New Tax Credit Law Signed by Governor
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Governor Sonny Perdue has signed into law several tax credit changes for 2009 that were part of HB 439 (click here to see the bill that was signed). These changes will improve some credits but limit others in future years. The new law gives you a fresh opportunity to discuss credits with your clients and help them generate current year $$ cash plus $$ refunds from prior years.
Among the key changes for tax years beginning 1/1/09 or later:
Job Tax Credit - can claim the credit in the year the jobs are created, rather than waiting a year. Lookback will be limited to one year (vs. the three year window). Added a new sector for services for elderly and disabled.
Retraining Tax Credit - capped at $1,250 per employee, with lookbacks limited to one year (vs. the current three year window). Certain types of training no longer qualify such as Microsoft Office software.
Port Activity Credit - clarified use for exports AND imports; becomes effective 2010.
Investment Tax Credit - no change.
R&D Tax Credit - removed the 3 year net taxable income requirement and can potentially be utilized against payroll withholding taxes.
Caution: the regulations and guidelines have not yet been revised. The Dept. of Revenue, Dept. of Community Affairs, Technical College System of Georgia and others are reviewing the changes and their impacts. We will keep you posted as new regulations and guidelines are published.
Please Note: The new law does not affect any open prior years such as 2006, 2007, or 2008. If your clients are looking to boost cash flow, the untapped credits from prior years may be just what the doctor ordered!
Please review our one page summary of the tax credit changes (click here for the PDF download on our web site).
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Quick Update
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As we reported last month, and as you may have been reading in the media, the Legislature made lots of changes to the tax
credits this year. As it turned out, Governor Perdue didn't sign them all! This month's update covers the main changes to the business incentive credits.
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About Us
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Alpharesults has assembled a team with the specialized knowledge and approach required to obtain Georgia income tax credits. We are not a public accounting firm. Rather, our services complement those of public accounting firms and do not create conflicted loyalties, because our professionals do not perform attestation work or other external audit functions.
We focus on small to medium-sized businesses and work exclusively in Georgia with a wide variety of in-state and out-of-state accounting firms. For more information on our services, follow this link.
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