Boone & Associates, LLC

01/26/2026

Nebraska is offering a childcare tax credit (separate from the federal credit) if you meet several criteria:
-You have at least one child age 5 or younger as of the end of 2025
-Your household income was $150,000 or less in 2025
-Your child was enrolled in a licensed childcare program, or your annual household income is less than or equal to the federal poverty level

This credit is worth $2,000 per child age 5 or under if your household income is under $75,000, or $1,000 if your household income is between $75,000 and $150,000. The credit has a limit of available funds so if you qualify, fill out the form in the link as soon as possible.

https://nebraskachildcaretaxcredits.org/

01/20/2026

We are delighted to announce that Heidi Kelly has been selected as a Partner at Boone & Associates.

Since joining our firm in 2021, Heidi has consistently demonstrated exceptional technical expertise, a deep commitment to client service, and strong leadership within our team. Her dedication to excellence and ability to foster trusted relationships have been instrumental in our continued growth and success.

As a Partner, Heidi will take on an expanded leadership role, guiding strategic initiatives, mentoring our professionals, and continuing to deliver outstanding value to our clients.

Please join us in congratulating Heidi on this well-deserved achievement. We look forward to the exciting contributions she will bring to this new chapter of her career.

01/14/2026

The US Treasury Department recently announced the launch of the website www.trumpaccounts.gov The main purpose of the launching this website was to provide clear explanations of what Trump Accounts are, who is eligible, and how the $1,000 pilot seed contribution works for qualifying children. If you had or have a child born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, you can enroll your child by making an election when you file your taxes.

Trump Accounts provide eligible American children with tax-advantaged investment accounts courtesy of President Donald J. Trump.

01/09/2026

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-announces-first-day-of-2026-filing-season-online-tools-and-resources-help-with-tax-filing

01/07/2026

For Business Owners: 1099 Filing Rules for 2025 Tax Year: When You Must Issue Forms 1099 NEC and 1099 MISC

For payments made in 2025, the general federal reporting threshold for Form 1099 NEC and most Form 1099 MISC items remains at $600 in total payments to a payee during the 2025 calendar year. The filing deadline for both the IRS and recipients is January 31, 2026

A 1099 form must be issued if the following conditions are met:
• Payment Amount: You have paid at least $600 to an individual or entity over the course of the year.
• Type of Payment: The payment was for services performed by someone who is not your employee, including parts and materials, rents, prizes, awards, or other types such as interest on loans.
• Business Context: The payment was made during your trade or business.
• Recipient Type: The payment was made to an individual, partnership, estate, or, in some cases, a corporation.
• Payments made legal services regardless of entity type.

Starting with payments made in 2026, the IRS is raising the reporting threshold for Form 1099-NEC and Form 1099-MISC from $600 to $2,000 and will be indexed for inflation under One Big Beautiful Bill Act. (OBBA)

Disclaimer: This post is for informational purposes only and is not tax or legal advice. Specific reporting requirements can vary based on your situation and on future legislation or guidance. Consult a qualified tax professional before making decisions about your filing obligations.

12/31/2025

As we close out the year, we want to thank you for your trust and continued partnership. We truly appreciate your business and wish you a safe, healthy, and successful New Year.

12/17/2025

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, introduces the most significant changes to charitable tax law in years. While many provisions focus on making the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) permanent, it also adds new restrictions for high-income earners and a new benefit for those who don't itemize.
Most of these changes take effect on January 1, 2026, making 2025 a critical transition year for tax planning.
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Key Changes for Individuals (Itemizers)
If you typically itemize your deductions (mortgage interest, SALT, etc.), the OBBBA introduces two major hurdles starting in 2026:
• The 0.5% AGI Floor: You can only deduct charitable contributions that exceed 0.5% of your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI).
o Example: If your AGI is $200,000, the first $1,000 you give is no longer deductible. You only get a tax benefit for amounts above that.
• The 35% Benefit Cap: For taxpayers in the top marginal bracket (37%), the value of itemized deductions is now effectively capped at 35 cents per dollar donated. This reduces the "tax subsidy" for wealthy donors.
• 60% Cash Limit Made Permanent: The rule allowing you to deduct cash donations up to 60% of your AGI (which was set to expire) has been made permanent.

Strategic Planning for 2025 vs. 2026
Because the new "floor" and "cap" for itemizers don't start until 2026, tax experts are suggesting three main strategies:

Acceleration: Move planned 2026 donations into 2025 to avoid the 0.5% floor and secure the higher 37% tax benefit. For High-income itemizers

"Bunching": Contribute a large sum to a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) in 2025. You get the full deduction now and can distribute the money to charities over several years. For People near the standard deduction threshold

Delaying: Wait until January 2026 to make gifts to take advantage of the new $1,000/$2,000 universal deduction. For Non-itemizers

This post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered tax or legal advice. Your specific tax situation depends on your individual circumstances. Please consult with your tax advisor before making decisions.

12/10/2025

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) has a major impact on the tax treatment of Research & Development (R&D) expenses, effectively reversing a key provision of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

Key R&D Deduction Change:
The most significant change is the restoration of immediate expensing for domestic R&D costs.

• Pre-OBBBA (2022-2024): The TCJA required businesses to capitalize and amortize (spread out) domestic R&D expenses over five years, which negatively impacted cash flow and increased taxable income in the short term.
• Post-OBBBA (Starting 2025): The OBBBA creates a new tax section (Section 174A) that allows businesses to once again fully deduct (expense) domestic R&D costs in the year they are incurred. This significantly reduces taxable income sooner, improving cash flow for innovation.

Note: Expenses for foreign R&D must still be capitalized and amortized over a 15-year period.

Opportunities for Past & Unamortized Costs
The OBBBA also provides relief for R&D expenses incurred during the 2022-2024 amortization period:

• Retroactive Relief for Small Businesses: Eligible small businesses (generally those with average annual gross receipts of $31 million or less) can elect to apply the full expensing rule retroactively to tax years beginning after December 31, 2021. This allows them to amend prior returns (2022-2024) to claim refunds for the previously capitalized costs.
• "Catch-Up" Deduction for All Others: All businesses with remaining unamortized domestic R&D balances from 2022-2024 can accelerate the deduction of these amounts. They may generally choose to deduct the full remaining amount either in the first tax year after December 31, 2024 (i.e., 2025), or spread the deduction evenly over 2025 and 2026.

This post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered tax or legal advice. Your specific tax situation depends on your individual circumstances. Please consult with a qualified professional before making decisions.

12/03/2025

Starting in 2026, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) brings important updates to Dependent Care benefits:

✅ Dependent Care FSA (DCFSA) Changes
• Contribution Limit: Increases from $5,000 to $7,500 for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.
• Married Filing Separately: Limit rises from $2,500 to $3,750
• Employer Action: Adopting the higher limit is optional. Employers who choose to increase it must update plan documents and notify employees before the 2026 plan year.

✅ Dependent Care Tax Credit Changes
• Credit Percentage: Maximum applicable percentage of qualifying expenses increases from 35% to 50% for 2026.
• Phase-Out: Higher income thresholds before the credit begins to phase down.
• What’s NOT Changing: Maximum qualifying expenses remain $3,000 for one dependent and $6,000 for two or more.

This post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered tax or legal advice. Your specific tax situation depends on your individual circumstances. Please consult with a qualified professional before making decisions.

11/26/2025

2017 TCJA (Tax Cuts and Jobs Act) Provisions Made Permanent

*What did the 2017 TJCA (Tax Cut and Jobs Act) do and how does it change with the passage of the OBBB?
The TJCA was sweeping legislation that affected both personal and business taxes. For personal tax returns, the act eliminated personal exemptions and increased the standard deduction, doubled the child tax credit, limited certain deductions, and lowered the tax rates. For businesses, the top federal corporate tax rate was lowered, changes in expensing costs were made, and pass-through businesses received a 20% deduction on the personal return for qualified business income. With the passage of the OBBB, many changes made during the 2017 TCJA that were set to expire at the end of 2025 have now been made permanent or expanded.

*What changes have been made permanent for individuals?
-The elimination of the personal exemption and increased standard deduction have been made permanent with the passage of the OBBB. The standard deduction has increased due to inflation for 2025 but also includes a temporary $6,000 deduction for taxpayers sixty-five and older.
-The bill maintains the increased child tax credit for 2025 and going forward. The child tax credit has increased from $2,000 to $2,200 for 2025 and will be indexed for inflation, although the refundable amount remains at the previous $1,700.
-The OBBB retains a limit on SALT (state and local tax) deductions for individuals itemizing their taxes but raises the deductible from $10,000 to $40,000 temporarily for those making $500,000 or less. See prior post on SALT for more details.

*What changes have been made permanent for businesses?
-The OBBB made permanent the 20% deduction for pass-through businesses (sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, S-Corporations). This is taken on the individual tax returns, and the OBBB has higher thresholds for phase in limitations for this deduction, making it available to more taxpayers than under the TCJA. There are some expanded eligibilities for service-based businesses under the OBBB.
-100% bonus depreciation and R&D expense have been restored and made permanent- were phasing down annually to 0% prior to passage of OBBB.
-Corporate tax rate of 21% remains the same as set under the TJCA.

*What about estate and gift taxes?
-The TCJA temporarily doubled the gift and estate tax exemption, which was set to expire in 2025. The OBBB retained the higher exemption amount, $15 million per person in 2026, and will be increased for inflation.

*Bottom line- The TCJA was an important piece of sweeping legislation with many pieces set to expire in 2025. The OBBBA made permanent or slightly changed many of these aspects of the TCJA with an important impact on 2025 and future taxes. Consult with your tax advisor to see how this may impact you.

This post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered tax or legal advice. Your specific tax situation depends on your individual circumstances. Please consult with a qualified professional before making decision.

11/25/2025

Boone & Associates Volunteer Day

On November 20th, a group from Boone & Associates spent part of the afternoon volunteering at Food Bank for the Heartland. Our team helped sort and pack food items that will be distributed to families throughout Nebraska and western Iowa.

It was a rewarding way to give back, connect as a team, and support an organization doing incredible work for our community. We’re grateful for the opportunity and look forward to future volunteer days!