An advance health care directive allows you to communicate your preferences, in advance, for medical care in the event you become incapacitated. Often part of a comprehensive estate plan, these directives sometimes go by different legal names depending on your jurisdiction. Let’s take a closer look at a few health care directives you should consider including in your estate plan.
Comparable to a durable power of attorney that gives an “agent” authority to handle your financial affairs if you’re incapacitated, a health care power of attorney (or medical power of attorney) enables another person to make health care decisions for you. In some states, this is called a health care proxy.
Choosing your agent is critical. You can’t anticipate every situation that might arise in which it’s likely that someone will have to make decisions concerning your health. Therefore, the agent should be a person who knows you well and understands your general outlook. Frequently, this is a family member, close friend or trusted professional. Remember to designate an alternate agent in the event your first choice can’t do the job.
A living will is a legal document that establishes criteria for prolonging or ending medical treatment. It indicates the types of medical treatment you want — or don’t want — in the event you suffer from a terminal illness or are incapacitated.
This document doesn’t take effect unless you’re incapacitated. Typically, a physician must certify that you’re suffering from a terminal illness or that you’re permanently unconscious. Address common end-of-life decisions in your living will. This may require consultations with a physician.
The requirements for a living will vary from state to state. Have an attorney experienced in these matters prepare your living will based on your state’s prevailing laws.
Despite the common perception, it’s not a legal requirement for you to have an advance health care directive or living will on file to implement a “do not resuscitate” (DNR) or “do not intubate” (DNI) order. To establish a DNR or DNI order, discuss your preferences with your physician and have him or her prepare the paperwork. The order is then placed in your medical file.
Even if your living will spells out your preferences regarding resuscitation and intubation, it’s still a good idea to create DNR or DNI orders when you’re admitted to a new hospital or health care facility. This can avoid confusion during an emotionally charged time.
Advance health care directives must be put in writing. Each state has different forms and requirements for creating these legal documents. Depending on where you live, you may need certain forms signed by a witness or notarized. Contact an attorney for assistance if you’re unsure of the requirements or the process.
Finally, be aware that health care directives aren’t written in stone. You can revise them at any time. Just be sure to follow your state’s requirements for revisions.
© 2024
Running a business is no easy feat. Every day, you’re juggling several different things—keeping customers happy, managing operations, thinking about growth—sometimes, it can feel like things are going great, and other times… not so much. That’s the thing about business: It’s unpredictable.
That’s why having cash reserves in place can make all the difference. It’s a strategy that lets you rest easy knowing you’ve got something to fall back on if the unexpected happens.
Let’s examine why cash reserves are crucial, how to determine what you need, and how to build them up so you’re ready for whatever comes next.
Running a business is all about handling the unknown. Cash reserves act as your safety net, giving you the stability to keep going if things take a sudden turn.
Here are some reasons why you should have a cash reserve:
As a general rule, financial experts suggest aiming for about three to six months of operating expenses. This gives your business enough of a buffer to weather storms—whether it’s a temporary sales drop or a more severe economic downturn—without causing a significant disruption.
Some things to consider when determining how much to save:
Okay, so you know why you need cash reserves and have an idea of how much you need—but how do you get started building them?
Building cash reserves helps you maintain during the inevitable ups and downs faced when running a business, grab opportunities when they appear, and keep things running smoothly without stressing over every cash flow dip.
If you’re charitably inclined and itemize deductions, you may be entitled to deduct charitable donations. The key word is “may” because there are requirements you must meet. One such requirement is the need to substantiate charitable gifts with proper documentation that will satisfy the IRS. Indeed, a charitable gift may be legitimate, but if the taxpayer fails to substantiate it properly, the deduction may be lost.
Cash donations, regardless of the amount, must be substantiated with one of the following:
Bank records. These can include bank statements, electronic fund transfer receipts, canceled checks (including scanned images of both sides of a check from the bank’s website) or credit card statements.
Written communication. This can be in the form of a letter or email from the charitable organization, showing the donee’s name, the contribution date and the amount. A blank pledge card furnished by the donee isn’t sufficient.
In addition to the above, cash donations of $250 or more require a contemporaneous written acknowledgment (CWA) from the donee that details the following:
You can use a single document to meet both the written communication and CWA requirements. For the CWA to be “contemporaneous,” you must obtain it by the earlier of 1) the extended due date of your tax return for the year the donation is made, or 2) the date you file your return.
You must substantiate noncash donations of less than $250 with a receipt from the donee showing the donee’s name and address, the date of the contribution, and a detailed description of the property. For noncash donations of $250 or more, there are additional substantiation requirements depending on the size of the donation:
Additional rules may apply to certain types of property, such as vehicles, clothing, household items or securities.
The regulations on substantiating charitable donations are complex, and one mistake can cause you to lose valuable tax deductions. When in doubt, contact us to ensure you follow all the rules correctly.
© 2024
It’s every business owner’s nightmare. You wake up in the morning, or perhaps in the middle of the night, and see that dreaded message: “We’re down.” It could be your website, e-commerce platform or some other mission-critical information technology (IT) system. All you know is it’s down and your company is losing money by the hour.
A report released this past June by cybersecurity solutions provider Splunk drove home the financial risk of unanticipated downtime for today’s businesses. Entitled The Hidden Costs of Downtime, it was produced in partnership with Oxford Economics researchers who surveyed 2,000 large-company executives worldwide. They found that the total cost of downtime for responding businesses, including direct and hidden costs, was a staggering $400 billion annually. The biggest direct cost was revenue loss, averaging $49 million annually per company.
Of course, such losses for large businesses will be proportionately higher given the bigger amounts of revenue they generate. However, small to midsize companies are arguably at even greater risk because they may not be able to readily absorb any substantial revenue losses.
Diminished revenue is just one of the direct costs of surprise IT failures. Others include regulatory fines, blown IT budgets from coping with crises and elevated insurance premiums. Hidden costs may arise from diminished shareholder value (for publicly traded businesses), reduced productivity and brand/reputational damage.
Worried yet? The good news is that your business can proactively address the threat of unanticipated technological downtime. The first step is to conduct a formal risk assessment to identify the most likely causes of IT failures based on the distinctive features of your systems and users.
Spoiler alert: You’ll probably find cyberattacks, such as phishing and ransomware scams, are your biggest threat. Unfortunately, these crimes have become so common that you should probably operate under the assumption that you’ll incur attacks fairly often, be they minor or major.
Indeed, the Splunk report attributed 56% of downtime incidents to cybersecurity breaches. Not far behind, however, were software or IT infrastructure failures. These caused 44% of reported downtime. And whether it was a cyberattack or a technological gaffe, human error was identified as the chief underlying cause. So, don’t be surprised if a risk assessment also identifies your employees as a major threat to your company’s ability to stay up and running.
Once you’ve pinpointed the IT risks with the greatest probability of occurring, you can address them. Just a few key strategies to strongly consider include:
Tracking incidents carefully. When downtime occurs, you should have an incident response plan in place to investigate and resolve the matter — as well as to record all pertinent details. Look for trends: As incidents happen more often, the likelihood of a major crisis increases.
Investing wisely in cybersecurity. Today’s companies need to look at substantial investment in cybersecurity as a cost of doing business. However, you must still scale these expenditures to your actual needs and risk level.
Training new hires and regularly upskilling employees. The Splunk report highlighted an essential truth: No matter how technologically advanced businesses become, people still make the difference.
Establishing a disaster recovery plan. As the saying goes, expect the best but plan for the worst. Implement a comprehensive plan involving sound backup policies and procedures, as well as recovery time and point objectives.
Assessing and testing regularly. The risk assessment mentioned above shouldn’t be a one-time thing. Adhere to a strict schedule of assessments and “stress tests” of mission-critical systems.
To prevent surprise IT failures at your company, apply a mindset of continuous improvement to all aspects of your policies, procedures and infrastructure. Our firm can help you identify and manage your technology costs.
© 2024
As a business owner, you already know the importance of setting a budget to help you manage income, expenses, and investments. But did you know that budgets are living documents that need regular review and revision to stay relevant? Whether unexpected expenses come up, your business takes a different direction, or market conditions change, keeping your budget flexible and up-to-date is essential.
In this article, we’ll explain why reviewing and revising your budget regularly is crucial for your business and give you some tips to make the process easier and more effective.
Stay on Track with Financial Goals
Your budget helps you stay focused on your financial goals—increasing profits, managing debt, or saving for future investments. But the business landscape is constantly changing. If you’re not reviewing your budget, you may miss signs that you’re veering off course. Regular reviews help you catch these discrepancies early so you can make adjustments before minor issues become big problems.
Adapt to Unexpected Expenses
No matter how thorough your budgeting process is, unexpected expenses can and will happen. Maybe your equipment breaks down, or you must hire additional staff to meet demand. If you don’t have a process for revisiting your budget, these unexpected costs can throw your entire financial plan off balance. Regularly reviewing your budget can identify areas where you can make adjustments to cover these expenses without derailing your business.
Respond to Shifting Market Conditions
Market conditions are constantly changing—sometimes faster than you expect. Whether it’s inflation, new competitors entering the market, or shifts in customer preferences, your budget needs to reflect these external changes. Regularly reviewing your budget lets you adjust pricing, marketing spend, or operations to respond to market changes.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here, but reviewing your budget monthly or quarterly is generally a good idea. Monthly reviews allow you to monitor cash flow closely and make minor adjustments before issues grow. Quarterly reviews are a great time to assess bigger-picture trends and adjust your long-term strategy.
For businesses experiencing rapid growth or change, you may even want to consider more frequent reviews—especially if new expenses are cropping up or revenues fluctuate significantly.
Compare Budgeted vs. Actual
Results One of the most critical steps in your budget review is comparing what you planned (your budget) to what happened (your financial statements). Look at your revenues and expenses to see if you’re over or under budget in any areas. If you notice significant differences, dig deeper to figure out why. Is a particular product underperforming? Are you overspending in certain areas? Understanding the “why” behind the numbers will help you make informed decisions about where to adjust.
Adjust for Seasonal or Cyclical Patterns
If your business is seasonal or has natural ups and downs throughout the year, you’ll want to adjust your budget to account for these patterns. For example, retail businesses may see a surge in sales during the holiday season but slower months in the summer. Ensure your budget reflects these fluctuations so you can manage cash flow more effectively during the slower periods.
Revisit Your Assumptions
When you first created your budget, you made certain assumptions—about costs, revenue growth, market conditions, and more. As your business evolves, these assumptions may no longer hold. Take a close look at whether the assumptions you made at the beginning of the year still apply. If not, revise your budget to align with the new reality of your business.
While business owners need to be hands-on with their budgets, sometimes the financial landscape gets complicated. A CPA or financial advisor can help you navigate the process of reviewing and revising your budget by providing expert advice, offering tools to track financial performance, and giving you a better understanding of how to align your budget with your business goals.
Your budget is more than just a financial plan—it’s a dynamic tool that helps you steer your business toward success. Regularly reviewing and revising it, you’ll stay ahead of financial challenges and be better equipped to meet your long-term goals. And remember, a little professional guidance can go a long way.
The IRS has been increasing its audit efforts, focusing on large businesses and high-income individuals. By 2026, it plans to nearly triple its audit rates for large corporations with assets exceeding $250 million. Under these plans, partnerships with assets over $10 million will also see audit rates increase tenfold by 2026. This ramp-up in audits is part of the IRS’s broader strategy, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, to target wealthier entities and high-dollar noncompliance.
The IRS doesn’t plan to increase audits for individuals making less than $400,000 annually. Small businesses are also unlikely to see a rise in audit rates in the near future, as the IRS is prioritizing more complex returns for higher-wealth entities. For example, the tax agency has announced that one focus area is taxpayers who personally use business aircraft. A business can deduct the cost of purchasing and using corporate planes, but personal trips, including vacation travel, aren’t deductible.
The best way to survive an IRS audit is to prepare in advance. On an ongoing basis, you should systematically maintain documentation — invoices, bills, canceled checks, receipts, or other proof — for all items to be reported on your tax returns. Keep all records in one place.
It also helps to know what might catch the attention of the IRS. Certain types of tax return entries are known to involve inaccuracies, so they may lead to an audit. Some examples include:
The IRS may question specific deductions because there are strict recordkeeping requirements associated with them — for example, auto and travel expense deductions. In addition, an owner-employee’s salary that’s much higher or lower than those at similar companies in his or her location may catch the IRS’s eye, especially if the business is structured as a corporation.
If the IRS selects you for an audit, it will notify you by letter. Generally, the IRS doesn’t make initial contact by phone. But if there’s no response to the letter, the agency may follow up with a call.
Many audits simply request that you mail in receipts or other documentation to support certain deductions you’ve claimed. Only the strictest version, the field audit, requires a meeting with one or more IRS auditors. (Note: Ignore unsolicited emails or text messages about an audit. The IRS doesn’t contact people in this manner. These are scams.)
The tax agency doesn’t demand an immediate response to a mailed notice. The IRS will inform you of the discrepancies in question and give you time to prepare. Collect and organize all relevant income and expense records. If anything is missing, you’ll have to reconstruct the information as accurately as possible based on other documentation.
If you’re audited, our firm can help you:
The IRS usually has three years to conduct an audit, and it probably won’t begin until a year or more after you file a return. Stay calm if the IRS contacts you. Many audits are routine. By taking a meticulous, proactive approach to tracking, documenting and filing your company’s tax-related information, you’ll make an audit more manageable. It may even decrease the chances you’ll be chosen in the first place.
© 2024
As a small business owner, looking ahead and planning for the future can feel overwhelming, especially when there are so many day-to-day challenges. But with the right forecasting tools, predicting what’s next for your business doesn’t have to be complicated. Forecasting can help you plan for growth, manage expenses, and make smarter decisions based on where your business is headed.
So, what exactly is forecasting? At its core, it’s about using information from the past and present to make educated guesses about the future. Whether you’re deciding how much inventory to buy, when to hire new staff, or how to handle cash flow, forecasting is the tool that can help you make those calls with confidence.
Here’s a simple guide to some basic forecasting techniques and how to use them to keep your business on track.
The easiest way to start forecasting is by looking at what’s already happened in your business. By analyzing past sales, expenses, and seasonal trends, you can see patterns that will help you make future predictions. For example:
This kind of forecasting is often called time series forecasting. It involves looking at trends over time and using those to make predictions.
A great way to smooth out fluctuations in your data is by using something called a moving average. This method takes the average of a few recent periods (say, the last three months) to give you a clearer picture of your trend.
Here’s how it works: instead of reacting to every little up or down in your sales, you focus on the average over time, which helps you avoid panic over short-term dips and plan for long-term growth.
For example, if your sales have fluctuated over the last six months, calculating the moving average can help smooth those peaks and valleys so you have a clearer idea of where your business is actually headed.
Sometimes, you don’t have enough historical data to make accurate predictions—especially if you’re launching a new product or entering a new market. This is where qualitative forecasting comes in. Essentially, it means leaning on the expertise of others—whether it’s your employees, industry experts, or even customer surveys—to get a better idea of what’s coming.
This method isn’t about crunching numbers. It’s more about gathering wisdom from people who understand your industry and can offer informed opinions. For example, if you’re opening a second location, you might talk to other business owners who’ve done something similar to understand the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Scenario planning is about imagining different futures for your business and planning for each one. It’s like playing out different “what if” situations and thinking about how to handle them. What if the economy slows down? What if your biggest supplier goes out of business? By thinking through these possibilities, you can prepare for them before they happen.
For example, let’s say your business relies on one major client. A scenario plan could explore what might happen if that client left. Would you have enough cash reserves to cover the gap? Could you expand your marketing efforts to attract new clients in a pinch? Thinking ahead like this helps you stay flexible and ready for the future.
The best forecasts often come from using more than one technique. For instance, combining time series forecasting with qualitative methods can give you a more rounded view of your business’s future. While the numbers can give you solid data, expert opinions, and scenario planning provide the context and insight that numbers can’t always offer.
Incorporating these forecasting techniques into your business planning helps you make decisions from a place of confidence rather than guesswork. When you know where your business is headed, you can plan for things like:
While forecasting can’t predict the future perfectly, it’s a tool that keeps you one step ahead. The more you do it, the better you’ll get at spotting trends and responding to changes in your business.
Forecasting might initially seem intimidating, but you don’t have to tackle it alone. A CPA or financial advisor can help you analyze your data, choose the right forecasting techniques, and ensure your numbers add up. They can also guide you in making smarter financial decisions based on the information you gather. So, whether you’re just starting out or looking to grow, reach out to a CPA for advice on how to use forecasting to your advantage.
Fraud is a pernicious problem for companies of all shapes and sizes. One broad type of crime that seems to be thriving as of late is invoice fraud.
In the second quarter of 2024, accounts payable software provider Medius released the results of a survey of 1,533 senior finance executives in the United States and United Kingdom. Respondents reported that their teams had seen, on average, 13 cases of attempted invoice fraud and nine cases of successful invoice fraud in the preceding 12 months. The average per-incident loss in the United States was $133,000 — which adds up to about $1.2 million annually.
Invoice fraud can be perpetrated in various ways. Among the most common varieties is fraudulent billing. In billing schemes, a real or fake vendor sends an invoice for goods or services that the business never received — and may not have ordered in the first place.
Overbilling schemes are similar. Your company may have received goods it ordered, but the vendor’s invoice is higher than agreed upon. Duplicate billing, on the other hand, is where a fraud perpetrator sends you the same invoice more than once, even though you’ve already paid.
Employees sometimes commit invoice fraud as well. This can happen when a manager approves payments for personal purchases. In other cases, a manager might create fictitious vendors, issue invoices from the fake vendors and approve the invoices for payment.
Such schemes generally are more successful when employees collude. For example, one perpetrator might work in receiving and the other in accounts payable. Or a receiving worker might collude with a vendor or other outside party.
The good news is there are some best practices that businesses can follow to discourage would-be perpetrators and catch those who try to commit invoice fraud. These include:
Know with whom you’re doing business. Verify the identity of any new supplier or vendor before working with that entity. Research its ownership, operating history, registered address and customer reviews. Also, ask for references so you can contact other companies that can vouch for its legitimacy.
Follow a thorough approval process. Establish a firm “no rubber stamp” policy for invoices. Train accounts payable staff to review them for red flags, such as unexpected changes in the amounts due or unusual payment terms. Manual alterations to an invoice should require additional scrutiny, as should the first several invoices from new vendors.
Instruct employees to contact an issuing vendor if anything seems strange or inaccurate about its invoice. In cases where the response lacks credibility or raises additional concerns, your business should decline to pay until the matter is resolved.
Implement additional antifraud controls as well. For instance, before approving payment, accounts payable staff should confirm with your receiving department that goods were delivered and check invoices against previous ones from the same vendor to ensure there are no discrepancies. Also, you may want to require more than one person to approve certain invoices for payment — such as those at or above a specified amount.
Leverage technology. Automating your accounts payable process can help prevent and detect invoice fraud. And, as you might expect, artificial intelligence (AI) is having an impact here.
One AI-driven technology called optical character recognition (OCR) can scan and read invoices to verify that line items and charged amounts match those vendors quoted you per your company’s financial records. OCR minimizes employee intervention, hinders collusion and makes diverting payments to personal accounts harder.
As the aforementioned survey indicates, invoice fraud is likely widespread. Be sure to put policies and procedures in place to prevent it as well as to respond swiftly and decisively if you suspect wrongdoing. Our firm can help you assess your accounts payable processes for efficiency, completeness and security.
© 2024
Your businesses may have a choice between using the cash or accrual method of accounting for tax purposes. The cash method often provides significant tax benefits for those that qualify. However, some businesses may be better off using the accrual method. Therefore, you need to evaluate the tax accounting method for your business to ensure that it’s the most beneficial approach.
“Small businesses,” as defined by the tax code, are generally eligible to use either cash or accrual accounting for tax purposes. (Some businesses may also be eligible to use various hybrid approaches.) Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) took effect, the gross receipts threshold for classification as a small business varied from $1 million to $10 million depending on how a business was structured, its industry and whether inventory was a material income-producing factor.
The TCJA simplified the definition of a small business by establishing a single gross receipts threshold. It also increased the threshold to $25 million (adjusted for inflation), expanding the benefits of small business status to many more companies. For 2024, a small business is one whose average annual gross receipts for the three-year period ending before the 2024 tax year are $30 million or less (up from $29 million in 2023).
In addition to eligibility for the cash method of accounting, small businesses enjoy simplified inventory accounting, exemption from the uniform capitalization rules and the business interest deduction limit, and several other tax advantages. Be aware that some businesses are eligible for cash accounting even if their gross receipts are above the threshold, including S corporations, partnerships without any C corporation partners, farming businesses and certain personal service corporations. Also, tax shelters are ineligible for the cash method, regardless of size.
For most businesses, the cash method provides significant tax advantages. Because cash-basis businesses recognize income when it’s received and deduct expenses when they’re paid, they have greater control over the timing of income and deductions. For example, they can defer income by delaying invoices until the following tax year or shift deductions into the current year by accelerating the payment of expenses.
In contrast, accrual-basis businesses recognize income when it’s earned and deduct expenses when they’re incurred, without regard to the timing of cash receipts or payments. That means they have little flexibility to time the recognition of income or expenses for income tax purposes.
The cash method also provides cash flow benefits. Because income is taxed in the year it’s received, it helps ensure that a business has the funds it needs to pay its tax bill.
For some businesses, however, the accrual method may be preferable. For instance, if a company’s accrued income tends to be lower than its accrued expenses, the accrual method may result in lower tax liability than the cash method. Other potential advantages of using the accrual method include the abilities to deduct year-end bonuses paid within the first 2½ months of the following tax year and to defer taxes on certain advance payments.
Even if your business would enjoy a tax advantage by switching from the accrual method to the cash method, or vice versa, it’s important to consider the administrative costs involved in making the change. For example, if your business prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), it’s required to use the accrual method for financial reporting purposes.
Does that mean you can’t use the cash method for tax purposes? No, but it would require the business to maintain two sets of books. Changing accounting methods for tax purposes may also require IRS approval. Contact us to learn more about each method.
© 2024
Financial ratios are essential tools that help business owners understand their company’s financial health. Analyzing these ratios allows you to make more informed decisions that drive growth, manage risk, and ensure long-term sustainability. Understanding key financial ratios can provide valuable insights whether you’re considering a new investment, evaluating your company’s performance, or planning for the future.
Financial ratios are calculations derived from a company’s financial statements, such as the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. These ratios help business owners and managers assess the company’s financial health, including liquidity, profitability, leverage, and efficiency.
Here are some of the most important financial ratios that every business owner should understand:
1. Liquidity Ratios
Liquidity ratios measure a company’s ability to meet its short-term obligations, indicating how well a business can cover its immediate debts with its current assets.
Why It Matters: Maintaining healthy liquidity ratios ensures your business can handle short-term financial challenges, such as paying suppliers, covering payroll, or dealing with unexpected expenses.
2. Profitability Ratios
Profitability ratios evaluate how efficiently a company generates profit relative to its revenue, assets, or equity.
Why It Matters: Understanding profitability ratios helps you assess the effectiveness of your business strategies, pricing, and cost control measures. High profitability ratios can make your business more attractive to investors and lenders.
3. Leverage Ratios
Leverage ratios assess the degree to which a company uses borrowed money (debt) to finance its operations and growth.
Why It Matters: Leverage ratios help you understand the financial risk of borrowing. While debt can be a useful tool for growth, excessive leverage can strain your finances and increase the risk of default.
Business owners can use financial ratios to make a wide range of decisions, including:
While financial ratios are valuable tools, they should be part of a broader financial analysis. Ratios alone may not provide the full picture; interpreting them correctly requires experience and context. That’s why it’s crucial to consult a CPA or financial advisor when analyzing your company’s financial health. A professional can help you understand the implications of various ratios, provide insights tailored to your business, and guide you in making informed decisions.
In conclusion, financial ratios are indispensable tools that help steer your business in the right direction. By effectively understanding and applying these ratios, you can enhance your decision-making, optimize performance, and secure your company’s financial future. However, always consider reaching out to a CPA for expert guidance and to ensure you make the best possible business decisions.
Navigating a financial audit can be daunting, but with the right preparation and understanding, it can become a manageable and beneficial process. Financial audits help ensure the accuracy of your financial records and compliance with regulations and can reveal areas for improvement within your business operations.
A financial audit is a thorough examination of your financial records and transactions conducted by an external entity. Its primary purpose is to verify the accuracy and completeness of your financial statements and ensure compliance with accounting standards and regulations. Various factors, including routine procedures, discrepancies in financial reports, or random selection, can trigger audits.
Engaging in a financial audit offers several significant benefits beyond mere compliance. Here are some key advantages:
Preparation is crucial for a smooth audit experience. Here are some steps to help you prepare effectively:
Once the audit begins, there are several best practices to follow:
After completing the audit, you will receive a report detailing the findings. Here’s what to do next:
Navigating the complexities of financial audits can be challenging, especially with varying regulations and standards. Consulting with a CPA or financial advisor is essential for tailored advice and support. They can help you understand the audit process, prepare effectively, and implement necessary changes to enhance financial management.
While financial audits can seem intimidating, proper preparation and a proactive approach can turn them into valuable opportunities for business improvement. By understanding the process, preparing thoroughly, and seeking professional guidance, you can confidently navigate audits and ensure your business remains compliant and financially healthy. Contact your CPA or financial advisor for more detailed advice tailored to your situation.
Planning for retirement is a crucial aspect of managing a small business. Unlike traditional employees who may have access to employer-sponsored benefits, business owners must proactively manage their retirement savings. This involves navigating fluctuating incomes and variable cash flows while balancing the demands of running a business. Tax-deferred retirement plans offer a valuable solution, providing significant tax benefits while helping to secure your financial future.
One of the most accessible retirement plans for small business owners is the SEP-IRA. This plan allows employers to contribute to their employees’ retirement accounts and their own. For 2024, contributions can be up to 25% of each eligible employee’s compensation, capped at $69,000. Contributions are tax-deductible, and the funds grow tax-deferred until withdrawal.
SEP-IRAs are attractive due to their simplicity and flexibility. They have low administrative costs and do not require annual funding commitments, allowing contributions to vary based on business performance. However, it’s important to note that employees cannot contribute directly to SEP-IRAs; only employers can contribute. Early withdrawals from SEP-IRAs, like traditional IRAs, incur a 10% penalty if taken before age 59½ and are subject to income taxes.
A SIMPLE IRA is another retirement option for businesses with fewer than 100 employees. It operates similarly to a traditional IRA but includes mandatory employer contributions. Employees can contribute up to $15,500 annually (as of 2024), with an additional $3,500 catch-up contribution for those over 50. Employers must match employee contributions up to 3% of their compensation or make a fixed contribution of 2% of each eligible employee’s compensation.
SIMPLE IRAs offer tax-deferred growth, reducing taxable income in the contribution year. They are relatively easy to set up and maintain, though they have lower contribution limits than 401(k) plans. Importantly, a business may face penalties if it fails to make the required employer contributions.
The Solo 401(k) provides an excellent retirement savings vehicle for sole proprietors or business owners with no employees. It allows for employer and employee contributions, significantly increasing the potential savings. For 2024, total contributions can reach up to $69,000, with an additional $7,500 catch-up contribution for those over 50.
As the sole employee, you can contribute up to $23,000 or 100% of your compensation, whichever is less. Additionally, as the employer, you can make a profit-sharing contribution of up to 25% of your net self-employment income. The Solo 401(k) also offers the flexibility to choose between traditional (pre-tax) and Roth (post-tax) contributions, depending on your tax strategy.
The Solo 401(k) is advantageous due to its high contribution limits and flexibility. However, it requires more administrative effort than SEP-IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs, including annual filings with the IRS once assets exceed $250,000.
Tax-deferred retirement plans are invaluable for business owners as they offer significant tax savings while ensuring financial security for the future. Contributions reduce taxable income in the year they are made, allowing more money to be invested and grow over time. This tax deferral can result in substantial retirement savings, particularly when leveraging compound interest.
Furthermore, having a mix of retirement accounts, such as SEP-IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and Solo 401(k)s, can provide flexibility in managing tax liabilities. For example, Roth accounts provide tax-free withdrawals in retirement, while traditional accounts offer tax deductions now, potentially lowering your current tax bracket.
Navigating the complexities of retirement planning can be challenging, especially with the varying tax implications of different accounts. Developing a strategy that aligns with your business’s financial situation and future goals is essential. Consulting with a CPA or financial advisor can provide personalized advice, ensuring you make informed decisions that maximize your retirement savings and minimize tax liabilities.
Tax-deferred retirement plans like SEP-IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and Solo 401(k)s can significantly benefit business owners by reducing current tax liabilities and securing a comfortable retirement. Understanding the options available and seeking professional guidance allows you to create a robust retirement strategy tailored to your unique needs.
Always contact your CPA or financial advisor for more detailed advice tailored to your specific situation. They can provide the expertise needed to navigate the complexities of retirement planning and ensure you make the most of your financial future.
Are you buying a business that will have one or more co-owners? Or do you already own one fitting that description? If so, consider installing a buy-sell agreement. A well-drafted agreement can do these valuable things:
There are two basic types of buy-sell agreements: Cross-purchase agreements and redemption agreements (sometimes called liquidation agreements).
A cross-purchase agreement is a contract between you and the other co-owners. Under the agreement, a withdrawing co-owner’s ownership interest must be purchased by the remaining co-owners if a triggering event, such as a death or disability, occurs.
A redemption agreement is a contract between the business entity and its co-owners (including you). Under the agreement, a withdrawing co-owner’s ownership interest must be purchased by the entity if a triggering event occurs.
You and the other co-owners specify the triggering events you want to include in your agreement. You’ll certainly want to include obvious events like death, disability and attainment of a stated retirement age. You can also include other events that you deem appropriate, such as divorce.
Make sure your buy-sell agreement stipulates an acceptable method for valuing the business ownership interests. Common valuation methods include using a fixed per-share price, an appraised fair market value figure, or a formula that sets the selling price as a multiple of earnings or cash flow.
Also ensure the agreement specifies how amounts will be paid out to withdrawing co-owners or their heirs under various triggering events.
The death of a co-owner is perhaps the most common, and catastrophic, triggering event. You can use life insurance policies to form the financial backbone of your buy-sell agreement.
In the simplest case of a cross-purchase agreement between two co-owners, each co-owner purchases a life insurance policy on the other. If one co-owner dies, the surviving co-owner collects the insurance death benefit proceeds and uses them to buy out the deceased co-owner’s interest from the estate, surviving spouse or other heir(s). The insurance death benefit proceeds are free of any federal income tax, so long as the surviving co-owner is the original purchaser of the policy on the other co-owner.
However, a seemingly simple cross-purchase arrangement between more than two co-owners can get complicated, because each co-owner must buy life insurance policies on all the other co-owners. In this scenario, you may want to use a trust or partnership to buy and maintain one policy on each co-owner. Then, if a co-owner dies, the trust or partnership collects the death benefit proceeds tax-free and distributes the cash to the remaining co-owners. They then use the money to fund their buyout obligations under the cross-purchase agreement.
To fund a redemption buy-sell agreement, the business entity itself buys policies on the lives of all co-owners and then uses the death benefit proceeds buy out deceased co-owners.
Specify in your agreement that any buyout that isn’t funded with insurance death benefit proceeds will be paid out under a multi-year installment payment arrangement. This gives you (and any remaining co-owners) some breathing room to come up with the cash needed to fulfill your buyout obligation.
If you’re like many business co-owners, the value of your share of the business comprises a big percentage of your estate. Having a buy-sell agreement ensures that your ownership interest can be sold by your heir(s) under terms that you approved when you set it up. Also, the price set by a properly drafted agreement establishes the value of your ownership interest for federal estate tax purposes, thus avoiding possible IRS hassles.
As a co-owner of a valuable business, having a well-drafted buy-sell agreement in place is pretty much a no-brainer. It provides financial protection to you and your heir(s) as well as to your co-owners and their heirs. The agreement also avoids hassles with the IRS over estate taxes.
Buy-sell agreements aren’t DIY projects. Contact us about setting one up.
© 2024
As a business owner, the Profit & Loss (P&L) report is one of your most vital tools. This financial statement gives a window into your business, revealing how your money is generated and spent. The main goal of the P&L report is to understand how your business has earned a net profit or incurred a loss and how to adjust your strategy accordingly. Love it or hate it, the P&L report is your company’s scorecard – and if you can read it well, it can guide your company toward sustainable growth.
P&L reports track a business’s revenue and expenses over a specific period, usually prepared monthly or quarterly. By showing a business’s net profit (or loss), the P&L report indicates the effectiveness of a company’s operations and sales strategy. This insight is crucial for making informed decisions and steering your business toward financial health.
The main categories found in a P&L report include:
These categories are divided into three main sections: revenues, COGS, and operational expenses. Each line item on a P&L falls under either a revenue or an expense account, collectively determining the bottom line.
Understanding the different types of profit presented in a P&L report can provide deeper insights into your business’s financial health.
A company’s gross margin represents its profit before operating expenses. The gross margin reflects the core profitability of a company before overhead costs and shows the financial success of a product or service. It is also used to calculate the gross margin ratio, which is found by dividing the gross margin by total revenue. This ratio allows you to compare similar companies and the industry to determine relative profitability.
Gross Margin = Revenue – COGS
A high gross margin indicates that a company retains a significant portion of revenue as profit after accounting for the cost of goods sold. This can indicate efficient production processes and strong pricing strategies.
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation, & Amortization) resembles free cash flow for most businesses. A company can see potential available cash by adding back interest, tax, and depreciation expenses to earnings. Since depreciation and amortization are non-cash items, they do not impact the health of a business’s cash flow. Therefore, EBITDA is an excellent metric for gauging cash flow in your P&L report.
EBITDA = Net Income + Interest + Taxes + Depreciation + Amortization
This metric helps business owners and investors understand a company’s true operational performance without the effects of capital structure, tax rates, and non-cash accounting decisions.
Net profit is the ultimate measure of a business’s profitability. It is calculated by taking a company’s revenue and subtracting COGS and all operational expenses. The result is net profit, which shows the business’s overall financial success.
Net Profit = Revenue – (COGS + Operational Expenses + SG&A + Interest + Taxes)
Net profit is a critical indicator of the business’s ability to generate earnings after all expenses, which directly affects the company’s long-term sustainability and growth potential.
While creating your P&L report, it’s crucial to distinguish between an income statement and a balance sheet. Although different, they complement each other to provide a comprehensive financial picture. An income statement shows how profitable a business is over a given period, while a balance sheet provides a snapshot of assets and liabilities. These documents offer a complete view of your company’s financial health.
Understanding an organization’s P&L report is essential for analyzing profitability and growth. The basic equations underlying these reports are straightforward, and their organization is consistent across different businesses. By mastering the P&L report, you can make informed decisions that drive your business toward sustainable growth.
Navigating the complexities of business ownership requires a keen understanding of financial planning. A comprehensive financial plan is more than just a set of documents; it’s a roadmap that guides your business through the ever-changing landscape of commerce, helping to steer day-to-day decisions and long-term strategies.
Efficient cash management is foundational to a business’s financial health. A robust financial plan helps you establish budgets that accommodate short-term operational needs while aligning with long-term financial goals. This dual focus prevents common pitfalls such as inadequate cash reserves to make payroll or take advantage of supplier bulk purchase discounts.
It’s easy to get caught up in the immediacy of daily business challenges. However, a forward-looking financial plan shifts some of your focus to the future, enabling you to make informed investments in your business’s growth. This might involve expanding your physical space, investing in new technology, or enhancing your marketing efforts to outpace competitors.
Through financial planning, businesses can identify critical expenditures that yield immediate improvements in efficiency and profitability. This prioritization helps allocate resources more effectively, ensuring that investments are made in areas that provide the most significant returns, thereby enhancing the overall financial stability of the business.
A well-crafted financial plan allows business owners to set quantifiable targets and measure actual performance against these benchmarks. This ongoing evaluation helps recognize successful initiatives and identify areas needing adjustment. For instance, an increase in advertising spending should correlate with an uptick in sales, providing a clear picture of your marketing strategies’ effectiveness.
A detailed financial plan is invaluable in scenarios where external financing is required. Lenders and investors are more likely to engage with businesses that demonstrate a clear understanding of their financial trajectory and the capability to manage finances effectively. A solid financial plan enhances your credibility and increases the likelihood of securing the necessary funding.
Financial planning is crucial in risk management, effectively preparing businesses to handle uncertainties. Whether it’s an economic downturn or a sudden market shift, a financial plan helps you navigate potential challenges without jeopardizing your business’s stability.
While the benefits of financial planning are vast, the complexity of creating and implementing an effective plan suggests the importance of professional guidance. Partnering with a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who understands your business sector can provide you with insights and strategies tailored to your specific needs. These professionals help refine your financial plan to ensure that it meets current regulatory and economic conditions and positions your business for success in the future.
In sum, a strategic financial plan is not just about keeping your business afloat; it’s about setting the stage for prosperity and growth. It empowers you to make smarter decisions, optimize cash flow, and achieve your business aspirations with confidence.
With lease accounting standards ASC 842 and IFRS 16 in place for several years, private businesses have navigated a significant shift in how lease obligations are reported on the balance sheet. Now is an opportune moment to assess the practical impacts of these changes on companies and explore the latest updates to these standards.
Previously, operating leases were conveniently tucked away in the footnotes of financial statements. They take center stage on the balance sheet as both a right-of-use asset and a lease liability. This accounting makeover affects a company’s debt-to-equity ratio, working capital, and financial health. Suddenly, businesses have seen their liabilities swell, presenting a new challenge to stakeholders interpreting balance sheet health.
Upon implementation, private companies had to start recognizing nearly all leases on the balance sheet, recording them as right-of-use assets with a corresponding liability. For many, this was a departure from past practices, necessitating a meticulous review of contracts and commitments that had been, until then, off the books.
The lease liability reflects the present value of future lease payments, significantly affecting reported debt levels. Concurrently, the right-of-use asset has to be depreciated over the lease term, impacting the balance sheet and the income statement. The net result? Increased assets and liabilities can skew financial ratios and potentially trip debt covenants.
The most immediate challenge was the data-intensive requirements of the new standards. Companies needed to gather extensive details on every lease, a process often marred by decentralized data and varying documentation quality. Accounting complexity skyrocketed, especially in recognizing and measuring lease components and understanding the impact on financial covenants.
Yet, there are opportunities amidst these challenges. The enhanced transparency can improve stakeholder trust and provide a clearer picture of long-term financial commitments. It also allows for more strategic decision-making regarding leasing versus buying and can even catalyze renegotiating terms with lessors.
Accounting bodies have responded to the feedback from the business community with amendments aimed at simplifying certain aspects of lease accounting. For example, recent updates offer practical expedients on the reassessment of lease terms, providing relief for businesses grappling with the administrative burden of the standards.
Additionally, the standard-setters have addressed the intricacies of lease modifications, especially pertinent in the evolving business landscape shaped by the global pandemic. These amendments aim to reduce complexity and facilitate a smoother adaptation to the new lease accounting reality.
The balance sheet is now more than a historical document; it’s a strategic tool, and lease accounting plays a significant role. Companies must consider the balance sheet implications in their business strategies, particularly concerning credit availability and asset management.
The elevated importance of lease accounting in financial reporting and the enhanced balance sheet transparency calls for businesses to maintain a sharper focus on lease management. It emphasizes the need for integrated systems that can handle the recording, tracking, and reporting of lease elements efficiently and accurately.
Lease accounting under ASC 842 and IFRS 16 presents a new frontier in financial reporting. The impact on balance sheets has been profound, with significant implications for business strategy and financial planning. As the landscape evolves with recent updates, businesses must proactively dialogue with financial advisors or CPAs. Professional guidance is crucial in navigating these complexities, ensuring compliance, and optimizing strategic decisions to leverage these accounting changes effectively.
If you want to withdraw cash from your closely held corporation at a low tax cost, the easiest way is to distribute cash as a dividend. However, a dividend distribution isn’t tax efficient since it’s taxable to you to the extent of your corporation’s “earnings and profits,” but it’s not deductible by the corporation.
Thankfully, there are some alternative methods that may allow you to withdraw cash from a corporation while avoiding dividend treatment. Here are five possible options:
1. Salary. Reasonable compensation that you, or family members, receive for services rendered to the corporation is deductible by the business. However, it’s also taxable to the recipient(s). The same rule applies to any compensation (in the form of rent) that you receive from the corporation for the use of property. In either case, the amount of compensation must be reasonable in relation to the services rendered or the value of the property provided. If it’s excessive, the excess will be nondeductible and treated as a corporate distribution.
2. Fringe benefits. Consider obtaining the equivalent of a cash withdrawal in fringe benefits that are deductible by the corporation and not taxable to you. Examples are life insurance, certain medical benefits, disability insurance and dependent care. Most of these benefits are tax-free only if provided on a nondiscriminatory basis to other employees of the corporation. You can also establish a salary reduction plan that allows you (and other employees) to take a portion of your compensation as nontaxable benefits, rather than as taxable compensation.
3. Capital repayments. To the extent that you’ve capitalized the corporation with debt, including amounts that you’ve advanced to the business, the corporation can repay the debt without the repayment being treated as a dividend. Additionally, interest paid on the debt can be deducted by the corporation. This assumes that the debt has been properly documented with terms that characterize debt and that the corporation doesn’t have an excessively high debt-to-equity ratio. If not, the “debt” repayment may be taxed as a dividend. If you make cash contributions to the corporation in the future, consider structuring them as debt to facilitate later withdrawals on a tax-advantaged basis.
4. Loans. You may withdraw cash from the corporation tax-free by borrowing money from it. However, to avoid having the loan characterized as a corporate distribution, it should be properly documented in a loan agreement or a note and be made on terms that are comparable to those on which an unrelated third party would lend money to you. This should include a provision for interest and principal. All interest and principal payments should be made when required under the loan terms. Also, consider the effect of the corporation’s receipt of interest income.
5. Property sales. You can withdraw cash from the corporation by selling property to it. However, certain sales should be avoided. For example, you shouldn’t sell property to a more than 50% owned corporation at a loss, since the loss will be disallowed. And you shouldn’t sell depreciable property to a more than 50% owned corporation at a gain, since the gain will be treated as ordinary income, rather than capital gain. A sale should be on terms that are comparable to those on which an unrelated third party would purchase the property. You may need to obtain an independent appraisal to establish the property’s value.
If you’re interested in discussing any of these ideas, contact us. We can help you get the maximum out of your corporation at the minimum tax cost.
© 2024
Businesses basically have two accounting methods to figure their taxable income: cash and accrual. Many businesses have a choice of which method to use for tax purposes. The cash method often provides significant tax benefits for eligible businesses, though some may be better off using the accrual method. Thus, it may be prudent for your business to evaluate its method to ensure that it’s the most advantageous approach.
“Small businesses,” as defined by the tax code, are generally eligible to use either cash or accrual accounting for tax purposes. (Some businesses may also be eligible to use various hybrid approaches.) Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) took effect, the gross receipts threshold for classification as a small business varied from $1 million to $10 million depending on how a business was structured, its industry and factors involving inventory.
The TCJA simplified the small business definition by establishing a single gross receipts threshold. It also increased the threshold to $25 million (adjusted for inflation), expanding the benefits of small business status to more companies. For 2024, a small business is one whose average annual gross receipts for the three-year period ending before the 2024 tax year are $30 million or less (up from $29 million for 2023).
In addition to eligibility for the cash accounting method, small businesses can benefit from advantages including:
Note: Some businesses are eligible for cash accounting even if their gross receipts are above the threshold, including S corporations, partnerships without C corporation partners, farming businesses and certain personal service corporations. Tax shelters are ineligible for the cash method, regardless of size.
For most businesses, the cash method provides significant tax advantages. Because cash-basis businesses recognize income when received and deduct expenses when they’re paid, they have greater control over the timing of income and deductions. For example, toward the end of the year, they can defer income by delaying invoices until the following tax year or shift deductions into the current year by accelerating the payment of expenses.
In contrast, accrual-basis businesses recognize income when earned and deduct expenses when incurred, without regard to the timing of cash receipts or payments. Therefore, they have little flexibility to time the recognition of income or expenses for tax purposes.
The cash method also provides cash flow benefits. Because income is taxed in the year received, it helps ensure that a business has the funds needed to pay its tax bill.
However, for some businesses, the accrual method may be preferable. For instance, if a company’s accrued income tends to be lower than its accrued expenses, the accrual method may result in lower tax liability. Other potential advantages of the accrual method include the ability to deduct year-end bonuses paid within the first 2½ months of the following tax year and the option to defer taxes on certain advance payments.
Even if your business would benefit by switching from the accrual method to the cash method, or vice versa, it’s important to consider the administrative costs involved in a change. For example, if your business prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, it’s required to use the accrual method for financial reporting purposes. That doesn’t mean it can’t use the cash method for tax purposes, but it would require maintaining two sets of books.
Changing accounting methods for tax purposes also may require IRS approval. Contact us to learn more about each method.
© 2024
Understanding and implementing the proper accounting method is a cornerstone for financial clarity and operational success. As a business owner, choosing between cash-basis and accrual accounting methods affects how you report financial transactions. This article delves into the essence of these accounting methods, their significance, and how to discern which is most conducive to your business’s growth and fiscal management.
Accounting methods are the backbone of financial record-keeping, providing a structured approach to tracking financial transactions and maintaining accurate financial records. The primary objective is to depict an organization’s financial performance and position. Understanding the nuances of each accounting method helps business owners make informed decisions, manage tax obligations effectively, and forecast future growth with precision.
Cash-basis accounting, renowned for its simplicity, only records income and expenses when cash is exchanged. This method offers a straightforward perspective on cash flow, allowing small business owners to ascertain their financial standing at any given moment easily. However, its simplicity comes at the cost of a comprehensive view, as it doesn’t account for pending receivables or payables, potentially skewing the real financial health of the business. Small enterprises, particularly those without inventory or complex financial obligations, often find cash-basis accounting advantageous for its direct reflection of cash on hand and ease of management.
In contrast, accrual accounting provides a more detailed financial picture by recording transactions when they are incurred, irrespective of cash movement. This method is essential for businesses that engage in credit transactions, carry inventory, or require a detailed understanding of their financial status for decision-making and strategic planning. Accrual accounting enables business owners to anticipate future revenues and expenses, offering insights into the company’s long-term financial trajectory. While it necessitates a more meticulous record-keeping process, its benefits in providing a complete financial overview are undeniable.
The choice between cash-basis and accrual accounting hinges on several factors, including the size of your business, regulatory requirements, and strategic financial planning needs. The IRS mandates accrual accounting for businesses surpassing $26 million in gross receipts over a three-year average, underscoring its relevance for larger enterprises. Additionally, businesses aiming for growth or those engaging in complex financial activities may find accrual accounting more suitable due to its in-depth financial insights and forecasting capabilities.
For small businesses, particularly those at the threshold of significant growth or with plans to scale, starting with accrual accounting can lay a solid foundation for future financial management needs. Conversely, cash-basis accounting may suffice for businesses with simpler transactions and those seeking straightforward financial tracking.
Businesses looking for a middle ground may consider modified cash-basis accounting, which combines elements of both methods. This hybrid approach allows for recording short-term cash transactions and long-term financial activities, offering flexibility and a balanced view of a business’s financial health.
In choosing the right accounting method for your business, being well-informed cannot be overstated. Whether cash-basis or accrual accounting is better depends on your business’s specific needs, regulatory requirements, and growth aspirations. Remember, this decision is about compliance, strategic financial planning, and management. Given the complexities involved, it’s advisable to seek the guidance of a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). A CPA can offer personalized advice, ensuring your accounting method aligns with your business goals and paves the way for sustainable growth. Making this critical decision with professional insight allows you to navigate your business toward financial clarity and success.
A new year marks a fresh start for businesses, offering a chance to enhance financial management practices and unlock opportunities for growth and success. As a business owner, improving your financial management can open doors to many possibilities. This article will explore essential tips for leveraging accounting software, particularly QuickBooks, to boost your financial oversight and operational efficiency in 2024.
One of the foundational steps in effective financial management is regular account reconciliation. This involves ensuring that your QuickBooks accounts align accurately with your bank statements. Regular reconciliations allow you to identify and rectify any discrepancies that may arise swiftly. This practice maintains the integrity of your financial records and provides you with a clear understanding of your business’s financial health.
QuickBooks’ class and location tracking feature can be a game-changer for businesses with multiple departments or product lines. This tool offers deeper insights into the profitability and expenses of various segments within your business. By categorizing transactions according to classes or locations, you can make more informed decisions and allocate resources more effectively.
Repetitive financial tasks, such as monthly subscriptions or rent payments, can be automated through QuickBooks and other accounting software. Setting up recurring transactions saves time and ensures consistency and accuracy in your financial records. This feature eliminates the risk of missing essential payments and helps you maintain a seamless financial workflow.
In today’s fast-paced business environment, mobility is crucial. Most cloud-based accounting software, including QuickBooks, offers mobile apps that allow you to manage your finances on the go. Whether you need to track expenses, send invoices, or access financial data from anywhere, these mobile apps provide convenience and flexibility. This accessibility ensures that you always stay in control of your finances.
Modern accounting software systems offer advanced reporting capabilities that provide valuable insights into your business finances. QuickBooks, for example, offers customizable reports, including cash flow statements and profit and loss reports. Here are four essential reports to consider running:
Maintaining a healthy cash flow is essential for business sustainability. Regularly monitoring your accounts receivable and payable in QuickBooks, with the help of the reports mentioned earlier, will ensure that you stay on top of overdue payments and effectively manage your bills. This proactive approach is key to maintaining financial stability.
Consider further integrating your accounting software with other business tools to enhance your financial management. Integration can streamline workflows, improve data accuracy, and enhance business efficiency. For example, integrating with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems can provide a holistic view of your business operations, helping you better understand customer interactions and needs.
By implementing these features and strategies, you can elevate your financial management practices, gain deeper insights into your business operations, and make well-informed decisions that drive your business forward. As you embark on this journey in 2024, remember that effective financial management is the cornerstone of business success, and with the right tools and practices, you can achieve your growth and profitability goals.
Managing federal tax debts exceeding $59,000 requires careful attention and strategic actions. This article discusses the process, implications, and steps to resolve substantial tax debts that could impact your passport status.
A “seriously delinquent” tax debt is a federal tax liability exceeding $59,000 (to increase annually for inflation), including interest and penalties (indexed annually for inflation). It triggers when either a Notice of Federal Tax Lien has been filed, all administrative remedies under IRC §6320 have lapsed, or a levy has been issued.
Upon reaching this threshold, the IRS can report the liability to the U.S. State Department under IRC §7345. The consequence may involve the State Department withholding passport renewals, issuing new passports, or revoking existing ones. U.S. citizens abroad with revoked passports can still use them for return travel to the U.S., as limited passports may be issued.
When the IRS certifies a taxpayer’s debt, they receive Notice CP508C. However, resolution options exist, including:
Several exceptions exist that exclude taxpayers from being considered seriously delinquent, such as bankruptcy, residing in a federally declared disaster area, a debt deemed not collectible due to hardship, or having a pending installment agreement or offer in compromise.
If a taxpayer believes the certification is erroneous or falls into one of the exceptions, they can initiate resolution by contacting the number provided on CP508C. Additionally, taxpayers can file a suit in a Tax Court or district court to challenge the accuracy of the certification.
Upon successfully resolving the tax issue, the IRS commits to reversing the certification within 30 days, allowing individuals to regain control over their passport status.
Stay informed and proactively address substantial tax debts and passport-related concerns. Understanding the process and available options is crucial for business owners navigating the complexities of IRS certification. If you are in this situation, take the necessary steps to resolve the issue and regain control over your financial and travel matters.
Tax credits are far more valuable than tax deductions. Unlike a deduction, which reduces a business’s taxable income, a credit reduces the business’s tax liability dollar for dollar. Tax credits aren’t unlimited, however. For businesses, the aggregate value of tax credits may be limited by the general business credit (GBC), found in Internal Revenue Code Section 38. Taxpayers should familiarize themselves with the GBC so they can understand the value of their business credits and identify tax-saving opportunities.
The GBC isn’t a tax credit in the usual sense. Rather, it’s a collection of dozens of business-related credits scattered throughout the tax code. (See the sidebar, “What’s included in the GBC?”) Each credit must be claimed separately, according to its specific rules and using the relevant tax forms. Taxpayers that claim more than one credit, however, must also file Form 3800 to report the aggregate value of those credits and calculate the overall allowable credit under the GBC.
The GBC limits total credits in a given year to the excess (if any) of a taxpayer’s net income tax over the greater of:
For purposes of calculating the GBC, “net income tax” is the sum of the taxpayer’s regular tax liability and AMT liability, reduced by certain non-GBC credits. “Net regular tax liability” is regular tax liability reduced by certain credits.
The GBC limit essentially prevents taxpayers from using credits to avoid AMT. In recent years, that hasn’t been an issue for C corporations, because the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) repealed the corporate AMT. Although the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act established a new corporate minimum tax for corporations with “book profits” over $1 billion for tax years beginning after December 31, 2022, it generally doesn’t limit the GBC.
The AMT for individuals still exists, though the TCJA substantially increased the AMT exemption and made other changes that mean fewer taxpayers are subject to it. Nevertheless, AMT still may limit the use of the GBC by individual taxpayers such as sole proprietors, partners and S corporation shareholders.
If the limits prevent a taxpayer from using all of the GBC, the unused credit may be carried back one year and then, if unused credit remains, carried forward up to 20 years. In a given year, the GBC is used in the following order:
These ordering rules essentially apply a first-in, first-out (FIFO) approach that minimizes the risk that unused credits will expire. Still, taxpayers with a large surplus of credits may risk losing credits that can’t be used within the 20-year carryforward period. Fortunately, the tax code provides some relief for taxpayers in this position.
To prevent taxpayers from “double-dipping,” the tax code generally doesn’t permit them to claim a tax credit and a tax deduction based on the same expenses. Thus, in the year that a GBC is generated, taxpayers generally must treat a portion of its expenses (equal to the amount of the credit) as nondeductible.
In many cases, when a credit is lost, Section 196 allows the lost credit amount to be claimed as a deduction. If the credit is lost because the 20-year carryforward period expires, the taxpayer may claim the deduction in the following tax year. If it’s lost because the taxpayer dies or ceases to exist, the deduction may be claimed for the year of death or cessation.
The Sec. 196 deduction may provide a tax-saving opportunity for C corporations contemplating a sale. It’s common for buyers to acquire a company’s stock and then make an election to treat the transaction as a deemed asset sale for tax purposes. But this can trigger substantial taxable gains for the seller. If the seller has significant unused GBCs, it may be able to use a Sec. 196 deduction to offset some or all of those gains (because the selling corporation ceases to exist).
Determining GBCs for a given year, and calculating applicable limits, can be complicated. Be sure to work with your tax advisor to make the most of these valuable credits.
A general business credit (GBC) consists of more than 30 individual tax credits that provide incentives for a variety of business activities. Examples include:
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Gaining a competitive edge in today’s market requires more than understanding one’s financials. It requires using financial metrics strategically to enhance business success. The Profit Margin Ratio is a crucial financial metric that predicts future viability and competitiveness.
Profit margins allow businesses to identify operational efficiencies or deficiencies. It’s not about the total dollars earned. This ratio reveals what percentage of sales remains after covering the costs, providing a clear view of profitability.
Profit Margin Ratios come in 3 types: Gross, Operating, and Net. Each offers unique insights:
For example, with $1 million in revenue, a company’s Gross Profit Margin at a direct cost of $600,000 is 40%. If operating expenses are $200,000, the Operating Margin drops to 20%, and after $100,000 in additional expenses, the Net Profit Margin is 10%.
With these metrics, businesses can pinpoint where to cut costs or where to invest, ensuring sustained growth and profitability.
By monitoring these margins, you can drive improved profitability, effective cost management, and enhanced operational efficiency. They can act as a warning flag to help identify areas to look into when things might not be right. For instance, while a strong Gross Profit Margin alongside a weak Net Profit Margin might show excessive administrative costs; conversely, a weak Gross Profit Margin with a strong Net Profit Margin could signal the need for pricing adjustments to better align with costs, both of which can guide you to specific improvements.
Here are 5 steps you can take to implement profit margin analysis into your business:
Mastering Profit Margin Ratios equips you with the foresight to shape your business’s future. This financial mastery is a map guiding you toward sustainable growth and success. Embrace these insights, and with precision and the right tools, your business is on track to reach its fullest potential.
If your business completes minor repairs by December 31, you can deduct those costs on your 2023 tax return. But different tax rules apply to improvements. As opposed to repairs, improvements are capital expenditures that must be written off over time.
How can you tell whether work constitutes a repair or an improvement? It can be tricky. Fixing a broken windowpane is clearly a repair, while adding an indoor parking facility is obviously an improvement. But many expenses fall in between those two examples. Fortunately, IRS tangible property regulations offer more clarity.
Notably, the final regulations provide a safe-harbor rule under which you can currently deduct for federal tax purposes amounts paid for tangible property if you deduct those amounts for financial accounting purposes or in keeping your books and records. However, a dollar limit applies:
Additional rules apply that may limit or eliminate your current deduction for a particular expense.
There’s also a small businesses safe harbor under which businesses with $10 million or less in average gross receipts can elect to currently deduct improvements to a building with an unadjusted basis of $1 million or less. However, the total amount paid for repairs, maintenance and improvements to the building can’t exceed the lesser of $10,000 or 2% of the unadjusted basis.
Routine maintenance costs generally are deductible in the year in which they’re incurred. An activity is “routine” if the business reasonably expects to perform it more than once during the property’s useful life (more than once over a 10-year period for buildings). Note: A business may capitalize these costs if this is consistent with its financial statements.
In addition, the traditional rule that improvements are capitalized and depreciated over time remains in place. But the regulations authorize a business to deduct some improvements (for example, an HVAC unit) if they are properly segregated.
If your business makes repairs and improvements at the same time, be aware that the IRS may lump the costs together as a general plan of betterment, causing you to forfeit a current deduction for repairs. All else being equal, arrange repair work separately at another time — preferably before 2024 if you want to reduce your 2023 tax liability.
© 2023
In the business world, blending passion with profitability is essential. Financial accounting has evolved into a strategic cornerstone that sets successful enterprises apart. In the age of data-driven decision-making, integrating financial strategy is vital. This article will help you understand how strong financial accounting can help you achieve your goals.
Once regarded as a mere reporting tool, financial accounting now plays a crucial strategic role in advancing your business’s growth. This shift is driven by the concept that every financial data point conveys essential narratives about market trends, operational efficiencies, and untapped growth prospects. Understanding these insights can help you make better decisions that fuel your growth.
When it comes to making finance more strategic, consider starting with the metrics you are reviewing. The right metrics will not only help you manage and make more informed decisions about your business.
By integrating these financial metrics into your regular analysis, you can understand where your business stands financially and what strategic moves you can make to enhance its financial performance and value creation.
Outside of upgrading the metrics you monitor, it’s also important to build a scorecard for your business. Beyond enhancing the metrics you track, it’s also vital to construct a business scorecard. The Balanced Scorecard approach goes beyond conventional financial measures, providing a holistic perspective of your organization that’s essential for long-term growth. This strategic planning and management system empowers you to align your business activities with the company’s vision and strategy, enhance both internal and external communication, and continually assess organizational performance relative to strategic objectives. Four Key areas to consider for your scorecard are listed below.
By integrating these four perspectives, the Balanced Scorecard helps you not only measure current performance but also provides a roadmap for operational excellence that drives future financial success.
The future belongs to businesses that blend financial acumen with operational prowess. Pause for a moment. Is your business truly leveraging the potential of integrated financial accounting? Reflect, re-strategize, and re-align. Need help? Reach out to see how we can help you make finance more strategic.
Are employees at your business traveling and frustrated about documenting expenses? Or perhaps you’re annoyed at the time and energy that goes into reviewing business travel expenses. There may be a way to simplify the reimbursement of these expenses. In Notice 2023-68, the IRS announced the fiscal 2024 special “per diem” rates that became effective October 1, 2023. Taxpayers can use these rates to substantiate the amount of expenses for lodging, meals and incidentals when traveling away from home. (Taxpayers in the transportation industry can use a special transportation industry rate.)
A simplified alternative to tracking actual business travel expenses is to use the “high-low” per diem method. This method provides fixed travel per diems. The amounts, provided by the IRS, vary from locality to locality.
Under the high-low method, the IRS establishes an annual flat rate for certain areas with higher costs of living. All locations within the continental United States that aren’t listed as “high-cost” are automatically considered “low-cost.” The high-low method may be used in lieu of the specific per diem rates for business destinations. Examples of high-cost areas include Boston, and San Francisco. Other locations, such as resort areas, are considered high-cost during only part of the year.
Under some circumstances — for example, if an employer provides lodging or pays the hotel directly — employees may receive a per diem reimbursement only for their meals and incidental expenses. There’s also a $5 incidental-expenses-only rate for employees who don’t pay or incur meal expenses for a calendar day (or partial day) of travel.
If your company uses per diem rates, employees don’t have to meet the usual recordkeeping rules required by the IRS. Receipts of expenses generally aren’t required under the per diem method. But employees still must substantiate the time, place and business purpose of the travel. Per diem reimbursements generally aren’t subject to income or payroll tax withholding or reported on an employee’s Form W-2.
For travel after September 30, 2023, the per diem rate for all high-cost areas within the continental United States is $309. This consists of $235 for lodging and $74 for meals and incidental expenses. For all other areas within the continental United States, the per diem rate is $214 for travel after September 30, 2023 ($150 for lodging and $64 for meals and incidental expenses). Compared to the FY2023 per diems, the high-cost area per diem increased $12, and the low-cost area per diem increased $10.
Important: This method is subject to various rules and restrictions. For example, companies that use the high-low method for an employee must continue using it for all reimbursement of business travel expenses within the continental United States during the calendar year. However, the company may use any permissible method to reimburse that employee for any travel outside the continental United States.
For travel during the last three months of a calendar year, employers must continue to use the same method (per diem or high-low method) for an employee as they used during the first nine months of the calendar year. Also, note that per diem rates can’t be paid to individuals who own 10% or more of the business.
If your employees are traveling, it may be a good time to review the rates and consider switching to the high-low method. It can reduce the time and frustration associated with traditional travel reimbursement. Contact us for more information or read the IRS notice here.
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The Social Security Administration recently announced that the wage base for computing Social Security tax will increase to $168,600 for 2024 (up from $160,200 for 2023). Wages and self-employment income above this threshold aren’t subject to Social Security tax.
The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) imposes two taxes on employers, employees and self-employed workers — one for Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance, which is commonly known as the Social Security tax, and the other for Hospital Insurance, which is commonly known as the Medicare tax.
There’s a maximum amount of compensation subject to the Social Security tax, but no maximum for Medicare tax. For 2024, the FICA tax rate for employers will be 7.65% — 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare (the same as in 2023).
For 2024, an employee will pay:
For 2024, the self-employment tax imposed on self-employed people will be:
You may have questions if an employee who works for your business has a second job. That employee would have taxes withheld from two different employers. Can the employee ask you to stop withholding Social Security tax once he or she reaches the wage base threshold? The answer is no. Each employer must withhold Social Security taxes from the individual’s wages, even if the combined withholding exceeds the maximum amount that can be imposed for the year. Fortunately, the employee will get a credit on his or her tax return for any excess withheld.
Do you have questions about payroll tax filing or payments? Contact us. We’ll help ensure you stay in compliance.
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If you read the Internal Revenue Code (and you probably don’t want to!), you may be surprised to find that most business deductions aren’t specifically listed. For example, the tax law doesn’t explicitly state that you can deduct office supplies and certain other expenses. Some expenses are detailed in the tax code, but the general rule is contained in the first sentence of Section 162, which states you can write off “all the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on any trade or business.”
In general, an expense is ordinary if it’s considered common or customary in the particular trade or business. For example, insurance premiums to protect a store would be an ordinary business expense in the retail industry.
A necessary expense is defined as one that’s helpful or appropriate. For example, let’s say a car dealership purchases an automated external defibrillator. It may not be necessary for the operation of the business, but it might be helpful and appropriate if an employee or customer suffers cardiac arrest.
It’s possible for an ordinary expense to be unnecessary — but, in order to be deductible, an expense must be ordinary and necessary.
In addition, a deductible amount must be reasonable in relation to the benefit expected. For example, if you’re attempting to land a $3,000 deal, a $65 lunch with a potential client should be OK with the IRS. (Keep in mind that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminated most deductions for entertainment expenses but retained the 50% deduction for business meals.)
Not surprisingly, the IRS and courts don’t always agree with taxpayers about what qualifies as ordinary and necessary expenditures. Here are three 2023 cases to illustrate some of the issues:
The deductibility of some expenses is clear. But for other expenses, it can get more complicated. Generally, if an expense seems like it’s not normal in your industry — or if it could be considered fun, personal or extravagant in nature — you should proceed with caution. And keep careful records to substantiate the expenses you’re deducting. Consult with us for guidance.
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As a business owner, your goal is to ensure your venture thrives and prospers. An essential aspect of this journey involves maintaining a clear, accurate financial perspective that allows you to make informed decisions. But what happens when accounting errors creep into this clear vision? These unintentional mistakes can significantly hinder your business’s growth and profitability.
By understanding these errors, their implications, and ways to prevent them, you can maintain the financial health of your organization and keep your business on a growth trajectory. This article delves into common accounting errors that impede business growth and how to avoid them.
Accounting errors are unintentional inaccuracies in your financial books. These can be clerical mistakes or incorrect applications of accounting principles, ranging from duplicate entries to record omissions. While they may seem minor, these errors can lead to significant financial discrepancies, skew your business’s financial health perception, and potentially impede growth.
Several common types of accounting errors can negatively affect your business. Let’s look at a few of the common errors, and what the effects could be:
Common Errors |
|
|
Error of Original Entry |
when an incorrect amount is posted to an account, which could result in skewed financial reports and affect your decision-making. |
|
Errors of Duplication |
lead to incorrect perceptions of expenses. |
| Errors of Omission | could cause under-reporting of your liabilities or income. |
| Errors of Entry Reversal | where debits are recorded as credits and vice versa, can affect your understanding of financial position and performance. |
| Errors of Principle | which involve misapplication of accounting principles, can lead to misclassification of your expenses or assets. |
| Error of Commission | happens when an entry is posted correctly to an account but incorrectly to a subsidiary account, creating confusion and mismanagement of client accounts or vendor payments. |
|
Compensating Errors |
where one error offsets another, can mask actual problems, leading to potential financial crises. |
Recognizing and rectifying accounting errors in your business operations holds immense value. For example:
Perhaps most critically, it safeguards your business against potential financial crises by unmasking issues that may otherwise be hidden. Proactively identifying and addressing accounting errors is a proactive step toward financial accuracy, operational efficiency, and sustainable business growth.
Now that we understand the potential pitfalls, let’s focus on how you can prevent these errors from stunting your business’s growth.
While keeping these errors at bay may seem challenging, remember that every step toward error-free accounting is a step toward your business’s sustainable growth.
Accounting errors can be more than a mere annoyance. They can obscure the financial health of your business, leading to misinformed decisions and hindering growth. By understanding and preventing these errors, you safeguard your financial records and gain reliable insights to propel your business forward. Remember, an accurate financial perspective is key to informed decision-making and, ultimately, the success of your venture.
If you play a major role in a closely held corporation, you may sometimes spend money on corporate expenses personally. These costs may end up being nondeductible both by an officer and the corporation unless the correct steps are taken. This issue is more likely to happen with a financially troubled corporation.
In general, you can’t deduct an expense you incur on behalf of your corporation, even if it’s a legitimate “trade or business” expense and even if the corporation is financially troubled. This is because a taxpayer can only deduct expenses that are his own. And since your corporation’s legal existence as a separate entity must be respected, the corporation’s costs aren’t yours and thus can’t be deducted even if you pay them.
To make matters worse, the corporation won’t generally be able to deduct them either because it didn’t pay them itself. Accordingly, be advised that it shouldn’t be a practice of your corporation’s officers or major shareholders to cover corporate costs.
On the other hand, if a corporate executive incurs costs that relate to an essential part of his or her duties as an executive, they may be deductible as ordinary and necessary expenses related to his or her “trade or business” of being an executive. If you wish to set up an arrangement providing payments to you and safeguarding their deductibility, a provision should be included in your employment contract with the corporation stating the types of expenses which are part of your duties and authorizing you to incur them. For example, you may be authorized to attend out-of-town business conferences on the corporation’s behalf at your personal expense.
Alternatively, to avoid the complete loss of any deductions by both yourself and the corporation, an arrangement should be in place under which the corporation reimburses you for the expenses you incur. Turn the receipts over to the corporation and use an expense reimbursement claim form or system. This will at least allow the corporation to deduct the amount of the reimbursement.
Contact us if you’d like assistance or would like to discuss these issues further.
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If you own or manage a business with employees, there’s a harsh tax penalty that you could be at risk for paying personally. The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) applies to Social Security and income taxes that are withheld by a business from its employees’ wages.
The TFRP is dangerous because it applies to a broad range of actions and to a wide range of people involved in a business.
Here are some answers to questions about the penalty:
What actions are penalized? The TFRP applies to any willful failure to collect, or truthfully account for, and pay over taxes required to be withheld from employees’ wages.
Why is it so harsh? Taxes are considered the government’s property. The IRS explains that Social Security and income taxes “are called trust fund taxes because you actually hold the employee’s money in trust until you make a federal tax deposit in that amount.”
The penalty is sometimes called the “100% penalty” because the person found liable is personally penalized 100% of the taxes due. The amounts the IRS seeks are usually substantial and the IRS is aggressive in enforcing the penalty.
Who’s at risk? The penalty can be imposed on anyone “responsible” for collecting and paying tax. This has been broadly defined to include a corporation’s officers, directors and shareholders, a partnership’s partners and any employee with related duties. In some circumstances, voluntary board members of tax-exempt organizations have been subject to this penalty. In other cases, responsibility has been extended to professional advisors and family members close to the business.
According to the IRS, responsibility is a matter of status, duty and authority. Anyone with the power to see that taxes are (or aren’t) paid may be responsible. There’s often more than one responsible person in a business, but each is at risk for the entire penalty. You may not be directly involved with the payroll tax withholding process in your business. But if you learn of a failure to pay withheld taxes and have the power to pay them, you become a responsible person. Although taxpayers held liable can sue other responsible people for contribution, this action must be taken entirely on their own after the TFRP is paid.
What’s considered willful? There doesn’t have to be an overt intent to evade taxes. Simply paying bills or obtaining supplies instead of paying over withheld taxes is willful behavior. And just because you delegate responsibilities to someone else doesn’t necessarily mean you’re off the hook. Failing to do the job yourself can be treated as willful.
Here are two cases that illustrate the risks.
Under no circumstances should you “borrow” from withheld amounts. All funds withheld should be paid over to the government on time. Contact us with any questions.
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As a small business owner, every decision you make can significantly impact your business’s financial health and profitability. Among your numerous choices, selecting the right accounting method for your business stands out for its importance. The accounting method you opt for shapes your business’s bookkeeping practices, affects your financial reporting, tax liabilities, and profitability, and influences your future decisions. This article aims to demystify the two primary accounting methods – cash and accrual accounting, helping you understand their implications and selecting the most appropriate one for your business’s needs.
At the core of accounting lie two main methods: cash-based and accrual-based accounting. Each approach has pros and cons and varies in suitability depending on your business’s size, scale, and nature.
Cash-Based Accounting: This method, characterized by simplicity and straightforwardness, records transactions only when cash is received or paid. It provides a clear picture of your actual cash flow, making it an ideal choice for small businesses, sole proprietors, or companies operating without inventory or on a purely cash basis. However, it’s worth noting that while this method helps you monitor your cash inflows and outflows closely, it might not offer a comprehensive overview of your financial health since it doesn’t account for outstanding receivables or payables.
Accrual-Based Accounting: Though more complex, this method provides a comprehensive picture of your financial status. Accrual-based accounting records income and expenses as earned or incurred, regardless of the actual cash transaction’s timing. It accounts for receivables, payables, assets, and liabilities, offering a real-time snapshot of your business’s financial status. This method benefits larger companies dealing with inventory, credit transactions, or businesses that are required to comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). However, it may seem overwhelming for small businesses due to its complexity and the resources required to maintain detailed records.
Deciding between cash-based and accrual-based accounting requires careful consideration of several key factors:
Remember, choosing an accounting method is not merely about understanding numbers; it’s about using this understanding to make informed decisions that align with your business’s financial goals. By selecting the right accounting method – cash or accrual – you can gain valuable insights into your business’s financial health and make decisions that steer your business toward a profitable future. The right choice will empower you, equipping you with the financial clarity necessary to successfully navigate your business’s financial landscape.
When managing a business, KPIs can help provide insight into the business’s current health and past health. But what if you could use the data available to predict what KPIs will be in the future based on certain business decisions? With data science and machine learning, predictive analytics can be a reality for your business.
In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the amount of information available have grown exponentially, making integrating newer technologies into your business seem daunting or expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. AI uses data available to predict the outcomes of different business decisions on different levels. With the right models, AI can predict current customer preferences to help drive product development and forecast future demand.
As a CFO or business owner, you may find some hang-ups incorporating data science into your business strategy and reporting. With many other aspects of the business pulling your focus, you might find you’re continually attaching the label “later” to the project. Even if it’s not front of mind, it is an important task that could help you make better business decisions. In addition, the cost and time associated with implementing forward-thinking KPIs into strategy aren’t as expensive as you might think because jumping right in with a complete overhaul of your KPI dashboard and reporting programs is unnecessary. Getting started can be simplified by following the below steps.
While it may seem intuitive to give the data scientists and IT team cart blanche in implementing the AI programs, telling them to do what they do best, it’s essential to include the people who know your prospective client the best, as they are better versed in what questions to ask to get the answers they need to improve strategy. Look to your marketing, business development, and revenue teams to help guide this direction.
Implementing new predictive data science into your business strategy can be a massive, time-consuming task. Start by identifying the most critical KPIs and working with data to help move those numbers. Once you’ve identified your metrics, check if other businesses have tracked those metrics previously. There’s likely a framework you can follow instead of starting from scratch with data like transactional information, web analytics, and social media, saving you time.
Most marketing teams share similar challenges and goals when obtaining new clients. Focus on how your team measures ROI regarding acquisition, retention, and engagement and use that to generate future predictions. From there, analyze clients by predicting their lifetime value a few days after acquisition, then again at 7, 14, 30, and 180 days.
Once you have started to look at predictive insights to impact core KPIs, continue to look toward the future instead of falling back into habits of reviewing a snapshot of the past. Doing so will allow you to make decisions on which types of clients to focus on and where to invest your marketing and business development resources.
Embracing the recent advances in data science can help more efficiently direct your business’s time and resources to tasks that will improve your business’s performance.
If you’re claiming deductions for business meals or auto expenses, expect the IRS to closely review them. In some cases, taxpayers have incomplete documentation or try to create records months (or years) later. In doing so, they fail to meet the strict substantiation requirements set forth under tax law. Tax auditors are adept at rooting out inconsistencies, omissions and errors in taxpayers’ records, as illustrated by one recent U.S. Tax Court case.
In the case, a married couple claimed $13,596 in car and truck expenses, supported only by mileage logs that weren’t kept contemporaneously and were made using estimates rather than odometer readings. The court disallowed the entire deduction, stating that “subsequently prepared mileage records do not have the same high degree of credibility as those made at or near the time the vehicle was used and supported by documentary evidence.”
The court noted that it appeared the taxpayers attempted to deduct their commuting costs. However, it stated that “expenses a taxpayer incurs traveling between his or her home and place of business generally constitute commuting expenses, which … are nondeductible.”
A taxpayer isn’t relieved of the obligation to substantiate business mileage, even if he or she opts to use the standard mileage rate (65.5 cents per business mile in 2023), rather than keep track of actual expenses.
The court also ruled the couple wasn’t entitled to deduct $5,233 of travel, meal and entertainment expenses because they didn’t meet the strict substantiation requirements of the tax code. (TC Memo 2022-113)
This case is an example of why it’s critical to maintain meticulous records to support business expenses for vehicle and meal deductions. Here’s a list of “DOs and DON’Ts” to help meet the strict IRS and tax law substantiation requirements for these items:
DO keep detailed, accurate records. For each expense, record the amount, the time and place, the business purpose, and the business relationship of any person to whom you provided a meal. If you have employees who you reimburse for meals and auto expenses, make sure they’re complying with all the rules.
DON’T reconstruct expense logs at year end or wait until you receive a notice from the IRS. Take a moment to record the details in a log or diary or on a receipt at the time of the event or soon after. Require employees to submit monthly expense reports.
DO respect the fine line between personal and business expenses. Be careful about combining business and pleasure. Your business checking account shouldn’t be used for personal expenses.
DON’T be surprised if the IRS asks you to prove your deductions. Vehicle and meal expenses are a magnet for attention. Be prepared for a challenge.
With organization and guidance from us, your tax records can stand up to inspection from the IRS. There may be ways to substantiate your deductions that you haven’t thought of, and there may be a way to estimate certain deductions (called “the Cohan rule”), if your records are lost due to a fire, theft, flood or other disaster.
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The IRS recently released guidance providing the 2024 inflation-adjusted amounts for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs).
An HSA is a trust created or organized exclusively for the purpose of paying the “qualified medical expenses” of an “account beneficiary.” An HSA can only be established for the benefit of an “eligible individual” who is covered under a “high-deductible health plan.” In addition, a participant can’t be enrolled in Medicare or have other health coverage (exceptions include dental, vision, long-term care, accident and specific disease insurance).
Within specified dollar limits, an above-the-line tax deduction is allowed for an individual’s contributions to an HSA. This annual contribution limitation and the annual deductible and out-of-pocket expenses under the tax code are adjusted annually for inflation.
In Revenue Procedure 2023-23, the IRS released the 2024 inflation-adjusted figures for contributions to HSAs, which are as follows:
Annual contribution limitation. For calendar year 2024, the annual contribution limitation for an individual with self-only coverage under an HDHP will be $4,150. For an individual with family coverage, the amount will be $8,300. This is up from $3,850 and $7,750, respectively, in 2023.
There is an additional $1,000 “catch-up” contribution amount for those age 55 and older in 2024 (and 2023).
High-deductible health plan defined. For calendar year 2024, an HDHP will be a health plan with an annual deductible that isn’t less than $1,600 for self-only coverage or $3,200 for family coverage (up from $1,500 and $3,000, respectively, in 2023). In addition, annual out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, co-payments, and other amounts, but not premiums) won’t be able to exceed $8,050 for self-only coverage or $16,100 for family coverage (up from $7,500 and $15,000, respectively, in 2023).
There are a variety of benefits to HSAs. Contributions to the accounts are made on a pre-tax basis. The money can accumulate tax-free year after year and can be withdrawn tax-free to pay for a variety of medical expenses such as doctor visits, prescriptions, chiropractic care and premiums for long-term care insurance. In addition, an HSA is “portable.” It stays with an account holder if he or she changes employers or leaves the workforce. Contact your employee benefits and tax advisors if you have questions about HSAs at your business.
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If you’re starting a business with some partners and wondering what type of entity to form, an S corporation may be the most suitable form of business for your new venture. Here are some of the reasons why.
A big benefit of an S corporation over a partnership is that as S corporation shareholders, you won’t be personally liable for corporate debts. In order to receive this protection, it’s important that:
If you expect that the business will incur losses in its early years, an S corporation is preferable to a C corporation from a tax standpoint. Shareholders in a C corporation generally get no tax benefit from such losses. In contrast, as S corporation shareholders, each of you can deduct your percentage share of losses on your personal tax return to the extent of your basis in the stock and in any loans you made to the entity. Losses that can’t be deducted because they exceed your basis are carried forward and can be deducted by you in the future when there’s sufficient basis.
Once the S corporation begins to earn profits, the income will be taxed directly to you whether or not it’s distributed. It will be reported on your individual tax return and be aggregated with income from other sources. Your share of the S corporation’s income won’t be subject to self-employment tax, but your wages will be subject to Social Security taxes. To the extent the income is passed through to you as qualified business income (QBI), you’ll be eligible to take the 20% pass-through deduction, subject to various limitations.
Note: Unless Congress acts to extend it, the QBI deduction is scheduled to expire after 2025.
If you’re planning to provide fringe benefits such as health and life insurance, you should be aware that the costs of providing such benefits to a more than 2% shareholder are deductible by the entity but are taxable to the recipient.
Also, be aware that the S corporation could inadvertently lose its S status if you or your partners transfer stock to an ineligible shareholder, such as another corporation, a partnership, or a nonresident alien. If the S election was terminated, the corporation would become a taxable entity. You would not be able to deduct any losses, and earnings could be subject to double taxation — once at the corporate level and again when distributed to you. In order to protect against this risk, it’s a good idea for each shareholder to sign an agreement promising not to make any transfers that would jeopardize the S election.
Before finalizing your choice of entity, consult with us. We can answer any questions you have and assist in launching your new venture.
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The new lease accounting methods have been an important topic for businesses over the last few years. Determining if an enforceable lease exists is an integral part of Topic 842 that affects how and what gets reported under these lease accounting methods. Compliance for certain leases is being simplified for organizations that fall under common control arrangements, such as parent organizations and subsidiaries. The Financial Accounting Standards Board voted to enact the following changes when the update to Topic 842 is released.
The FASB has voted to adopt the proposed November update as written for nonprofit organizations and private entities under common control. This update would simplify the compliance approach for these organizations by allowing them to use written terms and conditions to help determine if an enforceable lease arrangement is in place. This workaround is expected to be welcomed by smaller organizations, as the complex analysis for lease agreements can be costly and take time.
The FASB allows this method under their ‘practical expedient’ policy. However, please note practical expedience cannot be used in the absence of written terms and conditions.
For properties under a common control lease, changes to the current standards are being made to account for improvements made to the property. Under the new rule, the cost of improvements should amortize over the ‘useful life’ of the improvements. This should be scheduled out regardless of lease terms if the common control lease group uses the property throughout the lease. Previously, improvements could only be amortized over the terms of the lease. This change applies to public, private, and nonprofit organizations.
Moving forward, you may need to change how your organization handles leases in common control groups. Do not act on these changes until the FASB formally releases the update, which is expected by the end of March 2023.
Lease accounting standards can be complex and confusing. For guidance on setting up your firm’s lease accounting system or auditing the current system in place, please get in touch with our knowledgeable team members today.
In our rapidly evolving information era, new rules and regulations pressure businesses to consolidate their financial reporting process. But depending on your financial system, running these reports can require extensive manual work, exposing your reporting to user errors. While many businesses have turned to enterprise resource planning (ERP) automation, a recent article claims less than half of companies’ automation initiatives are currently meeting their objectives. Combine these factors with a lack of workflow coordination, data inconsistencies, and feeble post-close review, and you have a recipe for disaster.
Organizations and CFOs often encounter problems with data quality management, missing skills and resources, support of the executive suite, and a lack of clear processes. If your company is spending more and more time on the financial close process, it is probably time to upgrade to a more agile approach. Start with these steps to improve your financial close process and streamline reporting.
Is your organization fully utilizing the features available in your current financial system? Evaluate software utilization, potential overlap, areas of overcomplexity, and poor standardization processes. A thorough review of your current system’s capabilities will help you understand what’s possible and introduce efficiencies to your organization.
The primary purpose of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) or financial management system is to provide a central database of all system applications. Robust database systems are key to modern finance departments but aren’t always ready to scale. Companies can fill the gaps in their current system with add-on point solutions or robotic process automation (RPA) but should be aware of cost, maintenance, and security implications. Plugging the gap will likely require a more strategic approach. Our professionals can help you orchestrate and implement process transformation that works with your systems and your business.
Poor-quality data can act as a stopgap. Make the time to understand the purpose of the data used in the business, where the numbers come from, and their relationships with other metrics. To reduce these speed bumps along the way:
Change is well and good, but progress will stall if you don’t have the support of the executive team or the people who will be implementing the change. Make certain the proposed changes align with the organization’s strategy. Then, align the people to the processes and each other. Organizations need to be able to pivot quickly. With buy-in from the correct individuals, you can shift your organization toward the future when regulatory updates arise or gaps are exposed.
Use these steps to build a technological infrastructure that allows for change and drives data efficiency. If you need recommendations on streamlining your financial reporting processes, contact our team of advisors today!
With a recession on the horizon – or already here, depending on who you talk to – employees are feeling the sting of inflation, and employers are feeling the financial pinch from decreased consumer buying power and increased caution in spending. Traditionally, layoffs are one of the first options to save money, which harms productivity and employee morale in the long run. In today’s economic climate and tight labor market, CFOs have much to consider and a unique opportunity.
Americans are awful at using vacation hours. Even with lucrative time off policies, paid time off (PTO) hours can sit in a bank waiting to be used or cashed in when an employee leaves the company. The standard has been a tiered benefits package based on years of service with the organization. While the quality depends on the package, what’s true across the board is not every person will use every benefit. According to recent studies, women and persons of color are far less likely to use all their PTO. Furthermore, female team members are more likely to value an emergency fund than their male counterparts. Translation: your company is probably paying for benefits your employees may not use or value.
More and more companies are using convertible benefits to create flexibility and increase utilization, maximizing the employees’ value and balancing company’s cost.
Convertible benefits increase employee satisfaction. Approximately 80% of employees are not actively engaged, costing the company funds in productivity waste and increasing the likelihood of turnover.
Convertible benefits create an inclusive and attractive work culture. When recruiting new team members, studies show a diverse workforce is a key factor for many job seekers. A flexible benefits package can help attract talent from a range of backgrounds.
A convertible benefit program does not have to be complex. Employees should be able to use their PTO or trade it in for cash contributed to a retirement account or money to create an emergency fund. Younger team members may want to convert unused PTO into payments toward their student loans. The goal is to give the team options, listen to their feedback, and adjust where you can. For assistance reviewing your human capital costs and ideas on avoiding layoffs and salary reductions, please get in touch with our trusted team of professionals.
Merger and acquisition activity dropped dramatically last year due to rising interest rates and a slowing economy. The total value of M&A transactions in North America in 2022 was down 41.4% from 2021, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.
But some analysts expect 2023 to see increased M&A activity in certain industries. If you’re considering buying or selling a business, it’s important to understand the tax implications.
Under current tax law, a transaction can basically be structured in two ways:
1. Stock (or ownership interest). A buyer can directly purchase a seller’s ownership interest if the target business is operated as a C or S corporation, a partnership, or a limited liability company (LLC) that’s treated as a partnership for tax purposes.
The current 21% corporate federal income tax rate makes buying the stock of a C corporation somewhat more attractive. That’s because the corporation will pay less tax and generate more after-tax income. Plus, any built-in gains from appreciated corporate assets will be taxed at a lower rate when they’re eventually sold.
The current individual federal tax rates have also made ownership interests in S corporations, partnerships, and LLCs more attractive. Reason: The passed-through income from these entities also is taxed at lower rates on a buyer’s personal tax return. However, individual rate cuts are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025.
2. Assets. A buyer can also purchase the assets of a business. This may happen if a buyer only wants specific assets or product lines. And it’s the only option if the target business is a sole proprietorship or a single-member LLC that’s treated as a sole proprietorship for tax purposes.
What buyers want
For several reasons, buyers usually prefer to buy assets rather than ownership interests. In general, a buyer’s primary goal is to generate enough cash flow from an acquired business to pay any acquisition debt and provide an acceptable return on the investment. Therefore, buyers are concerned about limiting exposure to undisclosed and unknown liabilities and minimizing taxes after a transaction closes.
A buyer can step up (or increase) the tax basis of purchased assets to reflect the purchase price. Stepped-up basis lowers taxable gains when certain assets, such as receivables and inventory, are sold or converted into cash. It also increases depreciation and amortization deductions for qualifying assets.
In general, sellers prefer stock sales for tax and nontax reasons. One of their objectives is to minimize the tax bill from a sale. That can usually be achieved by selling their ownership interests in a business (corporate stock, or partnership or LLC interests) as opposed to selling assets.
With a sale of stock or other ownership interest, liabilities generally transfer to the buyer, and any gain on sale is generally treated as lower-taxed long-term capital gain (assuming the ownership interest has been held for more than one year).
Be aware that other issues, such as employee benefits, can also cause tax issues in M&A transactions. Buying or selling a business may be the largest transaction you’ll ever make, so it’s important to seek professional assistance before finalizing a deal. After a transaction is complete, it may be too late to get the best tax results. Contact us about how to proceed.
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If your small business has a retirement plan, and even if it doesn’t, you may see changes and benefits from a new law. The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement 2.0 Act (SECURE 2.0) was recently signed into law. Provisions in the law will kick in over several years.
SECURE 2.0 is meant to build on the original SECURE Act, which was signed into law in 2019. Here are some provisions that may affect your business.
Retirement plan automatic enrollment. Under the new law, 401(k) plans will be required to automatically enroll employees when they become eligible, beginning with plan years after December 31, 2024. Employees will be permitted to opt out. The initial automatic enrollment amount would be at least 3% but not more than 10%. Then, the amount would be increased by 1% each year thereafter until it reaches at least 10%, but not more than 15%. All current 401(k) plans are grandfathered. Certain small businesses would be exempt.
Part-time worker coverage. The first SECURE Act requires employers to allow long-term, part-time workers to participate in their 401(k) plans with a dual eligibility requirement (one year of service and at least 1,000 hours worked or three consecutive years of service with at least 500 hours worked). The new law will reduce the three-year rule to two years, beginning after December 31, 2024. This provision would also extend the long-term part-time coverage rules to 403(b) plans that are subject to ERISA.
Employees with student loan debt. The new law will allow an employer to make matching contributions to 401(k) and certain other retirement plans with respect to “qualified student loan payments.” This means that employees who can’t afford to save money for retirement because they’re repaying student loan debt can still receive matching contributions from their employers into retirement plans. This will take effect beginning after December 31, 2023.
“Starter” 401(k) plans. The new law will allow an employer that doesn’t sponsor a retirement plan to offer a starter 401(k) plan (or safe harbor 403(b) plan) that would require all employees to be default enrolled in the plan at a 3% to 15% of compensation deferral rate. The limit on annual deferrals would be the same as the IRA contribution limit with an additional $1,000 in catch-up contributions beginning at age 50. This provision takes effect beginning after December 31, 2023.
Tax credit for small employer pension plan start-up costs. The new law increases and makes several changes to the small employer pension plan start-up cost credit to incentivize businesses to establish retirement plans. This took effect for plan years after December 31, 2022.
Higher catch-up contributions for some participants. Currently, participants in certain retirement plans can make additional catch-up contributions if they’re age 50 or older. The catch-up contribution limit for 401(k) plans is $7,500 for 2023. SECURE 2.0 will increase the 401(k) catch-up contribution limit to the greater of $10,000 or 150% of the regular catch-up amount for individuals ages 60 through 63. The increased amounts will be indexed for inflation after December 31, 2025. This provision will take effect for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2024. (There will also be increased catch-up amounts for SIMPLE plans.)
Retirement savings for military spouses. SECURE 2.0 creates a new tax credit for eligible small employers for each military spouse that begins participating in their eligible defined contribution plan. This became effective in 2023.
These are only some of the provisions in SECURE 2.0. Contact us if you have any questions about your situation.
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Please join us in congratulating Kim Spinardi, Partner at Hamilton Tharp, for being named a 2023 Rising Aztec!
Kim is one of ten SDSU alumni to earn the biennial award, which recognizes up-and-coming alumni. Recipients of this prestigious accolade are young professionals with extraordinary career achievements who are also recognized for their support of SDSU and engagement with the University and community.
Kim is a passionate supporter of the Aztec community. She is an SDSU Alumni board member and part of the Intercollegiate athletics committee. Kim mentors students through the Aztec Mentor Program (AMP) and Aztecs Going Pro. Additionally, Kim supports the university through fundraising for campus initiatives, colleges, and student organizations.
We are proud to have Kim on our team and to support SDSU in recognizing the achievements of its alumni. Congratulations, Kim, for this remarkable recognition of your endeavors. Keep up your exemplary work! Learn more about Kim and the other SDSU Alumni 2023 Rising Aztecs.
If you’re considering converting your C corporation to an S corporation, be aware that there may be tax implications if you’ve been using the last in, first out (LIFO) inventory method. That’s because of the LIFO recapture income that will be triggered by converting to S corporation status. We can meet to compute what the tax on this recapture would be and to see what planning steps might be taken to minimize it.
As you’re aware, your corporation has been reporting a lower amount of taxable income under LIFO than it would have under the first in, first out (FIFO) method. The reason: The inventory taken into account in calculating the cost of goods sold under LIFO reflects current costs, which are usually higher.
This benefit of LIFO over FIFO is equal to the difference between the LIFO value of inventory and the higher value it would have had if the FIFO method had been used. In effect, the tax law treats this difference as though it were profit earned while the corporation was a C corporation. To make sure there’s a corporate-level tax on this amount, it must be “recaptured” into income when the corporation converts from a C corporation to an S corporation. Also, the recapture amount will increase the corporation’s earnings and profits, which can have adverse tax consequences down the road.
There are a couple of rules that soften the blow of this recapture tax to some degree.
We can help you gauge your exposure to the LIFO recapture tax and can suggest strategies for reducing it. Contact us to discuss these issues in detail.
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These days, most businesses have some intangible assets. The tax treatment of these assets can be complex.
IRS regulations require the capitalization of costs to:
Capitalized costs can’t be deducted in the year paid or incurred. If they’re deductible at all, they must be ratably deducted over the life of the asset (or, for some assets, over periods specified by the tax code or under regulations). However, capitalization generally isn’t required for costs not exceeding $5,000 and for amounts paid to create or facilitate the creation of any right or benefit that doesn’t extend beyond the earlier of 1) 12 months after the first date on which the taxpayer realizes the right or benefit or 2) the end of the tax year following the tax year in which the payment is made.
The term “intangibles” covers many items. It may not always be simple to determine whether an intangible asset or benefit has been acquired or created. Intangibles include debt instruments, prepaid expenses, non-functional currencies, financial derivatives (including, but not limited to options, forward or futures contracts, and foreign currency contracts), leases, licenses, memberships, patents, copyrights, franchises, trademarks, trade names, goodwill, annuity contracts, insurance contracts, endowment contracts, customer lists, ownership interests in any business entity (for example, corporations, partnerships, LLCs, trusts, and estates) and other rights, assets, instruments and agreements.
Here are just a few examples of expenses to acquire or create intangibles that are subject to the capitalization rules:
The IRS regulations generally characterize an amount as paid to “facilitate” the acquisition or creation of an intangible if it is paid in the process of investigating or pursuing a transaction. The facilitation rules can affect any type of business, and many ordinary business transactions. Examples of costs that facilitate acquisition or creation of an intangible include payments to:
Like most tax rules, these capitalization rules have exceptions. There are also certain elections taxpayers can make to capitalize items that aren’t ordinarily required to be capitalized. The above examples aren’t all-inclusive, and given the length and complexity of the regulations, any transaction involving intangibles and related costs should be analyzed to determine the tax implications.
Contact us to discuss the capitalization rules to see if any costs you’ve paid or incurred must be capitalized or whether your business has entered into transactions that may trigger these rules. You can also contact us if you have any questions.
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A significantly modified update to the Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit (IRC Section 30D), went into effect August 17, 2022, and changed this popular tax credit. As of January 1, 2023, the new Clean Vehicle Credit will go into effect. In this article we outline what you need to know about the updated credit.
While the previous credit also allowed up to a $7,500 credit for purchasers of eligible vehicles, it included a maximum manufacturing limit for each car manufacturer. That means General Motors and Tesla brand cars were no longer eligible for the credit. The new version of this tax credit is going to remove this cap but adds several new stipulations that will go into effect over time. In addition, the credit has been expanded to include all clean vehicle types, including plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
The Department of Entergy (DOE) has given a list of electric vehicles that may meet the updated Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit and new Clean Vehicle Credit at https://afdc.energy.gov/laws/inflation-reduction-act. They recommend that taxpayers still confirm that their vehicle meets the new North America assembly requirement.
Suppose you are one of the taxpayers that signed a purchase contract before August 16, 2022 but did not take possession until after August 16, 2022. In that case, you may have the opportunity to choose to use the updated Electric Drive Motor Vehicle Credit rules or be grandfathered into the old tax credit qualifications. This could benefit vehicles by manufacturers that have previously reached their manufacturing cap or for vehicles that do not meet the final assembly requirement. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has a VIN decoder to see if the vehicle qualifies for tax credits.
The State of California does not have a comparable tax credit but offers rebates for purchases of qualified ‘clean vehicles.’ The rebate amounts range from $750 to $7,000 depending on the vehicle and the Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MRSP). In addition, low-income families can add up to $2,500 to the rebate for purchasing an eligible vehicle. View the list of vehicles eligible for the California rebate here.
To review your tax planning and whether a clean vehicle purchase would be advantageous, reach out to our team of knowledgeable tax professionals to schedule an appointment.
No one needs to remind business owners that the cost of employee health care benefits keeps going up. One way to provide some of these benefits is through an employer-sponsored Health Savings Account (HSA). For eligible individuals, an HSA offers a tax-advantaged way to set aside funds (or have their employers do so) to meet future medical needs. Here are the key tax benefits:
To be eligible for an HSA, an individual must be covered by a “high deductible health plan.” For 2023, a “high deductible health plan” will be one with an annual deductible of at least $1,500 for self-only coverage or at least $3,000 for family coverage. (These amounts in 2022 were $1,400 and $2,800, respectively.) For self-only coverage, the 2023 limit on deductible contributions will be $3,850 (up from $3,650 in 2022). For family coverage, the 2023 limit on deductible contributions will be $7,750 (up from $7,300 in 2022). Additionally, annual out-of-pocket expenses required to be paid (other than for premiums) for covered benefits for 2023 will not be able to exceed $7,500 for self-only coverage or $15,000 for family coverage (up from $7,050 and $14,100, respectively, in 2022).
An individual (and the individual’s covered spouse, as well) who has reached age 55 before the close of the tax year (and is an eligible HSA contributor) may make additional “catch-up” contributions for 2023 of up to $1,000 (unchanged from the 2022 amount).
If an employer contributes to the HSA of an eligible individual, the employer’s contribution is treated as employer-provided coverage for medical expenses under an accident or health plan. It’s also excludable from an employee’s gross income up to the deduction limitation. Funds can be built up for years because there’s no “use-it-or-lose-it” provision. An employer that decides to make contributions on its employees’ behalf must generally make comparable contributions to the HSAs of all comparable participating employees for that calendar year. If the employer doesn’t make comparable contributions, the employer is subject to a 35% tax on the aggregate amount contributed by the employer to HSAs for that period.
HSA withdrawals (or distributions) can be made to pay for qualified medical expenses, which generally means expenses that would qualify for the medical expense itemized deduction. Among these expenses are doctors’ visits, prescriptions, chiropractic care, and premiums for long-term care insurance.
If funds are withdrawn from the HSA for other reasons, the withdrawal is taxable. Additionally, an extra 20% tax will apply to the withdrawal unless it’s made after reaching age 65 or in the event of death or disability.
HSAs offer a flexible option for providing health care coverage, and they may be an attractive benefit for your business. But the rules are somewhat complex. Contact us if you have questions or would like to discuss offering HSAs to your employees.
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The Social Security Administration recently announced that the wage base for computing Social Security tax will increase to $160,200 for 2023 (up from $147,000 for 2022). Wages and self-employment income above this threshold aren’t subject to Social Security tax.
The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) imposes two taxes on employers, employees, and self-employed workers. One is for the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program, which is commonly known as Social Security. The other is for the Hospital Insurance program, which is commonly known as Medicare.
There’s a maximum amount of compensation subject to the Social Security tax, but no maximum for Medicare tax. For 2023, the FICA tax rate for employers is 7.65% — 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for Medicare (the same as in 2022).
For 2023, an employee will pay:
For 2023, the self-employment tax imposed on self-employed people is:
What happens if one of your employees works for your business and has a second job? That employee would have taxes withheld from two different employers. Can the employee ask you to stop withholding Social Security tax once he or she reaches the wage base threshold? Unfortunately, no. Each employer must withhold Social Security taxes from the individual’s wages, even if the combined withholding exceeds the maximum amount that can be imposed for the year. Fortunately, the employee will get a credit on his or her tax return for any excess withheld.
Contact us if you have questions about 2023 payroll tax filing or payments. We can help ensure you stay in compliance.
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Throughout the year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will designate incidents that adversely affect residents in the affected areas as disasters. This FEMA designation puts relief efforts in motion, both short and long-term.
While immediate needs like food, water, and shelter are at the top of the list, long-term efforts, like relief options through the IRS, aim to help those affected get back on their feet.
In the past, the Senate was required to vote every time the IRS wanted to grant disaster relief provisions to FEMA-designated disaster areas. Now, the IRS can give disaster relief by extending deadlines for “certain time-sensitive acts.” This includes filing returns and paying taxes during the disaster period. For example, affected taxpayers usually receive a tax refund more quickly by “claiming losses related to the disaster on the tax return for the previous year.”
While in some areas of the country, disaster preparedness feels more like a what-if scenario, other parts of the country are all-too-familiar with preparing for floods, wildfires, and tornados. The IRS recommends:
Suppose you or your business have gone through a natural disaster, and you cannot access your original tax documents. In that case, the IRS recommends the following resources for obtaining important financial information when you are ready:
The IRS keeps a list of current and past disaster relief offered on its website. Some of the more recent disaster-related tax relief programs include:
We recommend talking with your tax advisor and visiting the IRS Disaster Relief Website for a comprehensive list.
Even though the overall IRS audit rate is currently low historically, it’s expected to increase as a result of provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law in August. So it’s more important than ever for taxpayers to follow the rules to minimize their chances of being subject to an audit. How can you reduce your audit chances? Watch for these 10 red flags that can trigger IRS scrutiny:
Of course, this isn’t the end of the list. There are many other potential audit triggers, depending on a taxpayer’s particular situation. Also, keep in mind that some audits are done on a random basis. So even if you have no common triggers on your return, you still could be subject to an audit (though the chances are lower).
With proper tax reporting and professional help, you can reduce the likelihood of triggering an audit. And if you still end up being subject to one, proper documentation can help you withstand it with little or no negative consequences.
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IRS audit rates are historically low, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, but that’s little consolation if your return is among those selected to be examined. Plus, the IRS recently received additional funding in the Inflation Reduction Act to improve customer service, upgrade technology and increase audits of high-income taxpayers. But with proper preparation and planning, you should fare well.
From tax years 2010 to 2019, audit rates of individual tax returns decreased for all income levels, according to the GAO. On average, the audit rate for all returns decreased from 0.9% to 0.25%. IRS officials attribute this to reduced staffing as a result of decreased funding. Businesses, large corporations, and high-income individuals are more likely to be audited, but overall, all types of audits are being conducted less frequently than they were a decade ago.
There’s no 100% guarantee that you won’t be picked for an audit because some tax returns are chosen randomly. However, the best way to survive an IRS audit is to prepare in advance. On an ongoing basis, you should systematically maintain documentation — invoices, bills, canceled checks, receipts, or other proof — for all items to be reported on your tax returns. Keep all records in one place.
It also helps to know what might catch the attention of the IRS. Certain types of tax-return entries are known to involve inaccuracies, so they may lead to an audit. Here are a few examples:
Certain types of deductions may be questioned by the IRS because there are strict recordkeeping requirements for them — for example, auto and travel expense deductions. In addition, an owner-employee’s salary that’s much higher or lower than those at similar companies in his or her location may catch the IRS’s eye, especially if the business is structured as a corporation.
If you’re selected for an audit, you’ll be notified by letter. Generally, the IRS doesn’t make initial contact by phone. But if there’s no response to the letter, the agency may follow up with a call.
Many audits simply request that you mail in documentation to support certain deductions you’ve claimed. Only the strictest version, the field audit, requires meeting with one or more IRS auditors. (Note: Ignore unsolicited emails or text messages about an audit. The IRS doesn’t contact people in this manner. These are scams.)
The tax agency doesn’t demand an immediate response to a mailed notice. You’ll be informed of the discrepancies in question and given time to prepare. Collect and organize all relevant income and expense records. If anything is missing, you’ll have to reconstruct the information as accurately as possible based on other documentation.
If you’re audited, our firm can help you:
The IRS normally has three years within which to conduct an audit, and an audit probably won’t begin until a year or more after you file a return. Don’t panic if the IRS contacts you. Many audits are routine. By taking a meticulous, proactive approach to tracking, documenting and filing your company’s tax-related information, you’ll make an audit less painful and even decrease the chances you’ll be chosen in the first place.
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Does your business need real estate to conduct operations? Or does it otherwise hold property and put the title in the name of the business? You may want to rethink this approach. Any short-term benefits may be outweighed by the tax, liability, and estate planning advantages of separating real estate ownership from the business.
Businesses that are formed as C corporations treat real estate assets as they do equipment, inventory and other business assets. Any expenses related to owning the assets appear as ordinary expenses on their income statements and are generally tax deductible in the year they’re incurred.
However, when the business sells the real estate, the profits are taxed twice — at the corporate level and at the owner’s individual level when a distribution is made. Double taxation is avoidable, though. If ownership of the real estate were transferred to a pass-through entity instead, the profit upon sale would be taxed only at the individual level.
Separating your business ownership from its real estate also provides an effective way to protect it from creditors and other claimants. For example, if your business is sued and found liable, a plaintiff may go after all of its assets, including real estate held in its name. But plaintiffs can’t touch property owned by another entity.
The strategy also can pay off if your business is forced to file for bankruptcy. Creditors generally can’t recover real estate owned separately unless it’s been pledged as collateral for credit taken out by the business.
Separating real estate from a business may give you some estate planning options, too. For example, if the company is a family business but some members of the next generation aren’t interested in actively participating, separating property gives you an extra asset to distribute. You could bequest the business to one heir and the real estate to another family member who doesn’t work in the business.
The business simply transfers ownership of the real estate and the transferee leases it back to the company. Who should own the real estate? One option: The business owner could purchase the real estate from the business and hold title in his or her name. One concern is that it’s not only the property that’ll transfer to the owner, but also any liabilities related to it.
Moreover, any liability related to the property itself could inadvertently put the business at risk. If, for example, a client suffers an injury on the property and a lawsuit ensues, the property owner’s other assets (including the interest in the business) could be in jeopardy.
An alternative is to transfer the property to a separate legal entity formed to hold the title, typically a limited liability company (LLC) or limited liability partnership (LLP). With a pass-through structure, any expenses related to the real estate will flow through to your individual tax return and offset the rental income.
An LLC is more commonly used to transfer real estate. It’s simple to set up and requires only one member. LLPs require at least two partners and aren’t permitted in every state. Some states restrict them to certain types of businesses and impose other restrictions.
Separating the ownership of a business’s real estate isn’t always advisable. If it’s worthwhile, the right approach will depend on your individual circumstances. Contact us to help determine the best approach to minimize your transfer costs and capital gains taxes while maximizing other potential benefits.
© 2022
Most individuals saving for retirement outside of a defined work plan use an Individual Retirement Account, better known as an IRA. These accounts come with two vastly different types, depending on what tax benefits account holders would like to take advantage of. The first, the Traditional IRA, allows the account holder to deduct contributions made during the tax year, thus lowering their adjusted gross income (AGI). The Roth IRA, on the other hand, is funded with post-tax dollars, and money can be withdrawn after retirement age completely tax-free.
Don’t fret! If the Roth IRA sounds like a better option for you, but you have money in a Traditional IRA account, you could potentially convert it to a Roth IRA. Below, you’ll discover the basics of how to convert the account and why now might be a good time to do so.
Roth IRAs offer a way for savers to put aside money for retirement using post-tax dollars. Because of this, the contributions cannot be used as a tax deduction, and withdrawals on deposits and gains are tax-free after retirement age (59 ½). Contributions to a Roth IRA begin at $6,000 and decrease the higher your income. Once a married couple reaches $214,000 in AGI, the ability to contribute directly to a Roth IRA is eliminated.
Traditional IRA accounts can be converted to Roth IRA accounts so that the money in the account can then grow tax-free. In addition to the tax-free gains, there are several other benefits of a Roth IRA, including:
The process is typically simple.
The funds are transferred directly from a Traditional IRA to a separate ROTH IRA. Tax will be due on the amount transferred; however, growth with the market recovery will now be in your non-taxable account.
In short, converting a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA can hold several tax and wealth management benefits for account holders. Completing the process when the stock market has dipped, and income tax rates are low can decrease the tax liability on the transferred balance, making the IRA conversion more advantageous to investors.
To discuss your specific situation and whether a Roth IRA conversion is the best move for you, reach out to our team of tax professionals today!
Please note that the information provided in this article is current as of July 2022. It is intended for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to be used for the purpose of avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code. Consult with your financial advisor about your specific situation.
Do you own a successful small business with no employees and want to set up a retirement plan? Or do you want to upgrade from a SIMPLE IRA or Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan? Consider a solo 401(k) if you have healthy self-employment income and want to contribute substantial amounts to a retirement nest egg.
This strategy is geared toward self-employed individuals, including sole proprietors, owners of single-member limited liability companies, and other one-person businesses.
With a solo 401(k) plan, you can potentially make large annual deductible contributions to a retirement account.
For 2022, you can make an “elective deferral contribution” of up to $20,500 of your net self-employment (SE) income to a solo 401(k). The elective deferral contribution limit increases to $27,000 if you’ll be 50 or older as of December 31, 2022. The larger $27,000 figure includes an extra $6,500 catch-up contribution that’s allowed for these older owners.
On top of your elective deferral contribution, an additional contribution of up to 20% of your net SE income is permitted for solo 401(k)s. This is called an “employer contribution,” though there’s technically no employer when you’re self-employed. (The amount for employees is 25%.) For purposes of calculating the employer contribution, your net SE income isn’t reduced by your elective deferral contribution.
For the 2022 tax year, the combined elective deferral and employer contributions can’t exceed:
Net SE income equals the net profit shown on Form 1040 Schedule C, E or F for the business minus the deduction for 50% of self-employment tax attributable to the business.
Besides the ability to make large deductible contributions, another solo 401(k) advantage is that contributions are discretionary. If cash is tight, you can contribute a small amount or nothing.
In addition, you can borrow from your solo 401(k) account, assuming the plan document permits it. The maximum loan amount is 50% of the account balance or $50,000, whichever is less. Some other plan options, including SEPs, don’t allow loans.
The biggest downside to solo 401(k)s is their administrative complexity. Significant upfront paperwork and some ongoing administrative efforts are required, including adopting a written plan document and arranging how and when elective deferral contributions will be collected and paid into the owner’s account. Also, once your account balance exceeds $250,000, you must file Form 5500-EZ with the IRS annually.
If your business has one or more employees, you can’t have a solo 401(k). Instead, you must have a multi-participant 401(k) with all the resulting complications. The tax rules may require you to make contributions for those employees. However, there’s an important loophole: You can exclude employees who are under 21 and employees who haven’t worked at least 1,000 hours during any 12-month period from 401(k) plan coverage.
Bottom line: For a one-person business, a solo 401(k) can be a smart retirement plan choice if:
Before you establish a solo 401(k), weigh the pros and cons of other retirement plans — especially if you’re 50 or older. Solo 401(k)s aren’t simple, but they can allow you to make substantial and deductible contributions to a retirement nest egg. Contact us before signing up to determine what’s best for your situation.
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The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law by President Biden on August 16, contains many provisions related to climate, energy, and taxes. There has been a lot of media coverage about the law’s impact on large corporations. For example, the IRA contains a new 15% alternative minimum tax on large, profitable corporations. And the law adds a 1% excise tax on stock buybacks of more than $1 million by publicly traded U.S. corporations.
But there are also provisions that provide tax relief for small businesses. Here are two:
Under current law, qualified small businesses can elect to claim a portion of their research credit as a payroll tax credit against their employer Social Security tax liability rather than against their income tax liability. This became effective for tax years that begin after December 31, 2015.
Qualified small businesses that elect to claim the research credit as a payroll tax credit do so on IRS Form 8974, “Qualified Small Business Payroll Tax Credit for Increasing Research Activities.” Currently, a qualified small business can claim up to $250,000 of its credit for increasing research activities as a payroll tax credit against the employer’s share of Social Security tax.
The IRA makes changes to the credit beginning next year. It allows for qualified small businesses to apply an additional $250,000 in qualifying research expenses as a payroll tax credit against the employer share of Medicare. The credit can’t exceed the tax imposed for any calendar quarter, with unused amounts of the credit carried forward. This provision will take effect for tax years beginning after December 31, 2022.
A qualified small business must meet certain requirements, including having gross receipts under a certain amount.
Another provision in the new law extends the limit on excess business losses for noncorporate taxpayers. Under prior law, there was a cap set on business loss deductions by noncorporate taxpayers. For 2018 through 2025, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act limited deductions for net business losses from sole proprietorships, partnerships, and S corporations to $250,000 ($500,000 for joint filers). Losses in excess of those amounts (which are adjusted annually for inflation) may be carried forward to future tax years under the net operating loss rules.
Although another law (the CARES Act) suspended the limit for 2018, 2019 and 2020 tax years, it’s now back in force and has been extended through 2028 by the IRA. Businesses with significant losses should consult with us to discuss the impact of this change on their tax planning strategies.
These are only two of the many provisions in the IRA. There may be other tax benefits to your small business if you’re buying electric vehicles or green energy products. Contact us if you have questions about the new law and your situation.
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As you’re aware, certain employers are required to report information related to their employees’ health coverage. Does your business have to comply, and if so, what must be done?
Certain employers with 50 or more full-time employees (called “applicable large employers” or ALEs) must use Forms 1094-C and 1095-C to report the information about offers of health coverage and enrollment in health coverage for their employees. Specifically, an ALE uses Form 1094-C to report summary information for each employee and to transmit Forms 1095-C to the IRS. A separate Form 1095-C is used to report information about each employee. In addition, Forms 1094-C and 1095-C are used to determine whether an employer owes payments under the employer shared responsibility provisions (sometimes referred to as the “employer mandate”).
Under the mandate, an employer can be subject to a penalty if it doesn’t offer affordable minimum essential coverage that provides minimum value to substantially all full-time employees and their dependents. Form 1095-C is also used in determining eligibility of employees for premium tax credits.
On Form 1095-C, ALEs must report the following for each employee who was a full-time employee for any month of the calendar year:
If an ALE offers health coverage through an employer’s self-insured plan, the ALE also must report more information on Form 1095-C. For this purpose, a self-insured plan also includes one that offers some enrollment options as insured arrangements and other options as self-insured.
If an employer provides health coverage in another manner, such as through an insured health plan or a multiemployer health plan, the insurance issuer or the plan sponsor making the coverage available will provide the information about health coverage to enrolled employees. An employer that provides employer-sponsored self-insured health coverage but isn’t subject to the employer mandate isn’t required to file Forms 1094-C and 1095-C and reports instead on Forms 1094-B and 1095-B for employees who enrolled in the employer-sponsored self-insured health coverage.
On Form 1094-C, an employer can also indicate whether any certifications of eligibility for relief from the employer mandate apply.
Be aware that these reporting requirements may be more complex if your business is a member of an aggregated ALE group or if the coverage is provided through a multiemployer plan.
Note: Employers also report certain information about health coverage on employees’ W-2 forms. But it’s not the same information as what’s reported on 1095-C. The information on either form doesn’t cause excludable employer-provided coverage to become taxable to employees. It’s for informational purposes only.
The above is a simplified explanation of the reporting requirements. Contact us with questions or for assistance in complying with the requirements.
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The House of Representatives passed The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Friday, August 12, and President Joe Biden signed into law August 16. The legislation, which is a pared-down version of the proposed Build Back Better plan, was passed through the budget reconciliation process and is expected to pay for itself and decrease the budget deficit.
Key provisions in the IRA include funding for clean energy tax credits, an infusion of funds to the Internal Revenue Service, changes to Medicare prescription drug policies, and new corporate taxes.
Read on to learn about how these provisions could impact your business.
Lawmakers built several new tax provisions into the IRA to fund programs the bill introduces, modifies, or extends. In conjunction with the IRS measures listed below, these taxes are expected to fully fund the program and decrease the budget deficit. The two main taxes are:
Currently, the research tax credit allows for up to $250,000 to be deducted against qualifying payroll taxes which do not include the Medicare portion of FICA taxes. The IRA expands this credit to a $500,000 limit that also includes Medicare payroll taxes.
This goes into effect for tax years beginning after December 31, 2022, and allows for unused credit amounts to be carried forward in certain circumstances.
Much of the funding for the IRA – about $370 billion – is dedicated to green or renewable energy tax deductions. Of that amount, $60 billion is earmarked for growing the renewable energy infrastructure within manufacturing targeted at solar panels and wind turbines.
The IRA also modifies and extends through 2024 tax credits for producing electricity from qualified renewable resources, investments in qualified energy properties, and using alternative fuels and fuel mixtures (including biodiesel and renewable diesel).
New tax credits will be available in the coming years for the production and/or sale of:
With the modifications, businesses that use energy-efficient commercial buildings may see additional tax deduction opportunities. The IRS introduces a new credit for commercial clean vehicles and modifies the refundable tax credit on plug-in electric vehicle purchases.
The IRA provides funds so the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can create a greenhouse gas reduction fund and support existing programs that provide financial incentives to reduce air pollution emissions. These include replacing eligible medium- and heavy-duty vehicles with zero emissions options, identifying and reducing emissions from diesel engines, and monitoring air pollution and greenhouse gases.
The IRA provides additional funding for the IRS to hire more customer service representatives, processors, and auditors to decrease the time it takes to process returns for each tax year, lessen the hold times for taxpayers calling in, and increase audits. Audits are expected to target larger businesses and individuals with higher incomes.
The Inflation Reduction Act is expansive and could affect many business tax strategies. We’ll keep you updated as new information comes to light. In the meantime, consider scheduling your annual tax strategy review with one of our tax professionals to discuss how the IRA could impact your business.
Tax deadlines seem to sneak up on some people. Maybe you’re busy handling other business or personal matters, or perhaps you’re waiting on one last piece of information before calling your tax advisor for an appointment. Our clients know that we do everything in our power to get their tax returns filed on time but getting your paperwork to us early offers several benefits.
Let’s take a look at those benefits now.
At Hamilton Tharp, we work hard to ensure every tax return that goes out the door is accurate and error-free. But it’s human nature that mistakes happen when people work long hours and rush to get work done before a deadline.
Hopefully, reviewers catch those mistakes before the tax return is sent to the client for review. But in the worst-case scenario, an error escapes notice until after the return has been filed, and we need to amend the return.
Getting your paperwork in early ensures our preparers and reviewers have the time and energy to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.
IRS notices are never fun to deal with, and they’re especially bothersome when they’re entirely avoidable.
For example, say you had less than $10 of interest income from a savings account in the prior year, but you don’t include the 1099-INT with your tax documents this year. Since your tax preparer is up against a deadline, they mistakenly assume you closed the account or didn’t earn any interest from it.
In fact, the balance in your account was significantly higher this year, and you earned more interest but forgot to download the tax form. As a result, you receive a notice from the IRS requesting you to pay the additional tax owed, plus interest and penalties.
If the preparer had more time, they would follow up on the missing 1099-INT to ensure it’s not overlooked.
If you have college-age children, you’re likely familiar with the FAFSA. The FAFSA filing season opens each year on October 1. If you file your return by the April 15 deadline (or shortly thereafter), you have the tax information you need to submit your FAFSA early.
Clients sometimes run into issues when they go on extension, then put off getting us the information needed to complete and file their return until just before the October 15 extended deadline. Even if we can get your tax return filed quickly, there’s no guarantee that the IRS will process it, which can cause problems with your FAFSA if the U.S. Department of Education selects your application for verification.
Tax-related identity theft—where thieves use a victim’s Social Security number (SSN) to file a fraudulent return and claim a tax refund—is a growing problem. Often, the first indication a client has that their identity has been stolen is having their e-filed tax return rejected because someone else has already filed using their SSN.
Getting your tax documents to us early helps us file your tax returns before identity thieves have a chance. This also helps us avoid the last-minute scramble of getting signatures to file a paper return.
If you’re waiting on one last K-1, 1099, or another tax document, we recommend giving us what you have rather than waiting until you have everything. It’s much easier for us to get your return 99% complete early in the year and finalize it later than to get a pile of tax documents a week before the filing deadline.
It’s our goal to take the pain and stress of tax season off our client’s shoulders, and you can help us—by getting your paperwork to your tax advisor early. If you need help figuring out what documents you need or have another tax question, reach out to a Hamilton Tharp advisor.
Beginning January 1, 2022, the IRS has updated its 1099-K regulations to require all businesses that process payments to file a 1099-K for all sellers with more than $600 in gross sales in a calendar year. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 requires that sales completed on all e-commerce platforms —including Ticketmaster, StubHub, etc. — are subject to reporting to the IRS as of 01/01/2022. This means that any seller or fan earning more than $600 annually as a result of a sale, or sales, through any U.S. marketplace is required to complete a 1099 form.
In order to generate a complete Form 1099-K as required by state and federal tax laws, many of these sites will need your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). Your TIN is typically either your Social Security Number (SSN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN) for businesses.
If you meet these reporting requirements, you will receive a 1099-K at the beginning of each year. The same information will be sent to the IRS and state tax agencies where applicable. Be sure to keep track of the expenses as well, since these can be used to offset the income of the 1099-K.
For more information, please visit: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/understanding-your-form-1099-k
With inflation rates reaching historical highs and driving up the cost of doing business, business owners are seeking out creative ways to fight inflation. The Series I Savings Bond is one tool that’s been getting some buzz.
Also known as I Bonds, these low-risk savings products depend on higher inflation to produce better returns. The higher the inflation rate, the more interest you earn, rendering the investment inflation-proof.
And they’re not just available to individuals. Business owners can buy I Bonds for multiple entities, including corporations and partnerships.
There are rules specific to I Bonds, and there are more tax considerations for businesses than for individuals. To take full advantage of I Bonds, business owners must know the compliance and reporting rules.
How I Bonds work
A Series I Savings Bond is a security that earns interest based on both a fixed rate and a variable rate based on inflation. The fixed rate will remain for the life of the bond, whereas the variable changes every six months based on inflation levels measured in the U.S. Consumer Price Index.
I Bonds will earn interest for up to 30 years if they aren’t cashed out before then.
I Bonds vs. inflation
One of the advantages of I Bonds is they shield money from inflation. Based on current rates, the returns on an I bond are slightly outpacing the rate of inflation.
The U.S. inflation rate reached 9.1% in June, a 40-year high for the cost of the nation’s goods and services. By comparison, the current interest rate on new Series I savings bonds is 9.62% where it will remain through October 2022.
It’s worth noting this rate applies to the six months after the bond is purchased. So even if you buy an I Bond in October 2022, the bond will earn 9.62% interest for the next six months.
When leveraged and reported appropriately, I Bonds can generate respectable returns.
How to Buy I Bonds
While individuals can purchase I bonds electronically and in paper form (up to $5,000 each year by using their federal income tax refund), businesses, including corporations, partnerships, and other entities, can only do so in electronic form.
To purchase I bonds electronically, buyers must set up an account on TreasuryDirect, the federal government’s clearinghouse for purchasing and cashing in U.S. savings bonds, where they can purchase up to $10,000 in electronic bonds each year. However, if you own multiple business entities, each one can buy up to the $10,000 maximum, as long as the money is in a separate account for each business.
If you’re buying both personal and business I Bonds, keep them in separate accounts and avoid transferring funds from one account to another if you have purchased the annual maximum for both.
Tax Considerations
Series I Bonds are not subject to state or local taxes, but federal taxes are required on any interest you earn. You can choose between one of two methods to pay these taxes:
Any interest you earn on an I bond must be reported on Schedule B of Form 1040.
Gifting
There are considerable differences when it comes to tax breaks for individuals and businesses:
Cashing in
The minimum term of ownership for an I Bond is one year. If you redeem your bond before the five-year mark, you will forfeit the interest from the previous three months. There is no interest penalty after that point.
I Bond compliance and reporting can get complicated, especially when managing a business in a challenging financial climate. If you need help navigating the savings bond landscape, our team of professionals can help you take full advantage of this investment vehicle.
A business or individual might be able to dispose of appreciated real property without being taxed on the gain by exchanging it rather than selling it. You can defer tax on your gain through a “like-kind” or Section 1031 exchange.
A like-kind exchange is a swap of real property held for investment or for productive use in your trade or business for like-kind investment real property or business real property. For these purposes, “like-kind” is very broadly defined, and most real property is considered to be like-kind with other real property. However, neither the relinquished property nor the replacement property can be real property held primarily for sale. If you’re unsure whether the property involved in your exchange is eligible for a like-kind exchange, contact us to discuss the matter.
Here’s how the tax rules work
If it’s a straight asset-for-asset exchange, you won’t have to recognize any gain from the exchange. You’ll take the same “basis” (your cost for tax purposes) in the replacement property that you had in the relinquished property. Even if you don’t have to recognize any gain on the exchange, you still have to report the exchange on a form that is attached to your tax return.
However, the properties often aren’t equal in value, so some cash or other (non-like-kind) property is thrown into the deal. This cash or other property is known as “boot.” If boot is involved, you’ll have to recognize your gain, but only up to the amount of boot you receive in the exchange. In these situations, the basis you get in the like-kind replacement property you receive is equal to the basis you had in the relinquished property you gave up reduced by the amount of boot you received but increased by the amount of any gain recognized.
Here’s an example
Let’s say you exchange land (investment property) with a basis of $100,000 for a building (investment property) valued at $120,000 plus $15,000 in cash. Your realized gain on the exchange is $35,000: You received $135,000 in value for an asset with a basis of $100,000. However, since it’s a like-kind exchange, you only have to recognize $15,000 of your gain: the amount of cash (boot) you received. Your basis in the new building (the replacement property) will be $100,000, which is your original basis in the relinquished property you gave up ($100,000) plus the $15,000 gain recognized, minus the $15,000 boot received.
Note: No matter how much boot is received, you’ll never recognize more than your actual (“realized”) gain on the exchange.
If the property you’re exchanging is subject to debt from which you’re being relieved, the amount of the debt is treated as boot. The theory is that if someone takes over your debt, it’s equivalent to him or her giving you cash. Of course, if the replacement property is also subject to debt, then you’re only treated as receiving boot to the extent of your “net debt relief” (the amount by which the debt you become free of exceeds the debt you pick up).
Like-kind exchanges can be complex, but they’re a good tax-deferred way to dispose of investment or trade or business assets. We can answer any additional questions you have or assist with the transaction.
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Although merger and acquisition activity has been down in 2022, according to various reports, there are still companies being bought and sold. If your business is considering merging with or acquiring another business, it’s important to understand how the transaction will be taxed under current law.
Stocks vs. assets
From a tax standpoint, a transaction can basically be structured in two ways:
1. Stock (or ownership interest). A buyer can directly purchase a seller’s ownership interest if the target business is operated as a C or S corporation, a partnership, or a limited liability company (LLC) that’s treated as a partnership for tax purposes.
The current 21% corporate federal income tax rate makes buying the stock of a C corporation somewhat more attractive. Reasons: The corporation will pay less tax and generate more after-tax income than it would have years ago. Plus, any built-in gains from appreciated corporate assets will be taxed at a lower rate when they’re eventually sold.
Under current law, individual federal tax rates are reduced from years ago and may also make ownership interests in S corporations, partnerships, and LLCs more attractive. Reason: The passed-through income from these entities also will be taxed at lower rates on a buyer’s personal tax return. However, individual rate cuts are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025, and, depending on future changes in Washington, they could be eliminated earlier or extended.
2. Assets. A buyer can also purchase the assets of a business. This may happen if a buyer only wants specific assets or product lines. And it’s the only option if the target business is a sole proprietorship or a single-member LLC that’s treated as a sole proprietorship for tax purposes.
Note: In some circumstances, a corporate stock purchase can be treated as an asset purchase by making a “Section 338 election.” Ask your tax advisor for details.
What buyers and sellers want
For several reasons, buyers usually prefer to purchase assets rather than ownership interests. Generally, a buyer’s main objective is to generate enough cash flow from an acquired business to pay any acquisition debt and provide an acceptable return on the investment. Therefore, buyers are concerned about limiting exposure to undisclosed and unknown liabilities and minimizing taxes after the deal closes.
A buyer can step up (increase) the tax basis of purchased assets to reflect the purchase price. Stepped-up basis lowers taxable gains when certain assets, such as receivables and inventory, are sold or converted into cash. It also increases depreciation and amortization deductions for qualifying assets.
Meanwhile, sellers generally prefer stock sales for tax and nontax reasons. One of their main objectives is to minimize the tax bill from a sale. That can usually be achieved by selling their ownership interests in a business (corporate stock or partnership or LLC interests) as opposed to selling business assets.
With a sale of stock or other ownership interest, liabilities generally transfer to the buyer, and any gain on sale is generally treated as lower-taxed long-term capital gain (assuming the ownership interest has been held for more than one year).
Keep in mind that other issues, such as employee benefits, can also cause unexpected tax issues when merging with, or acquiring, a business.
Get professional advice
Buying or selling a business may be the most important transaction you make during your lifetime, so it’s important to seek professional tax advice as you negotiate. After a deal is done, it may be too late to get the best tax results. Contact us for the best way to proceed in your situation.
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Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the third quarter of 2022. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. Contact us to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines and to learn more about the filing requirements.
August 1
August 10
September 15
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Creating a budget is a crucial task for any business. It helps owners, executives, and managers estimate revenues and expenses, set goals, and closely monitor costs throughout the year.
Of course, budgets are just that — estimates. The final amounts for revenues and expenses at the end of the month, quarter, or year will almost certainly differ from budget projections. Those differences are called variances and analyzing those variances can give leaders a deeper understanding of a company’s financial well-being.
What is variance analysis?
Variance analysis investigates the differences between budgeted and actual results.
For example, if you budget for $1 million in sales and actual sales are $800,000, your variance is $200,000. Comparing your budget to actual results is a helpful first step but investigating the reason for the difference is essential.
These factors and others can contribute to variances, so taking the time to understand why fluctuations occur can help management know what they need to do to change the situation.
What causes budget variances?
Variances can occur for various reasons. Some of the most common include:
How is a variance analysis created?
Modern accounting software makes creating a variance analysis relatively straightforward. Most solutions include a budget-to-actual report that compares actual results to the budget and finds the difference between the two values as a number and a percentage.
You can then export this report to an Excel or Google spreadsheet, adding a column for explanations for any budget deviations.
The following best practices can make this process more manageable.
How often should you prepare variance reports?
The cadence with which you prepare variance reports will depend on the size of your company and management needs. A small business might only go through the process quarterly or annually.
On the other hand, a larger company or one that is experiencing rapid growth might perform the analysis every month.
At a minimum, you should review your budget to actual numbers every month, looking for unexpected discrepancies. This high-level review can help you quickly spot errors or identify trends so you can take action to keep the business on track.
Do you need help analyzing or setting up your variance reports? Give our team a call today to set up a strategy!
Unless you specialize in tax law, you’re probably not an accounting expert, but understanding accounting basics can help lawyers ensure their legal practice complies with ethics rules and accounting regulations.
Unlike other business owners, lawyers need to be familiar with two types of accounting: business and legal. While there is overlap between the two, there are differences, especially when handling client funds.
Differences between business and legal accounting
Business accounting is what law firms have in common with other businesses and includes expenses of running the law practice such as overhead, payroll, office rent, assets, liabilities, and equity.
Legal accounting is specific to law firms. It encompasses matter cost and income accounting — client costs, reimbursements, and fee income — as well as fee advances and retainer accounting.
Properly tracking the posting and reimbursement of matter costs is essential to ensure the firm’s accounting records are compliant. Law firms typically have two types of matter costs:
In accounting terms, any retainers received are liabilities — funds that haven’t yet been earned and still belong to someone else (the client).
Trust accounts are bank accounts set up specifically to hold client retainers.
General tips for accurate legal accounting
Consult with an Expert
Well-prepared and organized financial data not only helps with compliance but also offers critical insights into the operations of a law firm. Accountants can help law firms lay the foundation and establish best practices allowing firm leaders to focus on growing the firm.
Give our team a call if you need help ensuring you meet all of the regulatory requirements for your firm’s financial situation, including:
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2017 decision in South Dakota vs. Wayfair, many states quickly enacted laws resembling South Dakota’s to collect sales tax on remote purchases.
While physical nexus remains the first consideration in whether businesses are legally bound to collect and remit sales taxes on online sales, most states have adopted “economic nexus” rules, stating a business’ tax obligations kick in after it crosses a set level of sales in terms of quantity, dollar amounts, or both.
Receiving an audit notice from a state tax authority is one of the worst feelings a small business can have. Unfortunately, as states pursue tax collection, sales and use tax audits have become a standard part of doing business.
If your business is undergoing a sales tax audit or is worried about dealing with one in the future, here are four tips to navigate, prepare for, and avoid a sales tax audit.
How to reduce the risk of a sales tax audit
Several factors can trigger a sales tax audit. Many states use systematic methods and data analytics to identify businesses at risk for underreporting or underpaying their sales taxes. According to Thomson Reuters, some of the most common triggers for a sales tax audit include:
Your business also might be randomly selected for audit, so there’s no sure-fire way to avoid facing a sales tax audit. However, familiarizing yourself with the sales and use tax laws in the states where you do business, analyzing your nexus exposure, and registering and paying taxes in the proper jurisdictions is a good first step.
How to prepare for a sales tax audit
Time is of the essence once you receive notice you’ve been selected for an audit. Gathering and preparing the appropriate records takes time, so you want to start the process immediately.
Documents requested in the IDR typically include:
If any requested items aren’t available or you don’t believe they apply to the audit, be prepared to explain your reasons for not providing them.
In addition to looking for potential underpayments, look for overpayments, such as using a higher sales tax rate or charging tax on non-taxable items. These can potentially offset any underpayments uncovered during the audit.
Being under the microscope of a sales tax audit is stressful and can take up a lot of time. A professional who is well versed in sales and use taxes and knows how to deal with auditors can be an invaluable member of your team. By crafting a game plan for the audit and managing auditor expectations, they can potentially save your business thousands of dollars in taxes and penalties.
These professionals typically know how to answer the auditor’s questions truthfully without volunteering extra information that can invite additional scrutiny.
Have you received notice that you’re a target for a sale tax audit, or are you worried you may be on the radar? Contact us today to help you prepare for and navigate the process!
There’s a valuable tax deduction available to a C corporation when it receives dividends. The “dividends-received deduction” is designed to reduce or eliminate an extra level of tax on dividends received by a corporation. As a result, a corporation will typically be taxed at a lower rate on dividends than on capital gains.
Ordinarily, the deduction is 50% of the dividend, with the result that only 50% of the dividend received is effectively subject to tax. For example, if your corporation receives a $1,000 dividend, it includes $1,000 in income, but after the $500 dividends-received deduction, its taxable income from the dividend is only $500.
The deductible percentage of a dividend will increase to 65% of the dividend if your corporation owns 20% or more (by vote and value) of the payor’s stock. If the payor is a member of an affiliated group (based on an 80% ownership test), dividends from another group member are 100% deductible. (If one or more members of the group is subject to foreign taxes, a special rule requiring consistency of the treatment of foreign taxes applies.) In applying the 20% and 80% ownership percentages, preferred stock isn’t counted if it’s limited and preferred as to dividends, doesn’t participate in corporate growth to a significant extent, isn’t convertible, and has limited redemption and liquidation rights.
If a dividend on stock that hasn’t been held for more than two years is an “extraordinary dividend,” the basis of the stock on which the dividend is paid is reduced by the amount that effectively goes untaxed because of the dividends-received deduction. If the reduction exceeds the basis of the stock, gain is recognized. (A dividend paid on common stock will be an extraordinary dividend if it exceeds 10% of the stock’s basis, treating dividends with ex-dividend dates within the same 85-day period as one.)
Holding period requirement
The dividends-received deduction is only available if the recipient satisfies a minimum holding period requirement. In general, this requires the recipient to own the stock for at least 46 days during the 91-day period beginning 45 days before the ex-dividend date. For dividends on preferred stock attributable to a period of more than 366 days, the required holding period is extended to 91 days during the 181-day period beginning 90 days before the ex-dividend date. Under certain circumstances, periods during which the taxpayer has hedged its risk of loss on the stock are not counted.
Taxable income limitation
The dividends-received deduction is limited to a certain percentage of income. If your corporation owns less than 20% of the paying corporation, the deduction is limited to 50% of your corporation’s taxable income (modified to exclude certain items). However, if allowing the full (50%) dividends-received deduction without the taxable income limitation would result in (or increase) a net operating loss deduction for the year, the limitation doesn’t apply.
Illustrative example
Let’s say your corporation receives $50,000 in dividends from a less-than-20% owned corporation and has a $10,000 loss from its regular operations. If there were no loss, the dividends-received deduction would be $25,000 (50% of $50,000). However, since taxable income used in computing the dividends-received deduction is $40,000, the deduction is limited to $20,000 (50% of $40,000).
Other rules apply if the dividend payor is a foreign corporation. Contact us if you’d like to discuss how to take advantage of this deduction.
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The Internal Revenue Service will raise the optional standard mileage rate for the final six months of 2022 to help offset the rise in gas prices nationwide.
The new rates to calculate the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business and certain other purposes become effective July 1, 2022, and will remain in place through January 1, 2023. Those revised rates are:
Taxpayers should use the following rates for any miles traveled between January 1, 2022, and June 30, 2022:
The 14 cents per mile rate for charitable organizations remains unchanged as it is set by statute.
The IRS, which last made such an increase in 2011, noted it considered depreciation, insurance, and other fixed and variable costs in addition to the rising gas prices when raising the rates mid-year.
Businesses can use the standard mileage rate to calculate the deductible costs of operating qualified automobiles for business, charitable, medical, or moving purposes.
Important reminders and considerations
When reimbursing employees for miles driven, keep in mind the following reminders and considerations:
To review your organization’s mileage reimbursement policy and any alternate methods for calculating appropriate reimbursement amounts, reach out to our team of knowledgeable professionals today.
Here’s an interesting option if your small company or start-up business is planning to claim the research tax credit. Subject to limits, you can elect to apply all or some of any research tax credits that you earn against your payroll taxes instead of your income tax. This payroll tax election may influence some businesses to undertake or increase their research activities. On the other hand, if you’re engaged in or are planning to engage in research activities without regard to tax consequences, be aware that some tax relief could be in your future.
Here are some answers to questions about the option.
Why is the election important?
Many new businesses, even if they have some cash flow, or even net positive cash flow and/or a book profit, pay no income taxes and won’t for some time. Therefore, there’s no amount against which business credits, including the research credit, can be applied. On the other hand, a wage-paying business, even a new one, has payroll tax liabilities. The payroll tax election is thus an opportunity to get immediate use out of the research credits that a business earns. Because every dollar of credit-eligible expenditure can result in as much as a 10-cent tax credit, that’s a big help in the start-up phase of a business — the time when help is most needed.
Which businesses are eligible?
To qualify for the election a taxpayer:
In making these determinations, the only gross receipts that an individual taxpayer takes into account are from his or her businesses. An individual’s salary, investment income or other income aren’t taken into account. Also, note that neither an entity nor an individual can make the election for more than six years in a row.
Are there limits on the election?
Research credits for which a taxpayer makes the payroll tax election can be applied only against the employer’s old-age, survivors, and disability liability — the OASDI or Social Security portion of FICA taxes. So the election can’t be used to lower 1) the employer’s liability for the Medicare portion of FICA taxes or 2) any FICA taxes that the employer withholds and remits to the government on behalf of employees.
The amount of research credit for which the election can be made can’t annually exceed $250,000. Note too that an individual or C corporation can make the election only for those research credits which, in the absence of an election, would have to be carried forward. In other words, a C corporation can’t make the election for research credits that the taxpayer can use to reduce current or past income tax liabilities.
The above Q&As just cover the basics about the payroll tax election. And, as you may have already experienced, identifying and substantiating expenses eligible for the research credit itself is a complex area. Contact us for more information about the payroll tax election and the research credit.
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Attorney trust accounts serve an essential purpose: protecting clients’ funds by segregating them from the law firm’s operating accounts. Keeping client funds separate will help ensure they aren’t used for the attorney’s personal or business expenses — either inadvertently or intentionally.
Attorneys have a professional responsibility to manage these trust accounts in good faith, also known as Interest Only Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA). Failing to do so can have consequences, including disbarment. Since a firm doesn’t own the money in an IOLTA, misusing it is tantamount to theft. Considering the stakes involved, stay abreast of best practices for handling and accounting for client trust accounts.
Client Trust Fund Accounting Options
According to the National Law Review, client trust funds typically are used in three situations:
There are generally two ways to maintain IOLTA funds:
Either way, it’s crucial to keep track of the sources and uses for all funds.
Best Practices for Client Trust Fund Accounting
Following these best practices demonstrates you’re using the money legally and ethically and can help build trust with clients.
Each state has legal requirements for managing client funds and billing, so familiarize yourself with the laws in your state. At a minimum, every transaction in or out of your trust accounts should be accounted for — no matter how small—and you should be able to provide accurate and timely records for all trust accounts to the state bar upon request.
Business travel is back.
COVID restrictions have eased, and in-person conferences are back on the calendar. And as more people return to offices, companies are warming to sending their employees on work trips.
For many businesses, it’s been a minute since they’ve had to account for employee travel expenses. So it might be time for a refresher on which expenses are tax-deductible, which aren’t, and what pandemic-related tax incentives are available.
When is it business travel?
A trip is considered business travel when you travel outside what’s known as your “tax home.” The location of your tax home is the city or area of your primary place of business, regardless of where you live. For expenses to count as deductible travel costs, they have to be incurred away from your tax home for longer than a typical workday — but no longer than one year. Anything considered an “ordinary and necessary expense” of doing business would qualify.
As long as the expenses are business-related, most, if not all, expenses from a typical work trip can receive a tax deduction. So what is deductible?
Business Meals, Beverages
Perhaps the most significant change for business travel is a temporary tax incentive to encourage restaurant spending during the pandemic. Through the end of 2022, food and beverages from restaurants are 100% tax-deductible versus the usual 50% deduction for businesses. The 100% deduction applies to any restaurant meals and drinks purchased after December 31, 2020, and before January 1, 2023.
The IRS defines a restaurant as “a business that prepares and sells food or beverages to retail customers for immediate consumption, regardless of whether the food or beverages are consumed on the business’s premises.” The deduction includes:
Non-restaurant meals are still eligible for a 50% deduction, but the 100% deduction excludes prepackaged food and drinks from:
That means if you want to purchase a salad to go, buying it from a restaurant would get you a 100% deduction while buying it from a grocery store is only eligible for a 50% deduction.
Other rules for food and beverage deductions include:
Travel and Transportation
You can deduct 100% of the cost of any travel by airplane, train, bus, or car between your home and business destination. That includes car rental expenses. Also deductible is parking fees, tolls, and fares for taxis, shuttles, ferry rides, and other modes of transportation.
Hotels and Lodging
Hotel stays are tax-deductible, as are tips and fees for hotel staff and baggage carriers. Depending on how you schedule your trip, you may even be able to deduct lodging costs for non-workdays.
Shipping
You can write off costs for shipping baggage or any materials related to business operations.
Business Calls, Communication
Fees for calls, texts, or Wi-Fi usage during business travel are deductible.
Dry Cleaning, Laundry
Costs to launder work clothes on a business trip get a tax break.
Tips
Tips for services related to any of these expenses also qualify.
Gifts of up to $25
Gifts for clients or other business associates are included, although you can deduct no more than $25 per gift recipient. So if two clients each receive a $60 fruit basket, for a total of $120 spent on gifts, the company can write off $50 of the expense.
What Isn’t Deductible?
Tracking Expenses
To make the most of your tax deductions, collect receipts and keep detailed records of all travel expenses. Set a standard meal allowance for traveling employees and write off that amount to make meal tracking easier.
Managing business travel expenses and calculating deductions requires attention to detail, and businesses may be out of practice after two years with little to no travel. If you need help figuring out business travel deductions, our team of professionals can assist your business in getting back on track — and ready for takeoff.
Are you a partner in a business? You may have come across a situation that’s puzzling. In a given year, you may be taxed on more partnership income than was distributed to you from the partnership in which you’re a partner.
Why does this happen? It’s due to the way partnerships and partners are taxed. Unlike C corporations, partnerships aren’t subject to income tax. Instead, each partner is taxed on the partnership’s earnings — whether or not they’re distributed. Similarly, if a partnership has a loss, the loss is passed through to the partners. (However, various rules may prevent a partner from currently using his or her share of a partnership’s loss to offset other income.)
Pass through your share
While a partnership isn’t subject to income tax, it’s treated as a separate entity for purposes of determining its income, gains, losses, deductions, and credits. This makes it possible to pass through to partners their share of these items.
An information return must be filed by a partnership. On Schedule K of Form 1065, the partnership separately identifies income, deductions, credits, and other items. This is so that each partner can properly treat items that are subject to limits or other rules that could affect their correct treatment at the partner’s level. Examples of such items include capital gains and losses, interest expense on investment debts, and charitable contributions. Each partner gets a Schedule K-1 showing his or her share of partnership items.
Basis and distribution rules ensure that partners aren’t taxed twice. A partner’s initial basis in his or her partnership interest (the determination of which varies depending on how the interest was acquired) is increased by his or her share of partnership taxable income. When that income is paid out to partners in cash, they aren’t taxed on the cash if they have sufficient basis. Instead, partners just reduce their basis by the amount of the distribution. If a cash distribution exceeds a partner’s basis, then the excess is taxed to the partner as a gain, which often is a capital gain.
Illustrative example
Two people each contribute $10,000 to form a partnership. The partnership has $80,000 of taxable income in the first year, during which it makes no cash distributions to the two partners. Each of them reports $40,000 of taxable income from the partnership as shown on their K-1s. Each has a starting basis of $10,000, which is increased by $40,000 to $50,000. In the second year, the partnership breaks even (has zero taxable income) and distributes $40,000 to each of the two partners. The cash distributed to them is received tax-free. Each of them, however, must reduce the basis in his or her partnership interest from $50,000 to $10,000.
More rules and limits
The example and details above are an overview and, therefore, don’t cover all the rules. For example, many other events require basis adjustments and there are a host of special rules covering noncash distributions, distributions of securities, liquidating distributions, and other matters. Contact us if you’d like to discuss how a partner is taxed.
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The State of California now requires businesses with five or more employees to either offer an employee retirement plan or participate in the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program by June 30, 2022. CalSavers is a state-based payroll withholding savings program using Roth (post-tax) individual retirement accounts. All employers with five or more employees must either register with CalSavers or offer a qualifying retirement plan.
The CalSavers program has been rolled out in phases, and the state is already issuing penalty notices to businesses that missed the earlier deadlines or failed to allow eligible employees to participate in the retirement savings program. The penalties are significant:
Eligible employers must register with the program via the program website (employer.CalSavers.com) or by calling 855-650-6916.
Employers have the following options:
We can work with you to determine the best retirement solutions to fit your needs. Please contact us at 858.481.7702 for further assistance.
California enacted Assembly Bill 150 (“AB 150”) in late 2021 as a method for deducting state and local taxes in excess of federal deduction limitations. AB 150 allowed passthrough entities (“PTEs”) to have the tax imposed and paid at the entity level rather than at the individual level, which permitted PTE owners to bypass the deduction limitation. For those owners who have elected to participate in this program, PTEs pay the tax on the qualified net income and their owners receive a corresponding credit against the state income tax liability related to their PTE income. Any unused credit at the owner level may be carried forward for up to five years.
Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 113 (“SB 113”) on February 9, 2022, which modified and expanded the passthrough entity elective tax benefits previously established under AB 150. The goal of SB 113 was to add clarity and conformity to the state’s original objectives for establishing the PTE credit.
The PTE election is made annually on the original filed return, including extensions. For tax years 2022 through 2025, the first PTE installment payment is due June 15th of each year, and is equal to the greater of:
The second PTE elective tax installment is due by the entity’s tax return due date (without extensions), which for most partnerships, LLCs, and S corps will be March 15, 2023.
If a payment is not made by June 15th, the election may not be made and the pass-through entity and owners may not participate in the program for that corresponding tax year.
There are many unanswered questions surrounding the PTE program. For example, since many 2021 returns will not be filed by June 15th, taxpayers may not know what 50% of the 2021 tax will actually be. If a good faith estimate is paid on June 15 but ends up being short of the 50% when the 2021 return is filed, the 2022 PTE election is invalid.
Hamilton Tharp is recommending that taxpayers add more funds to ensure that they do not underpay the tax. If the PTE did not participate in the program for 2021, but the owners of the PTE are fairly certain they will want to participate in the PTE program for 2022, we are recommending the payment be made with all available financial information or the $1,000.
If you have any questions, please contact us. In most cases, if you or your firm qualify to participate in this program, we have already reached out and discussed the payments.
The IRS recently released guidance providing the 2023 inflation-adjusted amounts for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). High inflation rates will result in next year’s amounts being increased more than they have been in recent years.
HSA basics
An HSA is a trust created or organized exclusively for the purpose of paying the “qualified medical expenses” of an “account beneficiary.” An HSA can only be established for the benefit of an “eligible individual” who is covered under a “high deductible health plan.” In addition, a participant can’t be enrolled in Medicare or have other health coverage (exceptions include dental, vision, long-term care, accident, and specific disease insurance).
A high deductible health plan (HDHP) is generally a plan with an annual deductible that isn’t less than $1,000 for self-only coverage and $2,000 for family coverage. In addition, the sum of the annual deductible and other annual out-of-pocket expenses required to be paid under the plan for covered benefits (but not for premiums) can’t exceed $5,000 for self-only coverage and $10,000 for family coverage.
Within specified dollar limits, an above-the-line tax deduction is allowed for an individual’s contribution to an HSA. This annual contribution limitation and the annual deductible and out-of-pocket expenses under the tax code are adjusted annually for inflation.
Inflation adjustments for next year
In Revenue Procedure 2022-24, the IRS released the 2023 inflation-adjusted figures for contributions to HSAs, which are as follows:
Annual contribution limitation. For calendar year 2023, the annual contribution limitation for an individual with self-only coverage under an HDHP will be $3,850. For an individual with family coverage, the amount will be $7,750. This is up from $3,650 and $7,300, respectively, for 2022.
In addition, for both 2022 and 2023, there’s a $1,000 catch-up contribution amount for those who are age 55 and older at the end of the tax year.
High deductible health plan defined. For calendar year 2023, an HDHP will be a health plan with an annual deductible that isn’t less than $1,500 for self-only coverage or $3,000 for family coverage (these amounts are $1,400 and $2,800 for 2022). In addition, annual out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, co-payments, and other amounts, but not premiums) won’t be able to exceed $7,500 for self-only coverage or $15,000 for family coverage (up from $7,050 and $14,100, respectively, for 2022).
Reap the rewards
There are a variety of benefits to HSAs. Contributions to the accounts are made on a pre-tax basis. The money can accumulate tax free year after year and can be withdrawn tax free to pay for a variety of medical expenses such as doctor visits, prescriptions, chiropractic care, and premiums for long-term care insurance. In addition, an HSA is “portable.” It stays with an account holder if he or she changes employers or leaves the workforce. If you have questions about HSAs at your business, contact your employee benefits and tax advisors.
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The IRS has begun mailing notices to businesses, financial institutions, and other payers that filed certain returns with information that doesn’t match the agency’s records.
These CP2100 and CP2100A notices are sent by the IRS twice a year to payers who filed information returns that are missing a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), have an incorrect name, or have a combination of both.
Each notice has a list of persons who received payments from the business with identified TIN issues.
If you receive one of these notices, you need to compare the accounts listed on the notice with your records and correct or update your records, if necessary. This can also include correcting backup withholding on payments made to payees.
Which returns are involved?
Businesses, financial institutions, and other payers are required to file with the IRS various information returns reporting certain payments they make to independent contractors, customers, and others. These information returns include:
Do you have backup withholding responsibilities?
The CP2100 and CP2100A notices also inform recipients that they’re responsible for backup withholding. Payments reported on the information returns listed above are subject to backup withholding if:
Do you have to report payments to independent contractors?
By January first of the following year, payers must complete Form 1099-NEC, “Nonemployee Compensation,” to report certain payments made to recipients. If the following four conditions are met, you must generally report payments as nonemployee compensation:
Contact us if you receive a CP2100 or CP2100A notice from the IRS or if you have questions about filing Form 1099-NEC. We can help you stay in compliance with all rules.
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As a business owner, your company’s financial statements play a significant role in monitoring your company’s performance and financial standing. However, the information presented in financial statements is susceptible to distortion when certain economic factors come into play — notably inflation.
The cumulative impact of a global pandemic, labor shortages, and supply chain disruptions have merged to create the highest inflation rates the United States has seen this century. In fact, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 7.9% between February 2021 and February 2022, representing the most significant annualized growth in CPI inflation since 1982.
While the tangible effects of inflation vary by company and industry, the national and global implications are widespread and generally impact at least some aspects of every business. Even if the obvious effects feel minimal, it’s essential to understand inflation often trickles down to affect the most basic accounting and financial reporting information.
Here are some common ways inflation can affect financial statements and paint a misleading picture of your business.
Reported Profits
Inflation can most heavily affect companies’ reported profits with considerable inventories when it comes to financial reporting. Imagine, for example; a widget company reported $100,000 in sales last year with $75,000 in cost of goods sold and a gross profit of $25,000. Since widgets do not expire, the company keeps and sells unsold inventory year after year.
The company sells the same number of widgets the following year, but because of a rising inflation rate, it decides to raise its prices by 5% to offset a 5% increase in its costs of goods. Half of its sales this year were taken from the prior year’s inventory, and the other half comprised the new inventory carrying the 5% production increase.
Because of its 5% increase in both cost of goods sold and widget sales price, the company reports $105,000 in sales and $76,875 in cost of goods sold, totaling $3,750 in gross profits. When you factor in half of the previous year’s inventory, the company still reports an increase of $1,875 in gross profits (because of selling last year’s inventory) even though it sold the same number of widgets as the previous year.
This is called “inflation profit,” meaning the increased profit results from inflation rather than an actual improvement in business performance.
For businesses looking to impress investors or potential purchasers, this is just one example of how inflation could distort financial planning efforts if not properly recognized and considered.
Supply Chain Disruptions
Many businesses rely on a complex network of supply chains to manufacture and deliver goods. These systems become particularly volatile when one or more parts of that supply chain begin raising prices because of factors such as labor shortages, freight costs, increased employee wages, and material costs.
When companies have existing long-term revenue contracts with customers, it may be difficult (or even impossible) to break those contracts and raise prices enough to offset any increase in production costs.
Therefore, companies should consider the monthly implications caused by reduced or negative profitability and the period in which to record the loss, if applicable. Business owners should also be conscientious of the repercussions lost contracts and unstable profits may have on monthly planning and forecasting.
Accounting Procedures
Despite its increased prevalence this past year, inflation always impacts reporting and accounting. Although generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) largely combat the most glaring discrepancies among financial statements, some variations may still occur based on how your particular business accounts for inflation.
Contact our team today if you need help accommodating inflation into your financial statement preparation, reporting, and analysis.
As U.S. companies struggle to recruit, hire, and retain talent, more businesses are turning to independent contractors instead of full-time employees. But understanding the difference between an employee and an independent contractor can be complex.
Getting it right is critical because misclassifying workers – intentionally or not – can result in penalties including, but not limited to, fines and back taxes. If the IRS believes a misclassification was intentional, there’s also the possibility of criminal and civil penalties.
There’s no single test at the federal level to determine a worker’s classification. Studies show that 10% to 20% of employers misclassify at least one employee. At its most basic level, the question boils down to this: Is the worker an employee or an independent contractor?
What the IRS Says
The IRS defines an independent contractor as someone who performs work for someone else while controlling how the work is done. The Internal Revenue Code defines an employee for employment tax purposes as “any individual who, under the usual common-law rules, applicable in determining the employer-employee relationship, has the status of an employee.”
Under this test, an individual is classified in one of the two buckets after examining relevant facts and circumstances and an application of common law principles. The IRS analyzes the evidence of the degree of control and independence through three overarching categories:
No one factor stands alone in making this determination and the relevant factors will vary depending on the facts and circumstances.
If it is still unclear whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor after reviewing the three categories of evidence, file Form SS-8, Determination of Worker Status for Purposes of Federal Employment Taxes and Income Tax Withholding, with the IRS. The form may be filed by either the business or the worker, and the IRS will review the facts and circumstances and officially determine the worker’s status.
The IRS cautions it can take at least six months to get a determination.
Penalties for Misclassifying
If the misclassification was unintentional, the employer faces, at a minimum, the following penalties:
If the IRS suspects fraud or intentional misconduct, it can impose additional fines and penalties. The employer could be subject to criminal penalties of up to $10,000 per misclassified worker and one year in prison. In addition, the person responsible for withholding taxes could also be held personally liable for any uncollected tax.
Tips for Employers
Take pre-emptive steps to avoid worker misclassification issues by:
Remember, a worker’s classification may be different under the Fair Labor Standards Act than under various state laws, the National Labor Relations Act, and/or the Internal Revenue Code. Workers who are properly classified as independent contractors under one state’s test may not be properly classified under another’s.
Employers should ensure proper classification of their workers and remain cognizant of and comply with applicable state and local laws, which may be different from federal law.
Does your organization need help classifying or ensuring your workers are classified correctly? Contact our team today!
From Super Bowl commercials to teenage NFT millionaires — and even Elon Musk’s support of the dog meme-inspired currency Dogecoin — cryptoassets have been making a play for mainstream acceptance.
By the end of 2021, the global cryptocurrency market was worth more than $3 trillion, up from $14 billion just five years earlier. About 16% of U.S. adults — approximately 40 million people — have invested in, traded, or used cryptocurrency, according to a White House analysis of findings by The Pew Research Center. And more than 100 countries are exploring or piloting Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), a digital form of a country’s sovereign currency.
Cryptoassets have been taking off so quickly that President Biden signed an executive order in March outlining a government approach to address the risks and harness the benefits of cryptocurrency while urging the research and development of a U.S. Central Digital Bank Currency.
Yet, for all the attention cryptoassets are receiving, many business leaders are still trying to understand what they are, how they work, and the pros and cons of using them.
What Are Cryptoassets?
Cryptocurrency is any digital or virtual currency that uses encryption to secure and verify transactions. What sets cryptocurrencies apart from traditional forms of currency is that they rely on a decentralized, unregulated system to issue them and record transactions.
Because a central issuing authority such as a bank or regulatory authority like the federal government doesn’t control these currencies, cryptoassets can avoid government manipulation or intervention.
Types of cryptoassets include:
How Do Cryptoassets Work?
Instead of relying on banks, cryptoassets leverage decentralized networks based on blockchain technology for distribution. Blockchain is a distributed public ledger that records all digital and virtual transactions.
Since cryptoassets are not tangible, people who possess them instead own a key — a secret, randomly generated number with hundreds of digits — that allows them to move cryptoassets from one entity to another without the intervention of a financial institution.
What Are the Pros, Cons of Cryptoassets?
Decentralization is one of the key selling points of cryptoassets. Because developers control who uses them, they aren’t beholden to regulatory and government controls and interventions. That means there isn’t one entity that can dictate the currency’s value and distribution.
Other benefits include:
There are also some drawbacks, the least of which is a shortfall of protection. Although cryptoassets proponents prefer the currency because of its lack of government control, that same lack of regulation puts cryptoassets owners at risk of tremendous losses. There is no FDIC protection for cryptocurrency, nor is there a way to safeguard digital assets if a tech issue wipes out your transaction records. Insurance policies are available, but ultimately, it’s up to a business to protect itself against losses.
Other concerns include:
Cryptoassets are still in their infancy, and business leaders who may want to use them are learning as they go. If you’re trying to wrap your head around cryptoassets, our team of professionals can help your business navigate this new form of currency.
Operating as an S corporation may help reduce federal employment taxes for small businesses in the right circumstances. Although S corporations may provide tax advantages over C corporations, there are some potentially costly tax issues that you should assess before making a decision to switch.
Here’s a quick rundown of the most important issues to consider when converting from a C corporation to an S corporation:
Built-in gains tax
Although S corporations generally aren’t subject to tax, those that were formerly C corporations are taxed on built-in gains (such as appreciated property) that the C corporation has when the S election becomes effective if those gains are recognized within 5 years after the corporation becomes an S corporation. This is generally unfavorable, although there are situations where the S election still can produce a better tax result despite the built-in gains tax.
Passive income
S corporations that were formerly C corporations are subject to a special tax if their passive investment income (such as dividends, interest, rents, royalties, and stock sale gains) exceeds 25% of their gross receipts, and the S corporation has accumulated earnings and profits carried over from its C corporation years. If that tax is owed for three consecutive years, the corporation’s election to be an S corporation terminates. You can avoid the tax by distributing the accumulated earnings and profits, which would be taxable to shareholders. Or you might want to avoid the tax by limiting the amount of passive income.
LIFO inventories
C corporations that use LIFO inventories have to pay tax on the benefits they derived by using LIFO if they convert to S corporations. The tax can be spread over four years. This cost must be weighed against the potential tax gains from converting to S status.
Unused losses
If your C corporation has unused net operating losses, the losses can’t be used to offset its income as an S corporation and can’t be passed through to shareholders. If the losses can’t be carried back to an earlier C corporation year, it will be necessary to weigh the cost of giving up the losses against the tax savings expected to be generated by the switch to S status.
There are other factors to consider in switching from C to S status. Shareholder-employees of S corporations can’t get the full range of tax-free fringe benefits that are available with a C corporation. And there may be complications for shareholders who have outstanding loans from their qualified plans. All of these factors have to be considered to understand the full effect of converting from C to S status.
There are strategies for eliminating or minimizing some of these tax problems and for avoiding unnecessary pitfalls related to them. But a lot depends upon your company’s particular circumstances. Contact us to discuss the effect of these and other potential problems, along with possible strategies for dealing with them.
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Typically, businesses want to delay recognition of taxable income into future years and accelerate deductions into the current year. But when is it prudent to do the opposite? And why would you want to?
One reason might be tax law changes that raise tax rates. There have been discussions in Washington about raising the corporate federal income tax rate from its current flat 21%. Another reason may be because you expect your non-corporate pass-through entity business to pay taxes at higher rates in the future because the pass-through income will be taxed on your personal return. There have also been discussions in Washington about raising individual federal income tax rates.
If you believe your business income could be subject to tax rate increases, you might want to accelerate income recognition into the current tax year to benefit from the current lower tax rates. At the same time, you may want to postpone deductions into a later tax year, when rates are higher, and when the deductions will do more tax-saving good.
To accelerate income
Consider these options if you want to accelerate revenue recognition into the current tax year:
To defer deductions
Consider the following actions to postpone deductions into a higher-rate tax year, which will maximize their value:
Contact us to discuss the best tax planning actions in light of your business’s unique tax situation.
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The federal government is helping to pick up the tab for certain business meals. Under a provision that’s part of one of the COVID-19 relief laws, the usual deduction for 50% of the cost of business meals is doubled to 100% for food and beverages provided by restaurants in 2022 (and 2021).
So, you can take a customer out for a business meal or order take-out for your team and temporarily write off the entire cost — including the tip, sales tax and any delivery charges.
Basic rules
Despite eliminating deductions for business entertainment expenses in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), a business taxpayer could still deduct 50% of the cost of qualified business meals, including meals incurred while traveling away from home on business. (The TCJA generally eliminated the 50% deduction for business entertainment expenses incurred after 2017 on a permanent basis.)
To help struggling restaurants during the pandemic, the Consolidated Appropriations Act doubled the business meal deduction temporarily for 2021 and 2022. Unless Congress acts to extend this tax break, it will expire on December 31, 2022.
Currently, the deduction for business meals is allowed if the following requirements are met:
In the event that food and beverages are provided during an entertainment activity, the food and beverages must be purchased separately from the entertainment. Alternatively, the cost can be stated separately from the cost of the entertainment on one or more bills.
So, if you treat a client to a meal and the expense is properly substantiated, you may qualify for a business meal deduction as long as there’s a business purpose to the meal or a reasonable expectation that a benefit to the business will result.
Provided by a restaurant
IRS Notice 2021-25 explains the main rules for qualifying for the 100% deduction for food and beverages provided by a restaurant. Under this guidance, the deduction is available if the restaurant prepares and sells food or beverages to retail customers for immediate consumption on or off the premises. As a result, it applies to both on-site dining and take-out and delivery meals.
However, a “restaurant” doesn’t include a business that mainly sells pre-packaged goods not intended for immediate consumption. So, food and beverage sales are excluded from businesses including:
The restriction also applies to an eating facility located on the employer’s business premises that provides meals excluded from an employee’s taxable income. Business meals purchased from such facilities are limited to a 50% deduction. It doesn’t matter if a third party is operating the facility under a contract with the business.
Keep good records
It’s important to keep track of expenses to maximize tax benefits for business meal expenses.
You should record the:
In addition, ask establishments to divvy up the tab between any entertainment costs and food/ beverages. For additional information, contact your tax advisor.
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Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines that apply to businesses and other employers during the second quarter of 2022. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. Contact us to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines and to learn more about the filing requirements.
April 18
May 2
May 10
June 15
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The start of a new tax filing season often brings with it longer hold times with the IRS, as taxpayers and their tax preparers inundate phone lines with questions and concerns. But the 2022 filing season promises to be particularly challenging.
The IRS continues to work through a backlog of millions of paper-filed returns and correspondence from the 2021 tax filing season. Add staffing challenges and congressional underfunding to the issue and trying to track down a missing refund or deal with an unexpected tax notice is bound to be frustrating.
Roots, Results of the IRS Backlog
As of December 2021, the IRS had a backlog of 6 million unprocessed individual income tax returns, 2.3 million amended returns, and more than 2 million quarterly payroll tax returns, according to a statement from the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS).
That backlog stems from a combination of COVID-related shutdowns at many of the agency’s processing centers, budget cuts that forced reduced staff sizes, and the IRS overseeing new initiatives, such as stimulus payments and the expanded Child Tax Credit.
Reaching the IRS via phone hasn’t been easy in recent years, and the problem likely will worsen. According to the TAS report, there was a record 282 million taxpayer calls to the IRS in 2021, but the agency answered just 11% of those calls and those who did get through endured long wait times and frequent disconnects.
Understanding what’s going on behind the scenes isn’t much help when you’re facing missing tax refunds, incorrect notices, and other tax troubles. The following tips can help you navigate the IRS backlog and get the answers you need.
Send a complete copy of the correspondence and any other essential documents to your advisor as soon as you receive the notice. Tax professionals have access to a unique IRS customer service line reserved for practitioners, but delays are common there as well, so don’t wait until the last minute to loop them in.
Finally, have patience. The good news is the IRS is working to catch up by fast-tracking hiring, reassigning workers, and scrapping plans to close a tax processing center in Austin, Texas. In the meantime, stay in touch with your tax advisor to be as proactive as possible.
If your business doesn’t already have a retirement plan, now might be a good time to take the plunge. Current retirement plan rules allow for significant tax-deductible contributions.
For example, if you’re self-employed and set up a SEP-IRA, you can contribute up to 20% of your self-employment earnings, with a maximum contribution of $61,000 for 2022. If you’re employed by your own corporation, up to 25% of your salary can be contributed to your account, with a maximum contribution of $61,000. If you’re in the 32% federal income tax bracket, making a maximum contribution could cut what you owe Uncle Sam for 2022 by a whopping $19,520 (32% times $61,000).
More options
Other small business retirement plan options include:
Depending on your circumstances, these other types of plans may allow bigger deductible contributions.
Deadlines to establish and contribute
Thanks to a change made by the 2019 SECURE Act, tax-favored qualified employee retirement plans, except for SIMPLE-IRA plans, can now be adopted by the due date (including any extension) of the employer’s federal income tax return for the adoption year. The plan can then receive deductible employer contributions that are made by the due date (including any extension), and the employer can deduct those contributions on the return for the adoption year.
Important: The SECURE Act provision didn’t change the deadline to establish a SIMPLE-IRA plan. It remains October 1 of the year for which the plan is to take effect. Also, the SECURE Act change doesn’t override rules that require certain plan provisions to be in effect during the plan year, such as the provisions that cover employee elective deferral contributions (salary-reduction contributions) under a 401(k) plan. The plan must be in existence before such employee elective deferral contributions can be made.
For example, the deadline for the 2021 tax year for setting up a SEP-IRA for a sole proprietorship business that uses the calendar year for tax purposes is October 17, 2022, if you extend your 2021 tax return. The deadline for making the contribution for the 2021 tax year is also October 17, 2022. However, to make a SIMPLE-IRA contribution for the 2021 tax year, you must have set up the plan by October 1, 2021. So, it’s too late to set up a plan for last year.
While you can delay until next year establishing a tax-favored retirement plan for this year (except for a SIMPLE-IRA plan), why wait? Get it done this year as part of your tax planning and start saving for retirement. We can provide more information on small business retirement plan alternatives. Be aware that, if your business has employees, you may have to make contributions for them, too.
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In today’s economy, many small businesses are strapped for cash. They may find it beneficial to barter or trade for goods and services instead of paying cash for them. Bartering is the oldest form of trade and the internet has made it easier to engage with other businesses. But if your business gets involved in bartering, be aware that the fair market value of goods that you receive in bartering is taxable income. And if you exchange services with another business, the transaction results in taxable income for both parties.
How it works
Here are some examples:
In these cases, both parties are taxed on the fair market value of the services received. This is the amount they would normally charge for the same services. If the parties agree to the value of the services in advance, that will be considered the fair market value unless there’s contrary evidence.
In addition, if services are exchanged for property, income is realized. For example,
Barter clubs
Many businesses join barter clubs that facilitate barter exchanges. These clubs generally use a system of “credit units,” which are awarded to members who provide goods and services. The credits can be redeemed for goods and services from other members.
In general, bartering is taxable in the year it occurs. But if you participate in a barter club, you may be taxed on the value of credit units at the time they’re added to your account, even if you don’t redeem them for actual goods and services until a later year. For example, let’s say that you earn 2,500 credit units one year and that each unit is redeemable for $2 in goods and services. In that year, you’ll have $5,000 of income. You won’t pay additional tax if you redeem the units the next year, since you’ve already been taxed once on that income.
If you join a barter club, you’ll be asked to provide your Social Security number or Employer Identification Number. You’ll also be asked to certify that you aren’t subject to backup withholding. Unless you make this certification, the club is required to withhold tax from your bartering income at a 24% rate.
Reporting to the IRS
By January 31 of each year, a barter club will send participants a Form 1099-B, “Proceeds from Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions,” which shows the value of cash, property, services and credits that you received from exchanges during the previous year. This information will also be reported to the IRS.
Conserve cash, reap benefits
By bartering, you can trade away excess inventory or provide services during slow times, all while hanging onto your cash. You may also find yourself bartering when a customer doesn’t have the money on hand to complete a transaction. As long as you’re aware of the federal and state tax consequences, these transactions can benefit all parties. If you need assistance or would like more information, contact us.
© 2022
The credit for increasing research activities, often referred to as the research and development (R&D) credit, is a valuable tax break available to eligible businesses. Claiming the credit involves complex calculations, which we can take care of for you. But in addition to the credit itself, be aware that the credit also has two features that are especially favorable to small businesses:
1. Eligible small businesses ($50 million or less in gross receipts) may claim the credit against alternative minimum tax (AMT) liability.
2. The credit can be used by certain even smaller startup businesses against the employer’s Social Security payroll tax liability.
Let’s take a look at the second feature. Subject to limits, you can elect to apply all or some of any research tax credit that you earn against your payroll taxes instead of your income tax. This payroll tax election may influence you to undertake or increase your research activities. On the other hand, if you’re engaged in — or are planning to undertake — research activities without regard to tax consequences, be aware that you could receive some tax relief.
Why the election is important
Many new businesses, even if they have some cash flow, or even net positive cash flow and/or a book profit, pay no income taxes and won’t for some time. Thus, there’s no amount against which business credits, including the research credit, can be applied. On the other hand, any wage-paying business, even a new one, has payroll tax liabilities. Therefore, the payroll tax election is an opportunity to get immediate use out of the research credits that you earn. Because every dollar of credit-eligible expenditure can result in as much as a 10-cent tax credit, that’s a big help in the start-up phase of a business — the time when help is most needed.
Eligible businesses
To qualify for the election a taxpayer must:
In making these determinations, the only gross receipts that an individual taxpayer takes into account are from the individual’s businesses. An individual’s salary, investment income or other income aren’t taken into account. Also, note that an entity or individual can’t make the election for more than six years in a row.
Limits on the election
The research credit for which the taxpayer makes the payroll tax election can be applied only against the Social Security portion of FICA taxes. It can’t be used to lower the employer’s liability for the “Medicare” portion of FICA taxes or any FICA taxes that the employer withholds and remits to the government on behalf of employees.
The amount of research credit for which the election can be made can’t annually exceed $250,000. Note, too, that an individual or C corporation can make the election only for those research credits which, in the absence of an election, would have to be carried forward. In other words, a C corporation can’t make the election for the research credit that the taxpayer can use to reduce current or past income tax liabilities.
The above are just the basics of the payroll tax election. Keep in mind that identifying and substantiating expenses eligible for the research credit itself is a complex area. Contact us about whether you can benefit from the payroll tax election and the research tax credit.
© 2022
If you own your own company and travel for business, you may wonder whether you can deduct the costs of having your spouse accompany you on trips.
The rules for deducting a spouse’s travel costs are very restrictive. First of all, to qualify, your spouse must be your employee. This means you can’t deduct the travel costs of a spouse, even if his or her presence has a bona fide business purpose unless the spouse is a bona fide employee of your business. This requirement prevents tax deductibility in most cases.
A spouse-employee
If your spouse is your employee, then you can deduct his or her travel costs if his or her presence on the trip serves a bona fide business purpose. Merely having your spouse perform some incidental business service, such as typing up notes from a meeting, isn’t enough to establish a business purpose. In general, it isn’t sufficient for his or her presence to be “helpful” to your business pursuits — it must be necessary.
In most cases, a spouse’s participation in social functions, for example as a host or hostess, isn’t enough to establish a business purpose. That is, if his or her purpose is to establish general goodwill for customers or associates, this is usually insufficient. Further, if there’s a vacation element to the trip (for example, if your spouse spends time sightseeing), it will be more difficult to establish a business purpose for his or her presence on the trip. On the other hand, a bona fide business purpose exists if your spouse’s presence is necessary to care for a serious medical condition that you have.
If your spouse’s travel satisfies these tests, the normal deductions for business travel away from home can be claimed. These include the costs of transportation, meals, lodging, and incidental costs such as dry cleaning, phone calls, etc.
A non-employee spouse
Even if your spouse’s travel doesn’t satisfy the requirements, however, you may still be able to deduct a substantial portion of the trip’s costs. This is because the rules don’t require you to allocate 50% of your travel costs to your spouse. You need only allocate any additional costs you incur for him or her. For example, in many hotels, the cost of a single room isn’t that much lower than the cost of a double. If a single would cost you $150 a night and a double would cost you and your spouse $200, the disallowed portion of the cost allocable to your spouse would only be $50. In other words, you can write off the cost of what you would have paid traveling alone. To prove your deduction, ask the hotel for a room rate schedule showing single rates for the days you’re staying.
And if you drive your own car or rent one, the whole cost will be fully deductible even if your spouse is along. Of course, if public transportation is used, and for meals, any separate costs incurred by your spouse wouldn’t be deductible.
Contact us if you have questions about this or other tax-related topics.
© 2022
Do you want to withdraw cash from your closely held corporation at a minimum tax cost? The simplest way is to distribute cash as a dividend. However, a dividend distribution isn’t tax-efficient since it’s taxable to you to the extent of your corporation’s “earnings and profits.” It’s also not deductible by the corporation.
Fortunately, there are several alternative methods that may allow you to withdraw cash from a corporation while avoiding dividend treatment. Here are five areas where you may want to take action:
1. Capital repayments. To the extent that you’ve capitalized the corporation with debt, including amounts you’ve advanced to the business, the corporation can repay the debt without the repayment being treated as a dividend. Additionally, interest paid on the debt can be deducted by the corporation. This assumes that the debt has been properly documented with terms that characterize debt and that the corporation doesn’t have an excessively high debt-to-equity ratio. If not, the debt repayment may be taxed as a dividend. If you make future cash contributions to the corporation, consider structuring them as debt to facilitate later withdrawals on a tax-advantaged basis.
2. Salary. Reasonable compensation that you (or family members) receive for services rendered to the corporation is deductible by the business. However, it’s also taxable to the recipient. The same rule applies to any compensation in the form of rent that you receive from the corporation for the use of property. In both cases, the amount of compensation must be reasonable in relation to the services rendered or the value of the property provided. If it’s excessive, the excess will be nondeductible and treated as a corporate distribution.
3. Loans. You may withdraw cash from the corporation tax-free by borrowing from it. However, to avoid having the loan characterized as a corporate distribution, it should be properly documented in a loan agreement or a note and be made on terms that are comparable to those on which an unrelated third party would lend money to you. This should include a provision for interest and principal. All interest and principal payments should be made when required under the loan terms. Also, consider the effect of the corporation’s receipt of interest income.
4. Fringe benefits. Consider obtaining the equivalent of a cash withdrawal in fringe benefits that are deductible by the corporation and not taxable to you. Examples are life insurance, certain medical benefits, disability insurance and dependent care. Most of these benefits are tax-free only if provided on a nondiscriminatory basis to other employees of the corporation. You can also establish a salary reduction plan that allows you (and other employees) to take a portion of your compensation as nontaxable benefits, rather than as taxable compensation.
5. Property sales. Another way to withdraw cash from the corporation is to sell property to it. However, certain sales should be avoided. For example, you shouldn’t sell property to a more than 50% owned corporation at a loss, since the loss will be disallowed. And you shouldn’t sell depreciable property to a more than 50% owned corporation at a gain, since the gain will be treated as ordinary income, rather than capital gain. A sale should be on terms that are comparable to those on which an unrelated third party would purchase the property. You may need to obtain an independent appraisal to establish the property’s value.
If you’re interested in discussing any of these approaches, contact us. We’ll help you get the most out of your corporation at the minimum tax cost.
© 2022
If you’re in business for yourself as a sole proprietor, or you’re planning to start a business, you need to know about the tax aspects of your venture. Here are eight important issues to consider:
1. You report income and expenses on Schedule C of Form 1040. The net income is taxable to you regardless of whether you withdraw cash from the business. Your business expenses are deductible against gross income and not as itemized deductions. If you have any losses, they’re generally deductible against your other income, subject to special rules relating to hobby losses, passive activity losses, and losses in activities in which you weren’t “at risk.”
2. You may be eligible for the pass-through deduction. To the extent your business generates qualified business income, you’re eligible to take the 20% pass-through deduction, subject to various limitations. The deduction is taken “below the line,” so it reduces taxable income, rather than being taken “above the line” against gross income. You can take the deduction even if you don’t itemize and instead take the standard deduction.
3. You might be able to deduct home office expenses. If you work from home, perform management or administrative tasks from a home office or store product samples or inventory at home, you may be entitled to deduct an allocable portion of certain costs. And if you have a home office, you may be able to deduct expenses of traveling from there to another work location.
4. You must pay self-employment taxes. For 2022, you pay self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare) at a 15.3% rate on your self-employment net earnings of up to $147,000 and Medicare tax only at a 2.9% rate on the excess. An additional 0.9% Medicare tax is imposed on self-employment income in excess of $250,000 for joint returns, $125,000 for married taxpayers filing separately, and $200,000 in all other cases. Self-employment tax is imposed in addition to income tax, but you can deduct half of your self-employment tax as an adjustment to income.
5. You can deduct 100% of your health insurance costs as a business expense. This means your deduction for medical care insurance won’t be subject to the rule that limits your medical expense deduction to amounts in excess of 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.
6. You must make quarterly estimated tax payments. For 2022, these are due April 18, June 15, September 15, and January 17, 2023.
7. You should keep complete records of your income and expenses. Carefully record expenses in order to claim all of the deductions to which you are entitled. Certain expenses, such as automobile, travel, meals, and home office expenses, require special attention because they’re subject to special recordkeeping requirements or limits on deductibility.
8. If you hire employees, you need a taxpayer identification number and you must withhold and pay over employment taxes.
We can help
Contact us if you’d like more information or assistance with the tax or recordkeeping aspects of your business.
© 2022
If you operate a business, or you’re starting a new one, you know you need to keep records of your income and expenses. Specifically, you should carefully record your expenses in order to claim all of the tax deductions to which you’re entitled. And you want to make sure you can defend the amounts reported on your tax returns in case you’re ever audited by the IRS.
Be aware that there’s no one way to keep business records. But there are strict rules when it comes to keeping records and proving expenses are legitimate for tax purposes. Certain types of expenses, such as automobile, travel, meals and home office costs, require special attention because they’re subject to special recordkeeping requirements or limitations.
Here are two recent court cases to illustrate some of the issues.
Case 1: To claim deductions, an activity must be engaged in for profit
A business expense can be deducted if a taxpayer can establish that the primary objective of the activity is making a profit. The expense must also be substantiated and be an ordinary and necessary business expense. In one case, a taxpayer claimed deductions that created a loss, which she used to shelter other income from tax.
She engaged in various activities including acting in the entertainment industry and selling jewelry. The IRS found her activities weren’t engaged in for profit and it disallowed her deductions.
The taxpayer took her case to the U.S. Tax Court, where she found some success. The court found that she was engaged in the business of acting during the years in issue. However, she didn’t prove that all claimed expenses were ordinary and necessary business expenses. The court did allow deductions for expenses including headshots, casting agency fees, lessons to enhance the taxpayer’s acting skills and part of the compensation for a personal assistant. But the court disallowed other deductions because it found insufficient evidence “to firmly establish a connection” between the expenses and the business.
In addition, the court found that the taxpayer didn’t prove that she engaged in her jewelry sales activity for profit. She didn’t operate it in a businesslike manner, spend sufficient time on it or seek out expertise in the jewelry industry. Therefore, all deductions related to that activity were disallowed. (TC Memo 2021-107)
Case 2: A business must substantiate claimed deductions with records
A taxpayer worked as a contract emergency room doctor at a medical center. He also started a business to provide emergency room physicians overseas. On Schedule C of his tax return, he deducted expenses related to his home office, travel, driving, continuing education, cost of goods sold and interest. The IRS disallowed most of the deductions.
As evidence in Tax Court, the doctor showed charts listing his expenses but didn’t provide receipts or other substantiation showing the expenses were actually paid. He also failed to account for the portion of expenses attributable to personal activity.
The court disallowed the deductions stating that his charts weren’t enough and didn’t substantiate that the expenses were ordinary and necessary in his business. It noted that “even an otherwise deductible expense may be denied without sufficient substantiation.” The doctor also didn’t qualify to take home office deductions because he didn’t prove it was his principal place of business. (TC Memo 2022-1)
We can help
Contact us if you need assistance retaining adequate business records. Taking a meticulous, proactive approach can protect your deductions and help make an audit much less difficult.
© 2022
Solana Beach, California – January 25, 2022 — Christina Tharp, Managing Partner and CFO of Hamilton Tharp LLP, is pleased to announce the promotion to Partner of Kim Spinardi effective January 1, 2022. Tina noted the significant contributions Kim has made as a senior staff accountant, manager, and senior manager at the firm. Kim has worked for the firm for more than 3.5 years; her election to partnership reflects her dedication to providing the tradition of service, technical expertise, and innovative thinking that has contributed to the firm’s growth.
Kim graduated from San Diego State University (SDSU) in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in accounting. Kim began her career in the accounting profession with a firm in San Diego, where she spent eight years developing her technical and interpersonal abilities as a trusted advisor. Kim’s experience includes working with small business owners, high-net-worth individuals, professional athletes, and professional service firms. Her technical expertise includes helping clients with stock options, multi-state taxation and residency issues, advanced tax planning strategies, real estate sales and exchanges, taxation of income earned overseas, entity selection, strategies for a business sale, and retirement plan set up.
Kim holds a Certified Public Accountant license, which she earned in March of 2014. Dedicated to serving the community and giving back through volunteerism, Kim is proud to serve on the Alumni Board and Intercollegiate Athletics Committee at her alma mater, SDSU. She also previously volunteered for Rebuilding Together San Diego and Home of Guiding Hands Audit Committee. Kim also plays an active role at Hamilton Tharp with recruiting for the firm and is part of the SDSU Aztec Mentoring program, acting as a mentor to students of all majors at the university.
When she isn’t helping her clients achieve their financial goals, Kim can be found at sporting venues across the country and, most notably, at Aztec basketball and football games. You can find Kim riding her Peloton, on the golf course, or enjoying time with her wife, Michelle, and their two Labradoodles, Callie and Jax.
Founded in 1980, Hamilton Tharp has been serving entrepreneurs, businesses, professional athletes, and high-net-worth individuals with specialized services to help them reach their financial and life goals. The partners are members of the AICPA, the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Solana Beach Chamber of Commerce. For more information about Hamilton Tharp, please call (858) 481-7702 or visit www.ht2cpa.com/.
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Note: Congress is considering proposals that could expand the Work Opportunity Tax Credit for certain qualified groups. We will monitor this development and communicate updates as necessary.
As a business, tax planning can help create increased cash flow that allows management to expand, increase wages, bring in new inventory, and achieve other goals that require more financial flexibility. Business owners often go to tax credits involved with normal business operations but sometimes overlook human resource tax credits. One such tax credit is the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC).
This hiring-based tax credit was recently extended until Dec. 31, 2025, by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Keep reading to learn how to use the WOTC.
What is the WOTC?
The WOTC is an employment-based tax credit the federal government offers to employers who hire from qualified groups and is based on wages paid to qualified employees.
While there is an extensive list of qualified groups a new employee may come from, they most often include groups that otherwise would be overlooked, including veterans, ex-felons, those graduating from rehabilitation programs, and individuals on certain state or federal government assistance programs. You can view the extended list here.
What credits can be taken?
The WOTC allows employers who hire from qualified groups to receive a tax credit for wages paid up to the specified maximum amounts, as shown below.
| Employee Category | Credit Amount | Maximum Wages |
| Qualified employees working 120+ hours a year | 25% of first-year wages | $6,000 maximum wages used in calculation of credit |
| Qualified employees working 400+ hours per year | 40% of first-year wages | $6,000 maximum wages used in calculation of credit |
| Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients working 400+ hours per year | 40% of first-year wages
50% of second-year wages |
$6,000 maximum wages used in calculation of credit |
| Qualified veterans | 25% of first-year wages for employees working 120+ hours a year; 40% of first-year wages for employees working 400+ hours per year | $24,000 maximum wages used in calculation of credit |
| Rehires | 0% | Rehires are not eligible for the WOTC |
Claiming the WOTC
There are several steps businesses need to take to claim the WOTC. Both employer and applicant must complete Form 8850 before or on the date an employment offer is made. That form must then be filed with the appropriate state workforce agency within 28 days of the start of work.
The state workforce agency will confirm whether the employee is considered part of a qualified group for the WOTC. If so, the employee can then submit Form 5884 and Form 3800 with their income tax returns to take the appropriate credit amount.
For assistance understanding the WOTC and the nuances involved in calculating the appropriate credit amounts, reach out to our team of tax professionals.
When the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update 2016-02 (ASC 842) several years ago, the deadlines for private and public businesses seemed to be far into the future. FASB delayed the reporting requirements for private-sector companies because of COVID-19; however, that delay ended as of Dec. 15, 2021.
All businesses must use financial statements conforming to the new lease accounting standard for any fiscal year beginning after Dec. 15, 2021. If you’re not up to date on the new requirements and how they can impact your business, keep reading to familiarize yourself with ASC 842.
Lease Accounting Updates
Historically, organizations were required to divide their leases into operating leases and capital leases. Capital leases (finance leases) needed to be reflected on the organization’s statement of financial position (balance sheet) as capital assets with related lease debt liabilities. Operating leases, on the other hand, were recognized as expenses as lease costs were incurred but not on the statement of financial position.
Under ASC 842, all organizations must include all lease agreements with lease terms greater than 12 months on the statement of financial position, whether they are finance or operating leases. When reporting, accounting teams must include the following on the balance sheet:
How the shift affects remote work policies
The shift to remote work has changed how many companies conduct business. The new lease accounting standard poses several new questions. If you’re licensing any equipment, such as computers, include these contracts in your lease accounting review.
Also, keep in mind any leases that may need to be renegotiated or canceled if your business stays remote. Do you need less office equipment or space because half of your workforce is fully remote? Are company vehicles no longer in use as your organization has shifted to remote meetings? Are you subsidizing employees for internet or office space? These are all questions to ask when you begin transitioning your lease accounting methods.
Other impacts of the new lease accounting methods
If your business has already transitioned to the new lease accounting method, you may have noticed some financial statistics changes. Financial statements may show an increase in assets or liabilities when leases that previously were recognized off-balance-sheet are moved to the balance sheet. This impact will be greater in businesses with more significant lease activity (by total volume or value of leases).
Things to remember when transitioning
The process of transitioning your lease accounting method can take time if your contracts are not centralized. If your organization hasn’t started the transition, it may be helpful to assign a team to compile the necessary information. As you start, keep in mind these tasks to help make a smoother transition.
Make time to review the lease accounting standard updates and transition lease agreements over to the new process. Waiting until the balance sheets are created and published will leave your teams rushing, which can lead to mistakes and oversights.
For help understanding the changes or creating a new reporting system, reach out to our team of experts to set up a consultation.
The IRS recently released the 2022 mileage rates for businesses to use as guidance when reimbursing workers for applicable miles driven within the year. The rates tend to increase every year to account for rising fuel and vehicle and maintenance costs and insurance rate increases.
Businesses can use the standard mileage rate to calculate the deductible costs of operating qualified automobiles for business, charitable, medical, or moving purposes. Keep reading for the updated mileage rates, as well as some reminders for mileage reimbursements and deductions.
Standard mileage rates for cars, vans, pickups and panel trucks are as follows:
| Use Category | Mileage rate
(as of Jan. 1, 2022) |
Change from previous year |
| Business miles driven | $0.585 per mile | $0.025 increase from 2021 |
| Medical or moving miles driven* | $0.18 per mile | $0.02 increase from 2021 |
| Miles driven for charitable organizations | $0.14 per mile | Note: Only congress may adjust the mileage rate for service to a charitable organization by a Congress-passed statute. |
*Moving miles reimbursement for qualified active-duty members of the Armed Forces
Important reminders and considerations
When reimbursing employees for miles driven, keep in mind the following reminders and considerations:
To review your organization’s mileage reimbursement policy and any alternate methods for calculating appropriate reimbursement amounts, reach out to our team of knowledgeable professionals today.
Becoming a partner at a law firm is a goal many lawyers spend their careers striving to reach. Once you’re there, however, you must re-evaluate your personal financial and tax strategies as you shift from employee to owner. If you recently were promoted to partner and have reviewed your personal financial strategy, keep reading.
Personal financial considerations for new partners
Many of the personal financial decisions partners need to make depend on two things: the partnership agreement and whether you became an equity (owner) or non-equity partner. The partnership agreement will detail a lot of information about compensation and benefit structures, as well as equity structures and required capital contributions. Factors include:
Tax considerations for partners
Switching from an employee to an owner of a law firm also provides additional tax considerations. You’ll most likely see a change from a Form W-2 employee to a Form K-1 owner when it comes time to file your taxes. Keep the following in mind:
Once you’ve thoroughly reviewed your new partnership agreement, meeting with your tax planner and financial advisor can help you outline a new plan for managing your finances moving forward. Contact us today to get started!
After two years of no increases, the optional standard mileage rate used to calculate the deductible cost of operating an automobile for business will be going up in 2022 by 2.5 cents per mile. The IRS recently announced that the cents-per-mile rate for the business use of a car, van, pickup or panel truck will be 58.5 cents (up from 56 cents for 2021).
The increased tax deduction partly reflects the price of gasoline. On December 21, 2021, the national average price of a gallon of regular gas was $3.29, compared with $2.22 a year earlier, according to AAA Gas Prices.
Don’t want to keep track of actual expenses?
Businesses can generally deduct the actual expenses attributable to business use of vehicles. This includes gas, oil, tires, insurance, repairs, licenses and vehicle registration fees. In addition, you can claim a depreciation allowance for the vehicle. However, in many cases, certain limits apply to depreciation write-offs on vehicles that don’t apply to other types of business assets.
The cents-per-mile rate is beneficial if you don’t want to keep track of actual vehicle-related expenses. With this method, you don’t have to account for all your actual expenses. However, you still must record certain information, such as the mileage for each business trip, the date and the destination.
Using the cents-per-mile rate is also popular with businesses that reimburse employees for business use of their personal vehicles. These reimbursements can help attract and retain employees who drive their personal vehicles a great deal for business purposes. Why? Under current law, employees can’t deduct unreimbursed employee business expenses, such as business mileage, on their own income tax returns.
If you do use the cents-per-mile rate, keep in mind that you must comply with various rules. If you don’t comply, the reimbursements could be considered taxable wages to the employees.
How is the rate calculated?
The business cents-per-mile rate is adjusted annually. It’s based on an annual study commissioned by the IRS about the fixed and variable costs of operating a vehicle, such as gas, maintenance, repair and depreciation. Occasionally, if there’s a substantial change in average gas prices, the IRS will change the cents-per-mile rate midyear.
When can the cents-per-mile method not be used?
There are some cases when you can’t use the cents-per-mile rate. It partly depends on how you’ve claimed deductions for the same vehicle in the past. In other situations, it depends on if the vehicle is new to your business this year or whether you want to take advantage of certain first-year depreciation tax breaks on it.
As you can see, there are many factors to consider in deciding whether to use the standard mileage rate to deduct vehicle expenses. We can help if you have questions about tracking and claiming such expenses in 2022 — or claiming 2021 expenses on your 2021 income tax return.
© 2021
Do you want to sell commercial or investment real estate that has appreciated significantly? One way to defer a tax bill on the gain is with a Section 1031 “like-kind” exchange where you exchange the property rather than sell it. With real estate prices up in some markets (and higher resulting tax bills), the like-kind exchange strategy may be attractive.
A like-kind exchange is any exchange of real property held for investment or for productive use in your trade or business (relinquished property) for like-kind investment, trade or business real property (replacement property).
For these purposes, like-kind is broadly defined, and most real property is considered to be like-kind with other real property. However, neither the relinquished property nor the replacement property can be real property held primarily for sale.
Important change
Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, tax-deferred Section 1031 treatment is no longer allowed for exchanges of personal property — such as equipment and certain personal property building components — that are completed after December 31, 2017.
If you’re unsure if the property involved in your exchange is eligible for like-kind treatment, please contact us to discuss the matter.
Assuming the exchange qualifies, here’s how the tax rules work. If it’s a straight asset-for-asset exchange, you won’t have to recognize any gain from the exchange. You’ll take the same “basis” (your cost for tax purposes) in the replacement property that you had in the relinquished property. Even if you don’t have to recognize any gain on the exchange, you still must report it on Form 8824, “Like-Kind Exchanges.”
Frequently, however, the properties aren’t equal in value, so some cash or other property is tossed into the deal. This cash or other property is known as “boot.” If boot is involved, you’ll have to recognize your gain, but only up to the amount of boot you receive in the exchange. In these situations, the basis you get in the like-kind replacement property you receive is equal to the basis you had in the relinquished property you gave up reduced by the amount of boot you received but increased by the amount of any gain recognized.
An example to illustrate
Let’s say you exchange land (business property) with a basis of $100,000 for a building (business property) valued at $120,000 plus $15,000 in cash. Your realized gain on the exchange is $35,000: You received $135,000 in value for an asset with a basis of $100,000. However, since it’s a like-kind exchange, you only have to recognize $15,000 of your gain. That’s the amount of cash (boot) you received. Your basis in your new building (the replacement property) will be $100,000: your original basis in the relinquished property you gave up ($100,000) plus the $15,000 gain recognized, minus the $15,000 boot received.
Note that no matter how much boot is received, you’ll never recognize more than your actual (“realized”) gain on the exchange.
If the property you’re exchanging is subject to debt from which you’re being relieved, the amount of the debt is treated as boot. The theory is that if someone takes over your debt, it’s equivalent to the person giving you cash. Of course, if the replacement property is also subject to debt, then you’re only treated as receiving boot to the extent of your “net debt relief” (the amount by which the debt you become free of exceeds the debt you pick up).
Great tax-deferral vehicle
Like-kind exchanges can be a great tax-deferred way to dispose of investment, trade or business real property. Contact us if you have questions or would like to discuss the strategy further.
© 2022
Many tax limits that affect businesses are annually indexed for inflation, and a number of them have increased for 2022. Here’s a rundown of those that may be important to you and your business.
Social Security tax
The amount of an employee’s earnings that is subject to Social Security tax is capped for 2022 at $147,000 (up from $142,800 in 2021).
Deductions
Business meals
In 2022 and 2021, the deduction for eligible business-related food and beverage expenses provided by a restaurant is 100% (up from 50% in 2020).
Retirement plans
Other employee benefits
These are only some of the tax limits that may affect your business and additional rules may apply. Contact us if you have questions.
© 2022
Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the first quarter of 2022. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. Contact us to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines and to learn more about the filing requirements.
January 17 (The usual deadline of January 15 is a Saturday)
January 31
February 28
March 15
© 2021
The use of a company vehicle is a valuable fringe benefit for owners and employees of small businesses. This perk results in tax deductions for the employer as well as tax breaks for the owners and employees using the cars. (And of course, they get the nontax benefit of getting a company car.) Plus, current tax law and IRS rules make the benefit even better than it was in the past.
The rules in action
Let’s say you’re the owner-employee of a corporation that’s going to provide you with a company car. You need the car to visit customers, meet with vendors and check on suppliers. You expect to drive the car 8,500 miles a year for business. You also expect to use the car for about 7,000 miles of personal driving, including commuting, running errands and weekend trips. Therefore, your usage of the vehicle will be approximately 55% for business and 45% for personal purposes. You want a nice car to reflect positively on your business, so the corporation buys a new $55,000 luxury sedan.
Your cost for personal use of the vehicle is equal to the tax you pay on the fringe benefit value of your 45% personal mileage. By contrast, if you bought the car yourself to be able to drive the personal miles, you’d be out-of-pocket for the entire purchase cost of the car.
Your personal use will be treated as fringe benefit income. For tax purposes, your corporation will treat the car much the same way it would any other business asset, subject to depreciation deduction restrictions if the auto is purchased. Out-of-pocket expenses related to the car (including insurance, gas, oil and maintenance) are deductible, including the portion that relates to your personal use. If the corporation finances the car, the interest it pays on the loan would be deductible as a business expense (unless the business is subject to the business interest expense deduction limitation under the tax code).
In contrast, if you bought the auto yourself, you wouldn’t be entitled to any deductions. Your outlays for the business-related portion of your driving would be unreimbursed employee business expenses that are nondeductible from 2018 to 2025 due to the suspension of miscellaneous itemized deductions under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. And if you financed the car yourself, the interest payments would be nondeductible.
And finally, the purchase of the car by your corporation will have no effect on your credit rating.
Necessary paperwork
Providing an auto for an owner’s or key employee’s business and personal use comes with complications and paperwork. Personal use will have to be tracked and valued under the fringe benefit tax rules and treated as income. This article only explains the basics.
Despite the necessary valuation and paperwork, a company-provided car is still a valuable fringe benefit for business owners and key employees. It can provide them with the use of a vehicle at a low tax cost while generating tax deductions for their businesses. We can help you stay in compliance with the rules and explain more about this prized perk.
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