Construction & Real Estate

Earlier this month, Congress clarified new tax laws, providing investors with capital gains an extraordinary investment opportunity – one that could stir a nationwide development boom and deliver tax-free returns. Legislative Recap Last year’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act allowed investors to reinvest capital gains, like from the sale of stocks or other assets, in Qualified Opportunity Funds, which are entities dedicated to investing in mostly low-income areas throughout the country. The funds must invest in eligible tracts of land selected by each state’s governor called Qualified Opportunity Zones. In Michigan, as with other states, zone selection included input from local governments and economic development organizations...

Download a copy of this article The latest tax reform passed in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) enacted sweeping changes to the U.S. tax code. Among them is a program with the potential to provide a powerful boost to low-income communities and significant tax incentives for investors...

Construction companies have always had to worry about crimes such as embezzlement and fraud. But the dangers they face now are much more sophisticated — and can be far costlier. According to the Ponemon Institute's latest U.S...

It may be time for your construction firm to think big. Big data that is. "Big data" is a term often used to describe the vast repository of information collected from various technology sources, including smart phones, social media, GPS devices, sensors, cameras, bots, computer algorithms and satellites. The concept of big data analytics is being embraced by companies across the country and it's proving beneficial in many ways, ranging from marketing to construction-site analysis to scheduling...

For many people, the federal home sale gain exclusion is the single most valuable tax break available. But if you're getting divorced and selling a home, you may need to plan ahead to take advantage of the tax break.   If you're unmarried, you can potentially sell a principal residence for a profit of up to $250,000 without owing any federal tax to the U.S...

  The new revenue recognition standard will have varying impacts on each and every business. It is important that you and your company understand these potential impacts and have a plan to adopt and implement it...

Earlier this year, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) instituted a National Safety Stand-Down designed to draw attention to fall hazards in the construction industry and reinforce the need to take steps to prevent this leading cause of death in the industry. OSHA notes, for instance, that in 2010 there were 264 fall fatalities, about 34 percent of the 774 total deaths in the industry. OSHA has developed a comprehensive website, as part of a nationwide outreach campaign, to raise awareness among employers and workers about the hazards of falling from ladders, scaffolds and roofs. The website provides a wealth of information about the dangers and how to prevent them...

The U.S. Tax Court recently reaffirmed its position that goodwill may be personal property separate from business goodwill, which, depending on the action and relationship of the parties, may be transferred to family members resulting in transfer tax consequences. In this specific case, the court determined that a trucking and road construction company that discontinued operations due to regulatory concerns, did not distribute intangible assets in the form of goodwill to its owner...

Stay on Top of Lower Unemployment Trends For the first time in a while, contractors are seeing more than just a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. The sector has been buoyed by favorable jobs data, including a drop in April to the industry's lowest unemployment figure in seven years. But a shortage of quality workers remains a concern and construction firm owners are advised to proceed with caution. Overview of Construction Unemployment The unemployment drop was especially encouraging for contractors...

Unlike most other businesses, building contractors perform the bulk of their work at distant sites, resulting in extensive travel expenses. While you might want to deduct the costs of traveling to and from those job locations, rulings in a recent court case indicate that such "commuting expenses" generally are not deductible. In this particular instance, the U.S...