Change in De minimis safe harbor

 

 

 

Edward C. Lowe, MAFIS, CPA

Principal

lowe@hwco.com

The IRS has increased the de minimis safe harbor from $500 to $2,500 for taxpayers that don’t maintain an applicable financial statement. (IRS notice 2015-82)

The de minimis safe harbor was intended as an administrative convenience to allow taxpayers to deduct small dollar expenditures for the acquisition or production of new property or for the improvement of existing property, which otherwise must be capitalized under Code Section 263(a).  The increase is effective for costs incurred after 1-1-2016, however use of the new threshold won’t be challenged in tax years prior to 2016.

U.S. Department of Labor’s Tips for Selecting and Monitoring a Plan Auditor

 

 

 

Russell E. Majkrzak , CPA

Senior Manager

majkrzakr@hwco.com

 

In mid-November, 2015, the Chief Accountant of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) sent out an email to plan administrators related to selecting a qualified CPA firm to audit your plan’s financial statements. This email referenced a recent study completed by the DOL (which can be found on the DOL’s website) which concluded that due to the unique audit and reporting requirements related to employee benefit plan audits, plan administrators should take care when selecting their CPA firm to ascertain that the CPA firm is qualified to perform the plan audit. HW&Co is qualified and, in fact, currently audits many employee benefit plans, and as a member of the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center, HW&Co must meet additional professional standards including having our audit staff obtaining a specific number of training hours over a three-year period and the additional internal monitoring and peer review requirements.  HW&Co, since its inception, has received the best Peer Review results possible with our most recent Peer Review receiving a rating of “pass with no deficiencies”. Additionally, the DOL has performed a DOL desk audit for one of our plan audits with no findings identified. If HW&Co does not currently perform your plan audit, please consider having HW&Co become your plan auditors. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your HW&Co Executive or Joe Sbrocco, CPA, CGMA at 877-FOR-HWCO.