, but those solutions take time to analyze, set up and execute properly. So, don’t let them wait until the last minute.

Most of the 90-plus provisions included in the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“Secure 2.0”, “the Act”) are aimed at preserving and enhancing the retirement savings of working Americans and improving the effectiveness of retirement plan administration for plan sponsors

On September 8, 2023, the IRS released pre-regulatory guidance concerning the requirement to capitalize and amortize specified research and experimental (SRE) expenditures under Internal Revenue Code Section 174, as revised by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA)

Stock compensation opens up new challenges from a GAAP (ASC 718) perspective

In my work, I encounter complex equity structures across a range of scenarios and companies. But the most common is stock based compensation for start-up companies. Whether you’re an auditor or a CFO, you need to be aware of when and how to value complex equity structures. The penalties for ignorance can be significant, including qualified or adverse audit opinions.

Joint ventures, as defined in U.S. GAAP and formed after January 1, 2025, must apply a new basis of accounting, as issued by the FASB in Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2023-05, Business Combinations — Joint Venture Formations (Subtopic 805-60). Under the new basis of accounting, a joint venture will recognize and initially measure its assets and liabilities at the joint venture’s fair value upon formation.

A family limited partnership (FLP) is a highly customizable vehicle for generational wealth transfer. The FLP and its close cousin, the family limited liability company (FLLC), are entities that may be used in trust and estate planning to transfer family wealth efficiently across generations; to protect family assets; and to consolidate assets to achieve economies of scale related to administrative costs.

Carried interest (carry) refers to the profits interest that a fund's general partners (GPs) receive in addition to their direct interest and management fee. In many funds, the carry is a significant part of the partner’s compensation. With the elevated exemption expected to sunset at the end of 2025, now is an ideal time for estate planning when it comes to your client’s valuable carried interest.

The U.S. government has repeatedly revised the requirements for U.S. taxpayers to claim the Employee Retention Credit (“ERC”), also commonly known as the Employee Retention Tax Credit, since its initial codification into law.

DLOM is applied to a non-controlling interest in a privately held business to adjust for the fact that it is not readily sellable on the open market. If the value of an ownership interest is reduced due to DLOM, it can significantly impact the amount of estate tax owed.

It may seem that there will always be time to address estate planning. However, a unique opportunity to maximize the amount of wealth that can be tax-efficiently passed to heirs will expire at the end of 2025. Furthermore, legislation could curb lifetime exemption limits even sooner.

Millions of business owners are struggling to write the next chapter of their companies and their legacies. Prudent gift and estate tax planning can be the difference between creating generational wealth and squandering it.

The case of the Estate of William A.V. Cecil, Sr., Donor, Deceased v. Commissioner is one of the most important valuation cases certainly since Kress v. United States, but possibly ever.