Companies with underfunded pensions have a rare opportunity to score a tax break in the coming months, the Wall Street Journal reported. Pension contributions made through mid-September can be deducted from income on tax returns being filed for 2017 — when the U.S. corporate tax rate was still 35 percent. That means a company that contributes $100 million to its pension plan now can save $35 million in taxes, while a company contributing the same amount after the deadline would save just $21 million, based on the new 21 percent corporate tax rate. With the deadline less than three months away, corporations are preparing to top off their pension plans to take advantage of the beneficial tax treatment. This one-time incentive is helping corporations close a pension funding gap that topped $680 billion for S&P 1500 companies after the financial crisis, according to consulting firm Mercer.
