Scott Goble, certified public accountant, Sound Accounting, Chickamauga, Ga.

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1 By Karen Appold

2 "Filing an extension is an excellent move for taxpayers who have a more complicated return than average. Examples include owning your own practice or acting as a principle (e.g., shareholder, member, partner) in a group practice, owning rental property, or having a significant number of securities transactions (i.e., buying and selling stocks and bonds). The most common reasons (excluding procrastination) for filing an extension are two-fold. First, most taxpayers don t receive K-1s or brokerage statements in time to meet the April 18 filing deadline. Secondly, your tax preparer, attorney, or CPA can often provide a better result if given an opportunity to think through the many options available to you." Scott Goble, certified public accountant, Sound Accounting, Chickamauga, Ga.

3 "While the law allows for an extension of time to file, it does not provide for an extension of time to pay. You will be hit with significant penalties and interest if you pay your taxes late. To avoid these penalties and interest, self-employed physicians should make an estimated tax payment each quarter. If you are employed, you should double check that enough pay is being withheld. Your CPA can estimate your tax bill so you can cover any deficiency when you file your extension, even if you do not have everything needed to file the return itself." Goble

4 "If you own your practice, a simplified employee pension (SEP) IRA plan gives business owners an opportunity to establish and make tax deductible contributions for their employees retirement as well as their own retirement plan. For the 2015 tax year, employers can contribute up to 25 percent of compensation or $53,000, whichever is lower. The primary advantage of a SEP versus a traditional IRA is the higher contribution limit ($53,000 versus $5,500). The primary drawback for this type of plan is that it requires employers to make a contribution on behalf of their employees as well as themselves." Goble

5 "If you are not self-employed and your employer offers a retirement plan, you should maximize your contribution to that plan. For 2016, the maximum elective deferral is $18,000 and the annual defined contribution limit is $53,000 (the same as a SEP-IRA). If your employer does not offer a retirement plan, then you can still contribute up to $5,500 in an IRA ($6,500 if you are age 50 or older). In addition, you may be able to make a contribution of $5,500 ($6,500 if your spouse is age 50 or older) to a spousal IRA even if your spouse does not have any earned income." Goble

6 "Under the IRS new tangible property regulations, you may be able to expense costs associated with a building you own or lease for your practice. Many expenditures that were previously considered capitalized items that were depreciated over a number of years now have new guidelines making them eligible to fall under repair and maintenance rules. This allows you to make the deduction in the current year." Kristi Johnson, CPA, principal, Windham Brannon, PC, Atlanta, Ga.

7 "The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (PATH Act) made the $500,000 Section 179 tax deduction permanent. This will allow physician practices to deduct (rather than depreciate over a number of years) the cost of purchasing eligible new or used assets, such as equipment, furniture, and off-the-shelf computer software. The deduction begins to phase out dollar-for-dollar when total asset acquisitions for the tax year exceed $2 million and is completely eliminated above $2.5 million. The election can reduce net income, but cannot reduce it below zero to create a net operating loss." Lydia M. Glatz, senior manager, MBAF LLC, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

8 "The ACA provides a tax credit of up to 35 percent for health insurance premiums that small businesses pay for their employees. If your practice has paid at least 50 percent of each employee s health insurance premium cost and it employs at least 25 employees who earn average wages of $51,000, it is entitled to receive the credit." Glatz

9 "Physicians who are employed by a group practice and/or hospital and who individually receive miscellaneous income in the form of 1099-MISC from pharmaceutical companies, attorneys for court testimony, or other sources, should consider reporting such income on a schedule C. This income could be reduced by expenses incurred for generating certain income such as travel, accommodations, meals, and supplies. You could also make contributions to a SEP to lower or eliminate this type of income, even if you participate in a 401(k) with your employer." Glatz