10 Tax Moves Businesses Should Revisit for the 2026 Tax Season

A few weeks ago, a client joked during a tax planning call, “So… can we just copy last year’s return and tweak the numbers?” I laughed. Then I told him the truth. Not this year. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), passed during President Trump’s second term, quietly rewrote several assumptions businesses have relied on since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Many of those provisions now affect 2025 taxable income reported on returns filed in 2026. For CPAs and finance teams, that means the upcoming filing season is less about routine compliance and more about revisiting planning decisions. Depreciation rules changed. Credits expanded. Payroll reporting shifted. Interest deduction rules moved again. In short, 2026 is shaping up to be a year where tax professionals earn their coffee. Here are ten areas businesses should review before filing.

1. Are you fully using restored 100% bonus depreciation?

One of the biggest shifts is the permanent restoration of 100% bonus depreciation for most tangible property placed in service after January 19, 2025. Businesses investing in machinery, equipment, or building improvements can now deduct the full cost in the year placed in service. For capital intensive industries like construction, logistics, and manufacturing, this dramatically affects cash flow modeling. Many companies are also revisiting cost segregation studies to identify components of buildings that qualify for accelerated depreciation. Timing capital expenditures suddenly matters again.

2. Did you properly review Section 174 R&D expenses?

R&D expenses remain a major technical area. Businesses must confirm how research and development costs, including software development and product design, are treated under current law. That includes reviewing how costs from 2022 through 2024 were classified. If expenses were amortized incorrectly or left unreviewed, adjustments may affect current year taxable income. This is one of those areas where small classification decisions can snowball into large tax differences.

3. Are payroll systems ready for tip and overtime deductions?

The OBBBA introduces federal income tax deductions for qualified tips and overtime pay beginning in 2025 through 2028. Employers must now separately track and report qualifying overtime compensation on W-2 forms and related reporting documents. Restaurants, hospitality groups, and service businesses will need payroll systems capable of distinguishing those wage categories. For accounting teams, this is less about theory and more about data accuracy.

4. Have you recalculated the business interest deduction?

Businesses carrying significant debt should revisit IRC Section 163(j). The updated definition of adjusted taxable income allows certain add backs for depreciation and amortization, potentially increasing the amount of interest that can be deducted. Real estate operators and leveraged companies may want to revisit financing structures or refinancing strategies under the updated rules. What looked like non deductible interest last year might now qualify.

5. Are pass through owners maximizing the QBI deduction?

The Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction remains a central planning tool for pass through entities. S corporations, partnerships, and LLCs should recompute owner compensation, distributions, and taxable income levels to ensure eligibility. Partners and shareholders must also confirm their tax basis supports losses claimed in 2025. Sometimes a small compensation adjustment can change the entire deduction calculation.

6. Are you capturing available energy efficiency credits?

Businesses investing in energy efficient construction or property improvements should review eligibility for credits such as Section 179D and Section 45L. These incentives reward improvements in energy performance and building design. However, claiming them requires engineering certifications and supporting documentation before filing. Miss the paperwork and the credit may disappear.

7. Could a pass through entity tax election bypass the SALT cap?

The OBBBA increases the State and Local Tax deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000. Even so, many businesses may still benefit from Pass Through Entity Tax (PTET) elections, which allow state taxes to be paid at the entity level and deducted federally. The election varies by state and affects owner cash flow, estimated payments, and reporting obligations. Coordination between business owners and advisors is essential before making the election.

8. Have international tax provisions changed your reporting?

Businesses with foreign subsidiaries should review updates to international tax rules affecting:

• Foreign tax credits
• Foreign Derived Intangible Income (FDII)
• Controlled foreign corporation income calculations

The interaction between TCJA provisions and OBBBA adjustments may change reporting requirements for multinational businesses. For companies operating across borders, the tax picture rarely stays simple.

9. Are you taking advantage of expanded PFML credits?

The Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) credit becomes a permanent feature beginning in 2026. Businesses offering qualifying leave programs may receive credits tied to eligible wages. To claim the credit, companies must maintain detailed documentation and coordinate calculations with other wage based credits. For employers already offering strong leave benefits, this credit helps offset the cost.

10. Could employer childcare credits reduce tax liability?

The OBBBA also expands the employer provided childcare credit, increasing potential benefits to 40% to 50% of qualifying expenses. Companies offering childcare support programs or partnerships with providers may qualify. For mid-sized employers competing for talent, this turns a workforce benefit into a tax planning opportunity.

What should professionals keep on their radar?

For accounting professionals, the biggest challenge is not one rule. It is the combination. Depreciation changes affect capital planning. Payroll changes affect W-2 reporting. Credits interact with wage calculations. SALT workarounds depend on state laws. Several tax software providers expect return complexity to increase by roughly 10 to 15% for the 2026 filing season. That complexity will show up across accounting systems, payroll platforms, and tax workflows. The firms that stay ahead will review these areas early instead of scrambling during filing season. Because if there is one lesson from recent tax legislation, it is this: The numbers rarely stay the same. The strategy behind them cannot either.