Education: AA Liberal Studies, Limestone University
Erica has been writing about small business finance and technology since 2008. She joined Merchant Maverick in 2018 and specializes in researching and reviewing business software, financial products, and other topics to help small businesses manage and grow their operations. Her expertise has been cited in MSN, Reader’s Digest, Vox, U.S. News & World Report, and Real Simple. She is a Certified ProAdvisor for QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payroll, a graduate of Limestone University, and currently resides in Greenville, South Carolina.
One form of relief offered to small businesses is the Employee Retention Tax Credit. First introduced in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, this tax credit could be claimed by eligible employers on quarterly tax returns. This program was expanded by the Consolidated Appropriations Act signed into law in December 2020, making the credit accessible to more employers.
The SBA offers a variety of loan programs that vary according to business needs. Its flagship program is the 7(a) loan program, which offers loans for most general business purposes. However, it also offers special programs such as microloans and disaster loans. Find out more about SBA loans, including who qualifies.
QuickBooks Online is cloud-based accounting software. It has the complex accounting capabilities that small business owners need and supports numerous integrations. Quickbooks Online has a lot to offer in terms of features, accounting, and usability.
If you are self-employed, you are still responsible for paying taxes. However, your taxes won’t be automatically deducted every time a client pays you.
Instead, you will be required to file additional forms with your annual tax return and pay any taxes owed. In some cases, you may be required to estimate your tax liability and pay taxes every quarter.
Filing small business taxes for the first time can be intimidating. But with careful preparation, you can save time, reduce stress, and potentially save money by lowering your tax liability.
Small business taxes may include federal and state income taxes, payroll taxes, excise taxes, and self-employment taxes. Tax funds are then used by federal, state, and local governments to pay for programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, and public schools.
You’ve decided to cash in on accelerated depreciation with cost segregation, but what are your next steps once the study is complete? How you claim this depreciation varies based on whether the study was completed the same year you purchased the property or if you had a look-back study performed later.
If you own a rental property (or several), there are several write-offs that you can deduct to lower your tax bill. This includes everything from mortgage interest and homeowner’s insurance premiums to the money you pay toward utilities, repairs, and employee wages.
Rental property depreciation allows property owners to write off the costs of purchasing and improving rental property on their income tax returns. Typically, a rental property depreciates at a rate of about 3.6% per year for 27.5 years. Depreciation begins after the property is available to rent.
Bonus depreciation is a tax incentive that allows businesses to write off a large percentage of the cost of an asset in the first year it’s placed into service. In 2024, 60% of the cost of qualified property can be written off in the first year it’s placed in service.
An ERC bridge loan is a short-term loan that is used to “bridge” the cash flow gap between the time a person applies for the Employee Retention Credit and when their refund is received months later.
If you’re a real estate investor or plan to invest in the future, it’s important to know the basics of residential rental properties, starting with the various classifications. In this post, we’ll break down how to classify rental property, from property types and classifications by property age and location to classifications used for writing off accelerated depreciation.
The Internal Revenue Service allows property owners to depreciate the value of an investment rental property over 27.5 years using the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS). This applies to all properties put into service on or after January 1, 1987.
Want to help shape the future of the Merchant Maverick website? Join our testing and survey community!
By providing feedback on how we can improve, you can earn gift cards and get early access to new features.
We Want Your Feedback!
Help us to improve by providing some feedback on your experience today.
The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.
