Blogs

Guidance on OBBB 100% Bonus Depreciation: Key Info for Capital Expenditures in 2026

By Bryan Besco posted 17 hours ago
Key Takeaways Taxpayers may generally rely on the existing final bonus depreciation regulations while Treasury and the IRS develop updated rules. This allows businesses to plan around acquisition and placed-in-service timing. Notice 2026-11 does not provide additional guidance on the separate special allowance for qualified production property under IRC § 168(n). Ahead of the 2026 tax season, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS issued Notice 2026-11, confirming that the prior § 168(k) regulatory framework generally continues to apply to the bonus depreciation changes enacted in Public Law 119-21 (July 4, 2025), ...

The Illusion of Security: Why the Quality of Your Penetration Test Matters

By Bryan Besco posted 5 days ago
To understand the value of a high-quality penetration test, you must first understand the penetration testing industry itself. A lack of standardized nomenclature has blurred important distinctions, often allowing automated scans to be marketed as full penetration tests. At their core, these scans are vulnerability assessments, systematic, automated processes designed to identify, quantify, and rank known vulnerabilities in a system. While valuable as a baseline diagnostic activity, a vulnerability assessment is not an attack simulation and does not have the context, creativity, and attacker mindset of a real-world threat. Limitations of the automated approach ...

Your Technical Debt Is Calling—Are You Going To Answer?

By Bryan Besco posted 14 days ago
Every organization carries some level of technical debt. It accumulates quietly over the years, like a ticking time bomb. An outdated system integration here, a custom field over there and some workflow someone built years ago that no one remembers why, but everyone thinks it is important. One day, you wake up and discover that what once felt like band-aid solutions has turned into a full-blown operational liability. Technical debt rarely raises its hand and makes itself known. It slowly builds in your organization and results in small inefficiencies, small downtime windows and small frustrations until the small inefficiencies start to cost millions to support. ...

USPS Clarifies ‘Delayed’ Postmarking and Potential Late Fees and Penalties on Mail-in Returns, IRS Correspondence

By Bryan Besco posted 28 days ago
Key Takeaways USPS postmarks are often applied during processing, not when mail is dropped off; meaning tax returns, payments, or IRS correspondence mailed on a deadline may still be treated as late. Because the IRS generally relies on the postmark date to determine timeliness, delayed postmarking can result in penalties or interest even when documents are mailed on time. As the 2026 tax filing season approaches, taxpayers and businesses should reassess how they handle time-sensitive mail to reduce the risk of late-filing consequences. A recent clarification from the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) highlights something many taxpayers ...

Work Opportunity Tax Credit: Nears Expiration as Congress Debates Extension, Expansion

By Bryan Besco posted 12-18-2025
Key Takeaways · The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is scheduled to expire for employees who begin work after December 31, 2025. · Bipartisan legislation would extend the credit through 2030, increase its value, and expand worker eligibility. · Staffing firms and quick-service restaurant operators are among the employers most affected due to their reliance on WOTC-eligible labor pools. For nearly 30 years, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) has served as a critical federal incentive encouraging employers to hire individuals who face structural barriers to entering or re-entering the workforce. Enacted ...

Senior Bonus Deduction: How the New $6,000 Break Works With Existing 65+ Deductions

By Bryan Besco posted 12-16-2025
Key Takeaways A temporary $6,000 Senior Bonus Deduction is available per 65+ taxpayer for 2025–2028, phasing out above $75k single / $150k joint MAGI. The bonus is on top of the existing 65+ standard add-on, so standard filers can stack both, and itemizers still get the bonus. Keeping MAGI below the phaseout and timing income well through 2028 can maximize the benefit. “One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) introduces a temporary new Senior Bonus Deduction of up to $6,000 per eligible taxpayer age 65 or older, available for tax years 2025 through 2028. This deduction is designed to provide additional tax relief for retirees and ...

Employee Meal Deductions Under IRC Section 274: What’s Changing in 2026

By Bryan Besco posted 12-09-2025
Key Takeaways Beginning in 2026, meals provided for the convenience of the employer, such as on-site or cafeteria meals, will no longer be tax-deductible Certain meals, like Business meals with clients and travel-related meals, remain 50% deductible, but strict documentation is required Business owners should understand the changes and begin to plan for them to avoid unpleasant surprises The rules governing the deductibility of business and employee meal expenses are set to change again in 2026. Recent legislative updates to Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 274 will significantly limit what employers can deduct, especially ...

2026 Inflation-Adjusted Tax Brackets and ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Tax Impacts

By Bryan Besco posted 12-02-2025
Key Takeaways Inflation adjustments for 2026 are modest at 2.7%, resulting in slightly higher tax bracket thresholds and standard deductions The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) makes many TCJA provisions permanent while lowering AMT phase-out thresholds, potentially impacting more high-income taxpayers in 2026 Expanded estate tax exemptions, a new no-tax rule on tips and overtime, and an added senior deduction offer new opportunities for tax savings The IRS has released tax bracket information for 2026. After a 5.4% percent impact in 2024, inflation has not been as impactful, dropping to 2.8% in 2025 and falling slightly lower to ...

FUTA Credit Reduction Raises Unemployment Tax Costs for California and U.S. Virgin Islands

By Bryan Besco posted 11-25-2025
Key takeaways: · This is the fourth consecutive year that California will be assessed a FUTA credit reduction · The reduction causes an increase in FUTA taxes per employee and tax will be due in February 2026 · Staffing firms with placements in California may be significantly impacted due to high turnover California will be assessed a general Federal Unemployment Tax Act Credit reduction of 1.2% on wages paid to employees for work attributed to this state. The reduction will amount to an effective federal unemployment tax rate of 1.8% or up to $126 for each employee on the federal unemployment unemployment-taxable ...

Five Ways To Unlock More Value From An Existing ERP System

By Bryan Besco posted 10-16-2025
Modern ERP systems are powerful platforms built to integrate data, streamline processes and enable better decisions across finance, operations, supply chain and beyond. Essentially, it's a business’s central nervous system. Unfortunately, many organizations only scratch the surface of what their ERP can deliver, often using it as a transactional system rather than a strategic advantage. It is possible to improve value without a significant investment. With targeted and intentional adjustments, your existing ERP system can enhance efficiency, provide better insights and support improved performance. Here are five general strategies to help increase the effectiveness ...

Deepfakes Are Attacking the Bottom Line: How Businesses Can Fight Back

By Bryan Besco posted 10-14-2025
A deepfake is AI-generated media (video, audio, or images) that convincingly represents someone’s face, voice, or actions to make them appear authentic, even though the subject was never actually involved. Below is an example of a deepfake scenario: A finance associate receives a late-afternoon telephone call. On the other end is their CEO, the voice unmistakable, the tone urgent. A critical payment must be wired within the hour to secure a major deal. The associate does not hesitate; after all, it sounds exactly like the boss. Only later did they discover the truth: the voice was never legitimate. The voice of the CEO was a deepfake engineered to exploit ...

Washington Issues New Sales Tax Guidance for Temporary Staffing Services

By Bryan Besco posted 10-02-2025
Effective October 1, 2025, ESSB 5814 reclassifies certain services as “retail sales,” [CC1] including “temporary staffing services.” These services will now be subject to retail sales tax and retailing B&O (Business and Occupation) tax, unless an exemption or exclusion applies when sold to a consumer. Previously, the tax treatment of temporary staffing services depended on the specific work performed by the worker. Definition of temporary staffing services Under ESSB 5814, “temporary staffing services” is defined as providing workers to other businesses, excluding licensed hospitals under chapters 70.41 or 71.12 RCW, for limited periods to supplement ...

IRS Announces New Effective Date for 401(k) Catch-Up Changes from SECURE 2.0 Act

By Bryan Besco posted 09-30-2025
On September 16, 2025, the IRS issued final regulations to a delayed provision that was initially enacted under the SECURE 2.0 Act back in 2023. This provision modifies the treatment of certain 401(k) catch-up contributions for high-income employees. When SECURE 2.0 first passed, the rule was set to take effect in January 2024. However, after significant pushback from plan recordkeepers citing administrative challenges, the IRS delayed implementation by two years. As a result, the rule will now go into effect for plan years beginning in 2026. Details of final guidance The SECURE 2.0 Act provision requires high-paid employees who wish to make catch-up contributions ...

Ready or Not? The Secret to Thriving Through Organizational Change

By Bryan Besco posted 09-25-2025
Change is exciting…until it isn’t. Every organization has bold plans, new tools, and big visions, but here’s the truth: success doesn’t depend on the strategy alone. It depends on readiness. As one insightful (though anonymous) commentator once observed: “Readiness is the litmus test of success. It tells you whether the road ahead is clear or if you’re driving into a storm.” So, what exactly is change readiness? It’s the degree to which your organization, and its people, are prepared, willing, and able to implement change. Think of it as the launchpad that determines whether your rocket takes off or sputters on the pad. The building blocks of readiness ...

Strategic Entity Planning Considerations for Staffing Firms Under the One Big Beautiful Bill

By Bryan Besco posted 09-23-2025
“One Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) brings significant tax changes, and there are a few in particular that staffing firms and temporary staffing agencies need to understand. From securing significant deductions to altering international strategies, these changes could impact your bottom line and long-term planning. Our Staffing Practice has outlined the three biggest changes that will impact the staffing industry and its individual firms. Section 199A: 20% Deduction now permanent Section 199A allows eligible owners of pass-through businesses to deduct up to 20% of their qualified business income (QBI) and was to expire at the end of 2025. It has ...

Rebalancing the Finance Talent Equation: From Crisis to Calibration

By Bryan Besco posted 09-04-2025
In recent years, the corporate accounting and finance (A&F) talent pipeline has been defined by scarcity, burnout, and fierce competition. A new study from the Controllers Council suggests a shift may be underway, one that signals not a resolution, but a recalibration. According to the survey, more than half of finance leaders (53%) report no talent shortages, while another 33% cite only minor gaps. This contrasts sharply with the dominant narrative of a sector in crisis. So, what’s really happening in the A&F talent landscape? A cooling market, not a cold one The data points to a cooling labor market, not a frozen one. Hiring increases have slowed ...

Adjustments to State and Local Tax Provisions in ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’

By Bryan Besco posted 09-02-2025
The signing of “One Big Beautiful Bill” brings various effects on state and local taxes (“SALT”). These can be seen on individuals making less than $500,000 with the increased SALT deduction cap as well as the preservation of pass-through entity tax workarounds. Temporary increase in SALT deduction limit Beginning with tax years after December 31, 2024, the individual SALT deduction cap has been increased to $40,000 from $10,000. The cap will further increase to $40,400 in 2026, then increase by 1 percent in 2027, 2028, and 2029. For taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income (“MAGI”) greater than $500,000 in 2025, the deduction begins to phase ...

New Washington Sales Tax on Temporary Staffing Services Will Have Impact Beyond State Lines

By Bryan Besco posted 08-21-2025
Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill (ESSB) 5814 added new business activities to the definition of retail sales that includes temporary staffing services. This means businesses must begin collecting sales tax on temporary staffing services on Oct. 1, 2025. Additionally, income derived from these activities is subject to the Business and Occupation (B&O) tax under the Retailing classification. Washington State requires retail sales tax on temporary staffing services Beginning October 1, 2025, Washington State will require businesses to collect retail sales tax on temporary staffing services. This change means that the taxability of temporary staffing ...

OBBB: Where to Start for Corporations

By Bryan Besco posted 08-12-2025
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has introduced several changes with important implications for businesses. While many believed that this bill was intended to be an extension of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the final piece of legislation became much more than that. There are benefits that have been reinstated, revised, and also some new opportunities. Clocking in at nearly 900 pages, and touching on business verticals from EVs to retail, corporate financial teams—particularly CFOs—are still working to understand how the legislation will affect their organizations and what steps they can take to adjust their financial strategies accordingly. Below ...