CGM CPA & Advisors

CGM CPA & Advisors CGM CPA & Advisors offers tax, accounting, and advisory services.

With a physical office in Linn, MO and the ability to serve clients remotely, we combine personal service with a modern client experience.

☀️ Mixing business with pleasure on upcoming summer trips? Here's what you need to know about deducting travel expenses ...
07/14/2026

☀️ Mixing business with pleasure on upcoming summer trips? Here's what you need to know about deducting travel expenses for your business!
✈️ Getting there: Travel costs within the country follow an "all or nothing" rule: if the trip is primarily for business purposes, the entire cost of travel can be deducted. If the trip is primarily personal, none of the travel costs are deductible.
🤓 How do you know if the trip is "primarily" for business? You can typically decide this based on number of days on business versus personal.
🏨 Staying there: Hotel costs associated with a trip primarily for business would be fully deductible. However, if you extend the stay for a vacation, those additional nights would not be deductible.
🍴What about meals? For days away from home on business, you are allowed to deduct half the costs of your actual meal costs, OR you can take advantage of the IRS "per diem" method. Under this method, you can deduct half of $68 per day for meals, no matter how much you actually paid for meals that day. In some higher-cost locations, this number could be as high as $92! Here again, if you extend your stay for vacation, meals on those additional days are not deductible.

Missouri voters soon get to decide whether or not to repeal the income tax, and there's A LOT of opinions out there... l...
06/03/2026

Missouri voters soon get to decide whether or not to repeal the income tax, and there's A LOT of opinions out there... let's review some facts:

1. The bill DOES NOT eliminate state taxes on its own! It simply requires the state legislature to phase out the income tax as other revenues grow. Once other taxes are large enough, the income tax will then be eliminated.

2. What is going to get taxed instead of income? It will likely be sales on things that currently aren't getting taxed! Some potential items are:

💇‍♀️ Services of all kinds
🚜 Farm equipment
🚚 Certain business equipment

🚨 But we have no idea what the actual outcome will be until the state were to enact further legislation!

3. As sales and other taxes go up, income tax will slowly be phased out. This may take several years!

4. The bill attempts to protect public school funding, not slash it. Local governments getting funds from any new sales taxes cannot use the funds to reduce other taxes that benefit schools, like property taxes.

We will keep a close eye on any developments!

Let’s talk cattle sales on this tax Tuesday! Most farmers think they just need to report how much they have in cattle sa...
03/10/2026

Let’s talk cattle sales on this tax Tuesday! Most farmers think they just need to report how much they have in cattle sales on the tax return each year… if only it were that easy 🫣

Sales of cattle go into 1 of 4 buckets:
🪣 Feeder calves- taxed at regular income tax rates + self-employment tax (an extra 15.3% tax)
🪣 Culled bulls & heifers under 2 years old- taxed at regular income tax rates but no self-employment tax
🪣 Raised cattle over 2 years old- taxed at lower capital gains tax rates
🪣 Cattle previously bought- usually taxed at regular rates, sometime at capital gains

If you aren’t giving your CPA details about your cattle sales, and they aren’t asking questions, you are probably paying more taxes than you should!

We often get asked, "my farm hasn't ever shown a profit, is that a red flag?"Maybe 🤷‍♂️ But the IRS just lost a $2 milli...
02/17/2026

We often get asked, "my farm hasn't ever shown a profit, is that a red flag?"

Maybe 🤷‍♂️ But the IRS just lost a $2 million court case that can help you answer that question!

✏️ Facts of the case: a farmer from Texas deducted farm expenses of over $2 million from 2017-2022 and only showed income of $25,784. The IRS audited the taxpayer and found the farm to be considered a "hobby" (meaning you cannot deduct any losses). The taxpayer appealed to tax court who found:

📝 The taxpayer treated the farm like a business: Kept detailed records, used a separate bank account for the farm, and reviewed financial statements.

🧑‍🌾 The taxpayer knew what he was doing: He had experience farming along with a college degree for it.

⏰ He spent a lot of hours farming: The taxpayer had a work log, showing almost all his time on the farm was spent working and he had very little time on the farm for recreation.

So, what should you do to ensure your farm is not just a hobby?

1️⃣ Treat it like a real business! Keep good records and keep a separate farm bank account.

2️⃣ Log what you do on the farm: The IRS hates seeing anyone having fun on their farm. You need to prove you are truly working rather than hunting or riding horses.

3️⃣ Have a path to profit: if the farm isn’t profitable yet, what will be changing in the future to make it profitable, besides the value of the land increasing?

Were you paid any overtime last year? Here are 3 things you need to know about the new overtime deduction for your 2025 ...
01/16/2026

Were you paid any overtime last year? Here are 3 things you need to know about the new overtime deduction for your 2025 tax return!

1️⃣ Make sure your overtime actually qualifies! The overtime pay must be required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. There are some professions, such as farming and law enforcement, that have different overtime rules. Other groups of workers, like labor unions, might get paid a different overtime rate in excess of time-and-a-half. Or they might get overtime hours after only working 30 or 35 hours. In these instances, only some of the overtime will qualify for the deduction!

⚠️ Bottom line: Only FLSA-required overtime counts. For most workers, that's hours worked above 40 per week, up to time-and-a-half. For some other professions, the rules will differ.

2️⃣ Your employer is not required to show the amount of overtime paid on your W-2❗️Many employers may still decide to report overtime on the W-2; others will give a separate statement of overtime worked, or... nothing at all... If nothing else, it's a good idea to give your CPA your last paystub so they can verify the year-to-date overtime.

3️⃣ Remember that even with qualifying overtime, your deduction will only be the premium paid on your overtime hours.
✏️ Example: if you are paid $20 per hour, only the extra $10 time-and-a-half premium is possibly deductible, not $30 per hour.

New Year, New Office 🥳We are excited to announce that our office has moved to a new location:1004 E Main Street in Linn,...
01/02/2026

New Year, New Office 🥳

We are excited to announce that our office has moved to a new location:
1004 E Main Street in Linn, next to Horton Auto Sales.

The new location gives us a chance to better serve our growing client list, just in time for tax season!

Happy last Tax Tuesday of 2025! With just two days left in the year, there are still a few ways you can lower your tax b...
12/30/2025

Happy last Tax Tuesday of 2025! With just two days left in the year, there are still a few ways you can lower your tax bill for this year- but you may have to act fast!

📉Loss harvesting: It was another great year for stocks, but if you have any loser stocks you've been hanging onto, there is still time to sell them and create a tax deduction in 2025. Just be sure not to repurchase that same stock within 30 days. If you have any cryptocurrency, you can also harvest those losses, and you can repurchase the crypto immediately!

🚛 Business purchases: If you own a business or a farm, it still isn't too late to purchase equipment, vehicles, cows, etc. and get a deduction on your 2025 tax return. Thanks to the Big Beautiful Bill, we can fully accelerate the depreciation of almost all equipment and trucks to the year of purchase.

🌽Prepaid expenses: Farmers are able to prepay for inputs like fertilizer, feed, or seed and deduct the expense in the year of payment. This benefit is only granted to farmers! There must also be a valid business reason for the prepayment, such as locking in a price for the goods or guaranteeing future availability. It cannot simply be a payment on account.

👷Overtime deduction: If you worked any overtime in 2025, hold onto your last paystub or ask for a document from your employer showing how much overtime pay you received in 2025. Employers are NOT required to separately report overtime pay on your W-2, so you may need other documentation to calculate your deduction!

Trump Accounts were one of the hottest topics in the Big Beautiful Bill this summer... and yesterday the IRS gave us way...
12/03/2025

Trump Accounts were one of the hottest topics in the Big Beautiful Bill this summer... and yesterday the IRS gave us way more info on these accounts! Here is how these accounts will work:

💵 Trump Accounts are basically treated like retirement accounts for children. Starting 7/4/2026, up to $5,000 per year can go into the account. Children born between 1/1/25 and 12/31/28 will be eligible for a $1,000 seed fund into their Trump Account from the government!

🚨 Employers will be allowed to contribute $2,500 to Trump Accounts of any employees' children as a tax-free employee benefit!

🔒 Once the money is in the Trump Account, it is locked up until the year the child turns 18... before then, distributions can only come if too much was put in to begin with, or if the child passes away.

📈 During the "growth period" of the fund (when the child is under 18), the fund can only be invested in low-cost mutual funds or ETFs.

But once the child turns 18, they can use the account funds to pay for a few life events such as going to college, buying their first home, and the birth of a child. They are subject to the same early withdrawal penalty as an IRA, so the money is not totally unlocked until they are 59.5❗️

Once the beneficiary pulls money out of the fund, they will only pay tax on the growth of the fund and any amounts that were put in by their parent's employers.

Trump Accounts are an option parents should consider, especially for S Corp business owners. For some taxpayers, though, the 529 plans might still make more sense!

Address

1004 E MAIN Street
Linn, MO
65051

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 4pm
Tuesday 8am - 4pm
Thursday 8am - 4pm

Telephone

(573)7442727

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