CAS & Associates, Inc.

07/22/2026

Hiring humans to make 𝘼𝙄 more effective? Ford is onto something.

Have you experienced problems with AI tools in your business?

https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/ford-realized-ai-wasn-t-172058677.html

07/21/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗽𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀?

You can use the Lifetime Learning Credit to lower your federal tax bill even if you aren't enrolled in a full degree program. This credit offsets 20% of your first $10,000 in qualified tuition and enrollment fees.

To max out the $2,000 cap, you can group your expenses into a single tax year. IRS rules state you can claim tuition paid now for an academic term that starts within the first three months of the following calendar year.

If you haven't hit the $10,000 qualified expense limit by mid-December, pay your upcoming Spring semester tuition before December 31st.

Prepaying your tuition keeps you from splitting expenses across two separate years and diluting your annual credit. Just make sure your course is hosted by an eligible institution that issues Form 1098-T.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴?

07/21/2026

Succession Planning Best Practices to Maximize Your Rockville, MD Business's Final Valuation

Discover vital succession planning best practices to reduce owner dependence, clean your books, and maximize your net payout.

07/20/2026

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄?

📊 Spreadsheet
📱 Budgeting app
🔔 Relying on bank alerts
🙈 "What budget?"

Drop the emoji below that matches your approach.

07/17/2026

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟳𝟵 𝗼𝗿 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀?

One strategy is to apply Section 179 first to erase your active business income down to zero. Then, apply 100% Bonus Depreciation to any remaining asset basis if you want to strategically generate a tax loss.

Here is why: you can't use Section 179 to create a tax loss because it is strictly limited to your net business taxable income. On the flip side, 100% Bonus Depreciation doesn't care about your net income.

For example, if your net income is $100,000 and you buy a $150,000 machine:

• 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 179: You can only deduct $100,000 this year. The remaining $50,000 carries forward to next year.
• 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘶𝘴 𝘋𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: The purchase pushes your business into a $50,000 Net Operating Loss, which can potentially offset other income.

This distinction gives you more control over your tax outcome. You can decide whether it makes more sense to wipe out your current business tax bill or intentionally create a loss to offset other income.

When you look at your financial goals for this year, is your priority clearing out your active business income, or are you looking for ways to offset other income sources?

07/16/2026

If you're within 10 years of retirement, dialing your savings in is key. We can definitely help you with #4: https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/6-things-to-do-if-youre-nearing-retirement

07/15/2026

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗜 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲-𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗯𝘂𝘆 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀?

Yes, both Section 179 and the permanently restored 100% Bonus Depreciation rules apply to new and used equipment. If the asset is new to your business, you can deduct up to 100% of the purchase price in 2026.

For example, a three-year-old commercial oven bought from a closed restaurant is considered new to your business. It qualifies for a 100% immediate write-off this year.

But you can't claim the write-off if the equipment is acquired through:
• Gifts or inheritance
• Purchases from an immediate family member
• Shifts between business entities or LLCs you already own

So yes, buying used equipment can still come with a valuable tax benefit. You just need to make sure the purchase qualifies.

When you add equipment to your business, do you prefer buying brand new or finding good used deals?

07/15/2026

How to Prep Your Books For Rockville, MD Small Business Equipment Tax Write-Offs

Avoid year-end equipment purchase panic. Clean up your asset tracking for small business equipment tax write-offs before Q4 shipping delays hit.

07/14/2026

𝗗𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗮 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗸𝗶𝗱?

Wouldn't we all love to receive a guaranteed $200 check just for walking around the block every morning, or patch up a sudden cash flow crunch by handing someone a tiny deed to our Baltic Avenue? Turns out the actual rules of that game don't translate very well to running a business.

Sustainable growth takes a lot more strategy than just rolling the dice. Financial control is about building clean bookkeeping systems, tracking your actual margins, and managing your cash flow with real data.

If you are ready to stop guessing and want a clear, data-driven strategy to manage your business cash flow, reach out to us today. Let’s get your systems dialed in.

07/13/2026

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗜𝗥𝗔?

Under current SECURE 2.0 laws, you must start taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) at either age 73 (if born between 1951 and 1959) or 75 (if born in 1960 or later).

The IRS lets you delay your first distribution until April 1st of the following year.

But doing this forces your first two RMDs into the same calendar year, creating an artificial income spike that can push you into a higher tax bracket.

Unless you have a specific reason to delay, your next move would be to take that first distribution by December 31st of your initial eligibility year.

Don't let a simple timing error give your hard-earned savings right back to the government at the finish line.