Section 179 Decoded

Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment and/or software purchased or financed during the tax year. That means that if you buy (or lease) a piece of qualifying equipment, you can deduct the FULL PURCHASE PRICE from your gross income.


The purpose behind Section 179 - to motivate the American economy (and your business) to move in a positive direction. For most businesses (adding total equipment, software, and vehicles totaling less than $139,000 in 2012), the entire cost can be written-off on the 2012 tax return.

The total amount written off ($139,000 in 2012), and limits to the total amount of the equipment purchased ($560,000 in 2012). The deduction begins to phase out dollar-for-dollar after $560,000 is spent.

All businesses that purchase, finance, and/or lease less than $560,000 in new or used business equipment during tax year 2012 should qualify for the Section 179 Deduction. If a business is unprofitable in 2012, and has no taxable income to use the deduction, that business can elect to use 50% Bonus Depreciation and carry-forward to a year when the business is profitable.

The most important difference is both new and used equipment qualify for the Section 179 Deduction. Bonus Depreciation covers new equipment only. 

The equipment, vehicle(s), and/or software must be used for business purposes more than 50% of the time to qualify for the Section 179 Deduction. Simply multiply the cost of the equipment, vehicle(s), and/or software by the percentage of business-use to arrive at the monetary amount eligible for Section 179.

2012 Deduction Limit = $139,000 For new and used equipment, as well as off-the-shelf software.

2012 Limit on equipment purchases = $560,000 This is the maximum amount that can be spent on equipment before the Section 179 Deduction available to your company begins to be reduced.

Bonus Depreciation = 50% This is taken after the $560k limit in capital equipment purchases is reached.   Bonus Depreciation is available for new equipment only. Bonus Depreciation can also be taken by businesses that will have net operating losses in 2012.

Contact us for a bid on your capital purchase before year end.   Don’t miss out on Section 179 deductions and Bonus Depreciation 801 816 0800

Benefits of Equipment Leasing

Advantages of Leasing Equipment

The primary advantage of leasing business equipment is that it allows you to acquire assets with minimal initial expenditures. Because equipment leases rarely require a down payment, you can obtain the goods you need without significantly affecting your cash flow. 

Another financial benefit of leasing equipment is that your lease payments can usually be deducted as business expenses on your tax return, reducing the net cost of your lease. In addition, leases are usually easier to obtain and have more flexible terms than loans for buying equipment. This can be a significant advantage if you have bad credit or need to negotiate a longer payment plan to lower your costs.

Leasing also allows businesses to address the problem of obsolescence. If you use your lease to attain items that are subject to becoming technologically outdated in a short period of time, such as computers or other high-tech equipment, a lease passes the burden of obsolescence onto the lessor, as you are free to lease new, higher-end equipment after your lease expires.

Time To Take Advantage of Deductions!

Using Section 179 and/or Bonus Depreciation with an Equipment Lease or Equipment Finance Agreement might be the most profitable decision you make in 2012.

Why? Because the amount you deduct will exceed your cash outlay for 2012 when you combine (i) a properly structured Equipment Lease or Equipment Finance Agreement with (ii) a full Section 179 deduction. It is a bottom-line enhancing tool (plus, you get the new equipment and software you're adding to your business).

Also, the '$179 bonus per $10,000 financed' is available thru 12/31/2012. This means that you (a) get your equipment, vehicles, and/or software now, (b) get to take full advantage of the Section 179 deduction in 2012, and (c) get Section 179 bonus cash as well.

Leasing and Section 179

Did you know that your company can lease equipment and still take full advantage of the Section 179 deduction? In fact, leasing equipment and/or software with the Section 179 deduction in mind is a preferred financial strategy for many businesses, as it can significantly help with not only cash flow, but with profits as well.


The obvious advantage to leasing or financing equipment and/or software and then taking the Section 179 Deduction is the fact that you can deduct the full amount of the equipment and/or software, without paying the full amount this year. The amount you save in taxes can actually exceed the payments, making this a very bottom-line friendly deduction (you are reading this correctly; in many cases, the deduction will actually be profit).

Accounting Standards? What Next?

EQUIPMENT LEASING AND FINANCE ASSOCIATION EXPRESSES SERIOUS CONCERNS OVER LEASE ACCOUNTING PROJECT

Washington, D.C. — The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) has announced it may withdraw its support for the proposal to develop a new lease accounting standard, calling the current proposal “fraught with difficulties.” In a letter to the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board, ELFA President and CEO William G. Sutton, CAE, noted that the association has been actively engaged in and consistently supported the lease accounting project since 1996, but is unable to support the tentative conclusions reached by the Boards in recent deliberations. The letter outlines ELFA’s chief concerns with the proposal and suggests a framework for accounting for leases that the association would support.

The letter reads, in part:

ELFA has consistently supported the [lease accounting] project’s principal objective of providing users of financial statements with an accounting model for leases, which includes the recognition on a lessee’s balance sheet of the assets and liabilities arising from lease contracts. Unfortunately, since we do not believe the Boards have appropriately resolved the question of lessee cost allocation, we are seriously considering withdrawing our support for the issuance of a final standard based upon the tentative conclusions reached in the recent redeliberations. The tentative decision that all equipment leases are purchases is fraught with difficulties. We believe a continuation of the existing accounting standards is preferable to the model that has been proposed.

Our active engagement in the question of lease accounting extends back to 1996, and we have consistently supported the project and the goal of recording leases on a lessee’s balance sheet. This long-standing support for the leases project has been principally based on the following considerations:

• The lease standard should produce a result that is representationally faithful to the economics of lease transactions;
• It should provide information to users of financial statements, both external users and management, and meaningful insights into a company’s leasing activities during and at the end of a period;
• The model should be operational at the individual transaction level and not unduly complex; and
• The benefits of the new reporting model should not exceed the costs of implementation and ongoing compliance. 

Unfortunately, the approach to leasing now envisioned in the project does not meet these requirements, and we believe issuance of a revised exposure draft would be ill-advised. We do not believe that reporting under the proposed model will satisfy the diverse needs of investors and will involve significant costs to implement and inappropriately raise the cost of capital.

The letter details the association’s concerns with the current lease accounting proposal, including the key issue of lessee cost allocation, and advocates for specific revisions in order to achieve the project’s goals. In addition, the letter offers alternative approaches for differentiating between leases that are purchases of an asset and leases that only represent a temporary transfer of the right of use.

The full text of the letter is available on the ELFA website at:http://www.elfaonline.org/Issues/Accounting/pdfs/ELFALetterAug2012.pdf 

Our Customers say it best

“Working with Mazuma Capital allowed us to ride the tailwind of our newly signed service contracts with the right equipment in place.  The flexibility Mazuma offered us was refreshing and it was a great fit for our needs,” said the CEO of the Services Company. “The team at Mazuma did not feel like your typical lender/banker, their business is relationship based on every level.  The dynamic throughout Mazuma’s staff was one of professionalism with an added level of personalized service. Working with a top notch lender that provided exactly what we needed was a great experience.”

Kevin, CEO Ground Reclamation Services

“As our company searches for more opportunities for lease financing, I received a call from Mazuma Capital Corp. As I laid out to Mazuma and other companies what we were looking for in the way of lease financing, Mazuma came through with the best over all cost of funds as well as meeting our needs and time schedules. I have enjoyed working with Mazuma Capital Corp, because of their willingness to be flexible and the way they keep me updated on all that happens through the process. Everyone there is so easy to work with and I will continue to work with them on an ongoing basis. My experience was well within what I hoped for from a lease financing company.”

–Tom, VP of Finance & CFO

FASB Floats Early Ideas on Private Company Accounting

If private companies should have different accounting standards, the Financial Accounting Standards Board is looking for ideas on how those differences should be established. FASB published some early ideas for how financial reporting requirements should be differentiated for private companies, and it is looking for feedback on that preliminary thinking before moving to the next step.
The “invitation to comment” published by FASB maps out six critical issues that differentiate private companies from public companies, leading to the conclusion that accounting requirements for private companies should differ as a result. FASB says the type and number of users for financial statements are different for private companies than public companies, and they have more direct access to management to ask questions. Private companies have different investment strategies, and different ownership and capital structures. They have thinner resources than public companies to manage the accounting function, and as a result it takes them longer to get up to speed on new accounting pronouncements.
As a result of those differences, FASB says, the accounting rules for private companies might logically differ in some key areas, including recognition and measurement, disclosures, and presentation. It might also be reasonable to give private companies longer lead times to adopt new standards as they are issued, FASB says. That's a broad view of the framework FASB is considering, but the board looking for feedback on that line of thinking before proceeding with a final framework.
In the meantime, the Financial Accounting Foundation is forming the Private Company Council to help identify where differences in accounting standards might be appropriate for private companies to reduce the cost and complexity of preparing financial statements that comply with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. FASB and PCC will consider feedback to the invitation to comment and finalize the framework before they begin writing any new standards for private companies. FASB is looking for feedback by Oct. 31.
In a separate project to gather feedback on business combination rules, FAF also is looking for users of financial statements, preparers, auditors, academics, and regulators to participate in a survey that willassess the effectiveness of Financial Accounting Statement No. 141R: Business Combinations. FAF is conducting its latest post-implementation review of FAS 141R, now contained in the Accounting Standards Codification, to determine whether the standard achieved what was intended. FAF is asking those interested in participating to register online.


http://www.complianceweek.com/fasb-floats-early-ideas-on-private-company-accounting/article/253288/

NEWS RELEASE East Coast Coal Fired Power Provider Partners with Mazuma Capital in Funding a Fly-Ash Conditioning System

DRAPER, UTAH July 2012–Mazuma Capital, a leading national direct lender, today announced it has funded $1.3M for a large East coast power provider.

The power provider sought a knowledgeable funding source with the ability to provide a solution to a complicated transaction. In order to comply with state environmental standards the company needed to condition their waste into coal fly-ash before depositing waste in state landfills.

The company was set up as a multi-layered organization with disparate corporate entities having varying degrees of ownership.  Due to this structure and the difficulties it posed, the incumbent bank for the power provider passed on providing financing for this equipment, in spite of the fact that the company has excellent credit. The additional challenge was financing almost 50% of “soft costs”, to include labor and installation along with a blanket UCC filing that would not subordinate.

After navigating the review of several of the company’s opaque organizational charts, the risk factors, and equipment, Mazuma agreed to fund this transaction

“This power producer had a very unique set of complications that we were able to work through. Our team was innovative and methodical in our approach to the deal, which ultimately provided the terms in the manner the company needed. It is transactions of this nature that really spotlight the unique funding abilities Mazuma has within the industry”, said Jared Belnap, CEO and President at Mazuma Capital.

About Mazuma: Mazuma Capital is committed to our client’s success. Our unique capabilities and innovative product offerings provide solutions accelerating financial growth. Servicing both rising companies and established businesses, Mazuma continues to secure its position as the middle-market industry leader. We build long-term relationships by delivering on our commitments. Mazuma co-authored the Utah Best Practices Alliance. Mazuma Capital subscribes to the ELFA Code of Fair Business Practices and NAELB code of ethics.

Media Contact:

Julie Fuchs

801-816-0800 Ext. X291jfuchs@mazumacapital.com

Technology Spending is on the Rise Despite a Down Economy

Fueled by an accelerating move to cloud computing, and by a boom in associated telecommunications services, worldwide information technology spending is increasing somewhat faster than expected, according to industry analysts at Gartner.  

Over all, people will spend $3.6 trillion on information technology in 2012, the research firm said. This represents a 3 percent increase from 2011, when $3.5 trillion was spent, Gartner said, and is up from the 2.5 percent increase projected three months ago.

The increase, while modest, is notable because it is happening in the face of a financial crisis in Europe, slow growth in the United States, and a slowdown in China’s economic growth.

Spending on public cloud services is expected to increase 20 percent, to $109 billion, from $91 billion in 2011. By 2016, Gartner said, this expenditure could nearly double, to $207 billion.

That would still be a relatively small portion of the total spending, though it tends to represent considerable computing power and potentially more efficient I.T. systems.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/09/information-technology-spending-to-hit-3-6-trillion-in-2012-report-says/?smid=li-share

Emerging Leader- Jared Belnap

http://www.worldleasingnews.com/articles/jared-belnap-president-mazuma-capital/

Jared Belnap, President, Mazuma Capital

By Abigail Sutton, Editor

During his tenure in the leasing industry Jared Belnap has personally closed over $150 million in lease transactions and has garnered extensive experience in credit, syndication, sales, legal, documentation, and executive management. Belnap helped create Mazuma. First, as a co-founder and private investor, then, serving as vice president of sales/corporate secretary through December 2007 and in his current position, as president since January 2008. His performance and experience have been invaluable in the formation and implementation of Mazuma’s infrastructure, website development, marketing, documentation, sales and sales management, formation of key strategic relationships and other important functions within Mazuma’s framework. Belnap is an introspective leader who achieves success through calculated risk, for this and more we chose him as February’s Emerging Leader.

Teri Gerson, President & CEO of Executive Solutions for Leasing and Finance, Inc. had this to say about Belnap’s skill and leadership, “Jared Belnap has impressed me with his commitment to analyzing before pulling the trigger.  This saves tremendous back pedaling, both with market entrees, employee hires, and sales force structure. He is thoughtful, honest, and fair in all of his dealings, and always takes a broad view without sacrificing practicality and reality relative to his company.”

Mazuma Capital Partners: Lease Accounting Standards Talks Still Underway

Mazuma Capital Partners: Lease Accounting Standards Talks Still Underway:

Hitting an impasse over how to account for short-term, rental-like leases, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the International Accounting Standards Board will regroup next week to discuss their findings after additional research on an eleventh-hour proposal.


FASB and IASB are in the home stretch of redeliberating a new accounting standard for how to account for all leases to bring them on the balance sheet and banish the bright-line distinction between operating leases and capital leases. The boards have long wrestled, however, with how to develop a straightforward method to account for leases like today's operating leases, which tend to represent short-term arrangements for limited access to a given asset bearing little resemblance to the purchase of the asset. They are trying to put the finishing touches on a revised proposal so that it can be issued for a fresh round of comments and wrapped up by 2013.

Mazuma Capital (Equipment Lease & Financing/Direct Lending) - Draper, UT...

World Leasing News Features Emerging Leader’s- Mazuma Capital CEO, Jared Belnap

World Leasing News Features Emerging Leader’s- Mazuma Capital CEO, Jared Belnap

Most Recent Funding at Mazuma Capital

Section 179 for 2012

Section 179 limits for the year 2012 were increased by the 'Jobs Act of 2010' which allows businesses to write-off up to $139,000 of qualified capital expenditures subject to a dollar-for-dollar phase-out once these expenditures exceed $560,000 in the 2012 tax year.

Bonus Depreciation was also increased to 50% by the 'Tax Relief Act of 2010' which allows larger businesses that exceed the $560,000 cap to write-off 50% of qualified assets using first year Bonus Depreciation. Also, small businesses that are not profitable in 2012 can use 50% Bonus Depreciation (on new equipment only) and carry-forward the loss to future profitable years.

This should mean a substantial boost to your bottom line this year. But, to get the deduction for tax year 2012, you have to act this year, as once the clock strikes midnight on December 31, 2012; Section 179 can't increase your 2012 profits anymore.

Equipment Leasing is Gaining Popularity

U.S. companies are investing more in equipment than they were a year ago. The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association said its monthly index of business volume rose 21% to $5.1 billion last month compared with January 2011. The rise reflects moves by companies to replace computers, vehicles, construction equipment and other assets as the economy improves. It also reflects thawing credit markets, the association said.   

Source: WSJ.com, ELFAonline.org

Mazuma Capital Funds $12.5m Transaction For Thermal Coal Producer

DRAPER, UTAH, February 17, 2012 – Mazuma Capital, a leading national direct lender, today announced that it has funded over $12.5 million dollars for a U.S. high quality thermal coal producer.

The coal producer sought several funding sources that had expertise in funding newer companies. They had many challenges present in the transaction from the type of equipment, to the documentation aspect.  There were also several factors that affected the credit due to recent mergers.  Due to these challenges the financing was denied through several well-known banks and vendors. Mazuma Capital was ultimately the right financing source to help structure and fund the transaction.

A favorable structure was an important objective in order to provide cash flow, the appropriate tax, and accounting factors to meet the financial goals of the company. The structure also needed to provide the ability to expense the payments over time.  Mazuma Capital was able to secure an approval in a timely fashion while meeting the needs of the company; from the terms to the unique structure.

“This is a newer company that is still in the midst of a huge growth phase.  Therefore, this transaction produced several challenges in finding a suitable financing structure to meet the goals of the company.  The lack of history, recent buyouts, and mergers made this a more difficult credit.  Our team worked hard to develop a perfect balance with the right structure, and suitable terms for the company,” said Jared Belnap, President and CEO of Mazuma Capital.

About Mazuma: Mazuma Capital is committed to our client’s success. Our unique capabilities and innovative product offerings provide solutions accelerating financial growth. Servicing both rising companies and established businesses, Mazuma continues to secure its position as the middle-market industry leader. We build long-term relationships by delivering on our commitments. Mazuma co-authored the Utah Best Practices Alliance. Mazuma Capital subscribes to the ELFA Code of Fair Business Practices and NAELB code of ethics.

Media Contact:

Julie Fuchs

801-816-0800 Ext. X291

jfuchs@mazumacapital.com

U.S. Companies Keeping Business At Home

U.S. companies, facing slowing markets and rising costs around the world, are taking a new look at their home market.

With growth slowing in China and a slump gripping much of Europe, companies are adding capacity in the U.S., replacing aging equipment and even moving overseas production back from low-cost labor markets, a sign that corporate America could be poised to take a bigger role in the economic recovery.

Union Pacific expects to buy twice as many locomotives this year, spending upward of $400 million.

The pace of earnings growth at companies slowed in the fourth quarter, and there are signs that profitability is falling. That is prompting companies ranging from beverage maker Coca-Cola Co. to industrial supplier Emerson Electric Co. to disclose cost cuts. But after keeping a tight lid on costs for the past few years, many other companies are expanding capacity to meet rising demand.

United Rentals Inc., the world's largest equipment rental company, plans to increase its capital spending by about a third, to $1 billion, this year as more construction and industrial companies opt to rent rather than own equipment like elevated forklifts and backhoe loaders. Cummins Inc., which makes engines for trucks and heavy equipment, is boosting its capital spending to more than double the rate of two years ago.

"It is an environment that feels like it is building momentum," William Plummer, United Rentals' chief financial officer, said in an interview. "We are coming out of the depths of the recession and are starting to build momentum on the upside."

U.S. businesses increased their investments in December. According to the Commerce Department, new orders for nondefense capital goods excluding aircraft, a proxy for how much companies spend on equipment, climbed 2.9% from November. That ended two months of declines, suggesting businesses are becoming more confident. Compared with a year earlier, companies shipped 9% more.

There are signs that hiring may be picking up as companies expand facilities. Job growth in January was its highest level since April, with unemployment falling for the fifth consecutive month.

Source:  WSJ.com

Construction Industry Optimistic: Activity Expected to Improve in 2012

Highlights of the 2012 Construction Industry Forecast:

• The worst is behind us... The OQ of 114 is a strong indicator that the industry expects 2012 non-residential construction activity to improve from last year. The 2012 OQ exceeds the score of 109 recorded in 2005, near the height of the construction boom. After falling to an all-time low score of 42 in 2009, the OQ climbed to 66 in 2010 and 96 in 2011.
• …but overall numbers of contractors remains a concern. In spite of rising optimism over the last three years and strong optimism for 2012, industry executives remain cautious about the amount of available work to sustain the current number of non-residential construction contractors. About four in ten respondents (41.7%) said they expect fewer contractors in their markets by the end of the year. Only 10.4% expect the number of contractors in their area to increase in 2012.
• Equipment distributors are very optimistic. When asked about their forecast for new equipment sales, 73.3% said they expect to sell more in 2012 than in 2011, and zero respondents said they expect a decrease in new equipment sales. Optimism among construction equipment distributors was high with nearly six in ten distributors (58.1%) expecting an increase in local non-residential construction activity. Only 1.5% said they expect that activity to decrease in 2012.
• Contractors are optimistic, but not as much. While 18.3% of contractors said they expect to acquire more new equipment in 2012 than they acquired in 2011, 52.% said they would acquire the same amount and 29.2% said they expect to buy less new equipment in the coming year. 40.3% of contractors said they expect non-residential construction activity to increase in the coming year; 47.3% expect the same level; and 12.4% said they expect non-residential activity levels to decrease.