On Dec. 20, 2019, President Donald J. Trump signed into law H.R. 1865, the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020,” an omnibus spending package that included a division titled the “Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Relief Act of 2019” (the Tax Act). Title I of the Tax Act provides for the extension of certain expiring tax provisions. Such extenders are generally broken into four categories: tax relief and support for families and individuals (families and individuals); incentives for employment, economic growth, and community development (economic development); incentives for energy production, efficiency and green economy jobs (energy); and certain other provisions expiring at the end of 2019 (other provisions). But don’t be fooled by the title of the Tax Act, it provides little certainty to taxpayers, and what little certainty it does provide benefits a limited number of taxpayers in limited ways.

The average South Florida business owner reading this article may be thinking, “fine, the Tax Act may only benefit a limited number of taxpayers, but does it affect me?” The business-related tax extenders are generally found in the economic development, energy and other provisions categories, all are geared toward specific industries.