Small Business Jobs Act Passes Senate

The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 passed the Senate on September 16, 2010, and is expected to pass the House soon and be signed into law. The Act contains $12 billion in tax cuts and is designed to help small businesses create new jobs.

Key tax provisions include:

• A business deduction for medical premiums of self-employed individuals so they no longer will pay self-employment tax on these amounts
• Removal of cellular phones from “listed property” so that record keeping is simplified
• Doubling of the first-year (Section 179) deduction to $500,000 for 2010 and 2010
• Extending 50% bonus depreciation for 2010 (which means a higher write-off for new business car purchases this year)
• Doubling the immediate write-off for start-up costs to $10,000
• 100% exclusion for gain from the sale of qualified small business stock of a C corporation held at least 5 years
• 5-year-carryback of the general business credit for small businesses

Source: H.R. 5297