This year, The Tax Club will be working with the New York City Rescue Mission, to ensure that those less fortunate than us are able to enjoy the hearty Thanksgiving dinner that everyone deserves. From Park Avenue to the park bench, Manhattan is still a place of great wealth and poverty. Every day of the year, men, women, and children enter the rescue mission seeking a helping hand. Whether someone wants a hot meal, food pantry, a warm bed, clean clothes, rehabilitation, or a shower, no one gets turned away. Though space limits the Mission to bunk beds for only 100, NYC Rescue Mission tries to meet the basic needs of every guest, but they need help.

At our office, we have set up a Thanksgiving scene, centered around a donation box. We are collecting things such as nonperishable items, bags of chips, pretzels, and other snacks, coffee, tea bags, sugar, flour, etc., and clothing to get through the winter months, such as coats, socks, undergarments, etc. We understand that you will not be able to make it up to our office to participate in our drive, but there are still ways that you can help.

For all of you small business owners who have benefitted from the Section 179 deduction and/or bonus depreciation, we have some taxing (no pun intended) news for you. If you have not heard yet, these two tax breaks, which have been available to qualify small business owners throughout the recession, are about to dramatically shrink. These breaks were approved by Congress with hopes of creating economic stimulation and making it easier for small businesses to grow and hire. What does this mean for small businesses that have been benefitting from these tax breaks? For one thing, year-end tax planning for 2011 will be crucial.

Section 179 allows a small business to deduct upfront as opposed to depreciating the costs of pricey equipment. For example, computers, manufacturing machines, furniture, etc. As of now, the break allows you to deduct up to $500,000. In 2012, that number will decrease to $125,000 and will continue to drop in the years to follow. The bonus depreciation takes Section 179 a step further. Currently, in 2011, the bonus depreciation is 100 percent, and the maximum that you can deduct under both breaks combined is $2 million. For the year 2012, bonus depreciation is expected to decrease to 50 percent. These breaks have been able to provide small businesses with accelerated tax savings. Under normal provisions, equipment costs are deducted over a much longer period of time and follow an IRS-set formula.

Does it make sense to buy equipment now, before the changes go into effect? It could. But this should be a carefully thought over decision. Your decision to buy new equipment should not solely rest on the tax code. If you are expanding your office space and were planning on purchasing the furniture later down the road, that might be a purchase you would want to expedite. There is a slight catch, for equipment to qualify for the breaks in the 2011 tax code, it must be up and running by December 31, 2011. If you order equipment before year-end, but install it in January, regulations for the 2011 tax breaks will not be applicable.

Every small business is different. What makes sense for one company might be a wrongful move for another. If you are a small business owner and would like to know if these tax breaks, or other tax breaks, may be applicable to you, call The Tax Club at 888-773-7176. Also, for more small business tax tips, don’t forget to check us out on Facebook and on Twitter!