5 delegation best practices for nonprofit leaders

Done well, delegation allows not-for-profit executives to focus on their most important tasks, helps to build bench strength and gets staffers out of the office before midnight. But done poorly, it can create more burdens than it eases. Here are five practices all nonprofit leaders should adopt.

Buy business assets before year end to reduce your 2018 tax liability

Buy business assets before year end to reduce your 2018 tax liabilityThe Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) has enhanced two depreciation-related breaks that are popular year-end tax planning tools for businesses. To take advantage of these breaks, you must purchase qualifying assets and place them in service by the end of the tax year. That means there’s still time to reduce your 2018 tax liability with these breaks, but you need to act soon.

Research credit available to some businesses for the first time

Research credit available to some businesses for the first timeThe Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) didn’t change the federal tax credit for “increasing research activities,” but several TCJA provisions have an indirect impact on the credit. As a result, the research credit may be available to some businesses for the first time.

How successfully has your nonprofit shifted from overhead to impact?

How successfully has your nonprofit shifted from overhead to impact?In the not-so-distant past, charity watchdog groups such as GuideStar, Charity Navigator and the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance were notorious for giving overhead ratios significant weightings in their rankings of not-for-profits. While such a practice can help potential donors weed out spendthrift organizations, it also tends to unfairly penalize nonprofits making reasonable expenditures for current needs and strategic investments for the future.

Selling your business? Defer — and possibly reduce — tax with an installment sale

Selling your business? Defer — and possibly reduce — tax with an installment saleYou’ve spent years building your company and now are ready to move on to something else, whether launching a new business, taking advantage of another career opportunity or retiring. Whatever your plans, you want to get the return from your business that you’ve earned from all of the time and money you’ve put into it.

Could “bunching” medical expenses into 2018 save you tax?

Could “bunching” medical expenses into 2018 save you tax?Some of your medical expenses may be tax deductible, but only if you itemize deductions and have enough expenses to exceed the applicable floor for deductibility. With proper planning, you may be able to time controllable medical expenses to your tax advantage. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) could make bunching such expenses into 2018 beneficial for some taxpayers. At the same time, certain taxpayers who’ve benefited from the deduction in previous years might no longer benefit because of the TCJA’s increase to the standard deduction.