2019 is right around the corner and most potential strategies to reduce your 2018 tax liability expire on 12/31/18. Now is the time to review your situation and implement any potential tax savings measures. Business owners have a number of potential moves that they can make prior to year-end.  Below are a few of the most common:

• Defer Taxable Income & Accelerate Deductions - First and foremost, if you are able to defer taxable income until next year, or accelerate business deductions into the current year, that's often the best way to reduce your overall liability. 
• Depreciation Changes - If you need to buy an expensive piece of equipment it's important to know exactly what your depreciation deduction will be for the year. These rules have changed significantly under the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and eligible qualified property now yields a 100% 1st year federal depreciation deduction. Auto depreciation limits have also been increased for both passenger and heavy (over 6,000 pounds) vehicles. 
• Retirement Plan Options - There are many different qualified retirement plans to choose from and they all (with the exception of a SEP IRA) have to be established by 12/31/18 if you want to make a contribution for the current year. A SOLO 401(k) is often the best choice if you are the only employee (or you and your spouse are the only employees) in your business and you want to maximize your annual contributions. 
• Estimated Tax - Ensure that you have enough tax paid in to avoid penalty on your 2018 tax return. To avoid a penalty on your 2018 return, you need to have at least 90% of your 2018 tax liability paid in by year end. If you are not sure what your tax liability will be the alternative approach is to pay in 100% (110% if your AGI is greater than $150,000) of your 2017 liability.
• Auto Mileage – Make sure you are tracking all of the necessary information to take a deduction for business mileage. If you don’t want to deal with a physical mileage log there are numerous apps available that can help you keep up with mileage throughout the year. 

In addition to analyzing potential tax saving strategies, the end of the year is a good time to review other common issues and make sure you are in compliance. 

• S-Corp Reasonable Compensation - All S-Corporations shareholders that perform services for their business are owners as well as employees, and as employees they must receive "reasonable compensation" for their services rendered to the S-Corporation. There is no set guideline for exactly how much this amount must be but it should be on par with industry standards for salaries paid at other companies for similar services. There are 9 factors the IRS would look at if it ever came up, with number 8 likely being the heaviest weighted factor: (1) Employee qualifications; (2) The nature, extent, and scope of the employee’s work; (3) The size and complexity of the business; (4) Prevailing general economic conditions; (5) The employee’s compensation as a percentage of gross and net income; (6) The employee-shareholder’s compensation compared with distributions to shareholders; (7) The employee-shareholder’s compensation compared with that to non-shareholder employees or paid in prior years; (8) Prevailing rates of compensation for comparable positions in comparable concerns; and (9) Comparison of compensation paid to a particular shareholder-employee in previous years where the corporation has a limited number of officers. I would also recommend having something in writing in your company records, documenting how you arrived at the salary figure, using Salary.com or an equivalent way of tracking and comparing the salary amount. 
• S-Corp SE Health on W-2 - If you are an S-Corporation owner with self-employed health insurance premiums, make sure that it is properly reflected on your W-2 so that you can maximize the deduction on your personal return. 
• Guard Against Co-mingling of Funds - If you have a business, even if it is a small sole proprietorship, the IRS requires the business to keep good books and records to distinguish between business finances and personal finances. This means that you MUST have a separate bank account for your business and ALL items of income and expense should be run through the business account. Failure to distinguish between business and personal, either by running personal income/expenses through a business account or running business income/expenses through a personal account, is called "co-mingling funds" and opens up the business to severe penalties by the IRS. A separate issue, but just as important, co-mingling funds can also increase your liability in a lawsuit. A lawsuit brought against a business that has co-mingled funds can go after not only the business assets, but also the personal assets of the business owner. 
• Accounting - Maintaining clear distinctions between business and personal accounts not only protects the business from lawsuits and IRS penalties, it also makes your monthly bookkeeping and accounting much easier and ensures accuracy. Speaking of bookkeeping, if you are looking to sign up for QuickBooks’s online version of their software, we are happy to offer all business clients our 50% wholesale pricing discount. Just let us know BEFORE you sign up so that we can get you locked in at the discounted rate. 
• Worker Classification - As you hire new workers in your business make sure that you are classifying them correctly at the onset. A misconception among some small business owners is that you can choose whether to 1099 a worker or issue them a W-2. This is not only incorrect; it can be a very expensive mistake. Incorrectly classifying a worker as an Independent Contractor that receives an annual 1099-MISC will subject the business to additional taxes and penalties from both the IRS and the Department of Labor. If you have an employee you must add them to payroll for all payments to them. If you truly do have independent contractors, make sure that you structure the relationship so that it is obviously a business to business relationship. All subcontractors should sign an independent contractor agreement form and have their own business account set up before payments are made to them. Ideally they will have their own business entity set up, invoice your business for services rendered, and maintain their own business license. If you are unsure about how to classify a worker please reach out with any questions. The IRS has a 20 point checklist with questions that are used to determine proper classification. For more information you can visit the IRS web article about the issue.
• Meals & Entertainment - The deduction for business entertainment has been eliminated this year. Please see our previous article here for more information about meals and entertainment deductions under the TCJA.
• Hobby Losses - The Schedule A deduction for expenses related to a "hobby loss" has also been eliminated under the TCJA. It's more important than ever to make sure that your side business activity is structured as a real business so that you can deduct any potential losses.
• Reminders for Georgia Companies - (1) Renew your county/city business license by year end, (2) Issue 1099’s and W-2’s by January 31st, (3) File your corporate or partnership return by March 15th, (4) Renew your LLC or Corporation by April 1st, and (5) File your county business personal property tax return by April 1st. 

We have also posted an Individual Year-End Tax Planning article that you can review in conjunction with this article.

This is general information and a brief summarization of complicated tax issues which are often subject to many exclusions and limitations. We make every effort to verify the accuracy of all information but we do not guarantee or warranty advice disseminated over the internet. Please give us a call to discuss potential strategies and ensure they make sense for your specific situation.  

​This is the third article in a four part series of articles about the 2018 tax law changes and how they will affect individual and business returns filed in 2019. You can access the first article, General Changes to Individual Returns, here, and the second article, The New QBI Deduction for S-Corporations and Other Pass-Through Entities, here.

The IRS recently issued a notice regarding transitional guidance about coming proposed regulations dealing with legislative changes under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). This guidance specifically addresses the elimination of the entertainment expense deduction, while at the same time clarifying treatment of certain business meal expenses. 
 
Prior to the TCJA, business taxpayers could deduct 50% of business meals AND 50% of business entertainment, provided the meals and entertainment expenses met certain qualifications and were directly related to the active conduct of the taxpayer’s trade or business.
 
Fast forward to current law. The new law DISALLOWS "a deduction for any item with respect to an activity that is of a type generally considered to constitute entertainment, amusement, or recreation."
 
Entertainment expenditures (whether business related or not) are no longer deductible. However, after the passage of the TCJA there were many questions in the tax community about the continued deductibility of certain business meals and how that would interact with the elimination of entertainment deductions. Responding to requests for guidance on the issue, the IRS recently issued a notice that clarifies the issue. (If you would like to read the full notice you can do so here.)
 
Under this notice, taxpayers may deduct 50 percent of an otherwise allowable business meal expense if:  

1. The expense is an ordinary and necessary expense under § 162(a) paid or incurred during the taxable year in carrying on any trade or business;
2. The expense is not lavish or extravagant under the circumstances;
3. The taxpayer, or an employee of the taxpayer, is present at the furnishing of the food or beverages;
4. The food and beverages are provided to a current or potential business customer, client, consultant, or similar business contact; and
5. In the case of food and beverages provided during or at an entertainment activity, the food and beverages are purchased separately from the entertainment, or the cost of the food and beverages is stated separately from the cost of the entertainment on one or more bills, invoices, or receipts. The entertainment disallowance rule may not be circumvented through inflating the amount charged for food and beverages.  ​

Various examples are given by the IRS of specific situations and how the new law will apply. One of them is very common and illustrates the issue well:
 
Business Taxpayer A takes Client B to a baseball game and buys both the tickets to the game, and food and drinks while at the game. Under the new law Taxpayer A will no longer be able to deduct any portion of the ticket price, since that constitutes entertainment, but would still be able to deduct 50% of the cost of food and drinks purchased (assuming the meal meets all the other requirements for deductibility and assuming it is separately stated from the ticket price on the receipt or invoice).
 
The main takeaways here are:

• Entertainment is non-deductible.  
• The IRS intends to issue proposed regulations and taxpayers can rely on their guidance in the notice until proposed regulations are set forth. However, that means we could have last minute changes or guidance in early 2019 that will affect your return.
• And, finally, remember to KEEP good records (as always) to distinguish between non-deductible entertainment and deductible meals. (Good records include a receipt, the date, notes about which business contact you were with, and notes about the general nature of the business discussions.)

This is general information and a brief summarization of complicated tax issues which are often subject to many exclusions and limitations. We make every effort to verify the accuracy of all information but we do not guarantee or warranty advice disseminated over the internet. Please give us a call to discuss potential strategies and ensure they make sense for your specific situation. 

This is the second article in a four part series of articles about the 2018 tax law changes and how they will affect individual and business returns filed in 2019. You can access the first article, General Changes to Individual Returns, here.

As you might have heard, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in December of 2017 substantially changed many items of the tax structure for both corporate and individual income tax returns.

Chief among the corporate changes was a major tax cut for normal C-corporations (the traditional corporate structure in the US), moving the tax rate from a maximum of 35% to a FLAT rate of 21%.

That’s great news if you are the shareholder of a C-corporation, but what about all the small businesses out there? The vast majority of small businesses in the US are organized as S-Corporations, Partnerships, or another type of Pass-Through Entity. Congress realized that these businesses did not benefit from the new reduced rate for C-corps and thought it appropriate to add a corollary benefit for these types of business structures.

In comes the new Sec. 199A Qualified Business Income (QBI) Deduction. This deduction is available to all pass-through business types and will be applied on the shareholder or individual level.

Very simply put, the new deduction will be calculated by taking 20% of total qualified business income and reducing taxable income (not AGI) by that amount. We won’t get into the actual mechanics of the deduction here since it can get complicated depending on your personal filing status and income level, and whether or not the primary business activity classifies your entity as a “specified service business” (SSB). Some limitations and exclusions will apply but suffice it to say, many small businesses will qualify for the new deduction.

Feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions or would like to review how the new QBI deduction may apply to your individual situation.

This is general information and a brief summarization of complicated tax issues which are often subject to many exclusions and limitations. We make every effort to verify the accuracy of all information but we do not guarantee or warranty advice disseminated over the internet. Please give us a call to discuss potential strategies and ensure they make sense for your specific situation.

This is the first article in a four part series of articles about the 2018 tax law changes and how they will affect individual and business returns filed in 2019.

Fundamental to all of the individual changes is an increasing standard deduction which jumps up to $12,000 for single filers and $24,000 for couples filing jointly. Although this may seem like a large increase, it is at least partially offset by the fact that personal exemptions were ELIMINATED.

If you have eligible dependent children the Child Tax Credit has increased to $2,000 and other dependents may be eligible for the new $500 Dependent Tax Credit. This is a substantial increase and also comes with the added bonus that the income phase out limit has increased significantly. So, if you previously lost the Child Tax Credit due to taxable income over the threshold, there is a good chance that you may now be eligible again.

Schedule A itemized deductions will still be a factor for many taxpayers, although there have been radical changes to the rules governing these deductions. Many itemized deductions have been eliminated but three of the most popular, mortgage interest, state income and property taxes, and charitable deductions, all remain; albeit with changes to each one. Let’s look at how each of these have changed:

• Mortgage interest is deductible on principal loan balances up to $750,000, which is down from the previous limit of $1,000,000. (Loans originated before the 2018 tax law was passed are grandfathered under the higher limitation.) However, the deduction for interest paid on a HELOC balance (unless the funds were directly used to buy, build, or substantially improve your home) has been ELIMINATED.​
• State and local income and property taxes (SALT) continue to be deductible on your 2018 return. However, they are now CAPPED at $10,000. So, if you have $7,000 of state income tax paid and $5,000 of property taxes paid, your total deduction of $12,000 will be reduced by $2,000. This will affect many taxpayers here in GA and many more in higher tax states around the country. (To that point, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Maryland just filed a lawsuit against the federal government a few weeks ago arguing against the application of this part of the new tax law. Click here for a good article at Forbes about the lawsuit and the rationale behind it.)
• Charitable deductions continue to be fully deductible under the new tax code and the income limitation has actually  increased from 50% of AGI to 60% of AGI. The greatest impact on this issue will be the increased standard deduction mentioned above. If your total itemized deductions don’t get you over the standard threshold, then the charitable deduction will be a moot point. If you reside in GA, you may still want to compare your federal itemized deductions to the GA standard deduction since the GA deduction (which also recently increased) still remains much lower than the federal deduction. If you are on the bubble between itemizing and taking the standard deduction it provides a planning opportunity, and it may make sense to lump your charitable donations into one tax year or another. E.g. If you normally give a certain charitable organization $5,000 each year, it may make sense to give them $10,000 one year and $0 the next, allowing you to claim itemized deductions in year one and switching to the standard deduction in year two.

These are just a few of the many, many ways the tax code has changed. Stay tuned for more throughout the rest of the year.

This is general information and a brief summarization of complicated tax issues which are often subject to many exclusions and limitations. We make every effort to verify the accuracy of all information but we do not guarantee or warranty advice disseminated over the internet. Please give us a call to discuss potential strategies and ensure they make sense for your specific situation.

2018 is here and there are a number of Georgia business deadlines, returns to file, and licenses to renew. Below is a list of some of the more common dates to remember:

• Various Dates: Business license renewal with county or city licensing department
• January 31st: Issue W-2's to employees and 1099-MISC forms to independent contractors
• March 15th: Partnership and S-Corporation Income Tax Return Deadline
• March 15th: S-Corporation Election deadline for calendar year firms requesting new S-Status
• April 1st: Business personal property tax return deadline (most counties)
• April 1st: Entity renewal due to the Georgia Secretary of State
• September 15th: Extended Partnership and S-Corporation tax returns due
• September 15th: SEP IRA contribution deadline for extended Partnerships and S-Corporations 

Please feel free to reach out if we can assist you with any of these items.

This is general information and a brief summarization of complicated tax issues which are often subject to many exclusions and limitations. We make every effort to verify the accuracy of all information but we do not guarantee or warranty advice disseminated over the internet. Please give us a call to discuss potential strategies and ensure they make sense for your specific situation.

Many strategies to reduce your 2017 tax liability will expire on 12/31/17. It is crucial to review your tax situation prior to the end of the year and implement any potential tax savings measures while you still have the ability to do so.  As a business owner there are a myriad of potential planning strategies available. Below are a few of the most common.

• Defer taxable income and accelerate business deductions.
• Take advantage of generous depreciation deductions, including the potential “Heavy SUV deduction” for trucks or SUVs weighing over 6,000 pounds.
• There are many different qualified retirement plans to choose from and they all (with the exception of a SEP IRA) have to be established by 12/31/17 if you want to make a contribution for the current year. A SOLO 401(k) is often the best choice if you are the only employee (or you and your spouse are the only employees) in your business and you want to maximize your annual contributions.
• Ensure that you have enough tax paid in to avoid penalty on your 2017 tax return. To avoid a penalty on your 2017 return you need to have at least 90% of your 2017 tax liability paid in by year end. If you are not sure what your tax liability will be the alternative approach is to pay in 100% (110% if your AGI is greater than $150,000) of your 2016 liability.
• Reminders for Georgia companies: Renew your county business license by year end, issue 1099’s and W-2’s by January 31st, file your corporate or partnership return by March 15th, renew your LLC or Corporation by April 1st, and file your business personal property tax return by April 1st. Now is a good time to make sure that your 2017 bookkeeping is almost complete!
• Speaking of bookkeeping: If you are looking to sign up for Quickbook’s new (and very good) online version of their software, we are happy to offer all business clients our 50% wholesale pricing discount. Just let us know BEFORE you sign up so that we can get you locked in at the discounted rate.

​
We have also posted a Year End Tax Planning For Individuals article that you can review in conjunction with this article.

This is general information and a brief summarization of complicated tax issues which are often subject to many exclusions and limitations. We make every effort to verify the accuracy of all information but we do not guarantee or warranty advice disseminated over the internet. Please give us a call to discuss potential strategies and ensure they make sense for your specific situation.

​Many strategies to reduce your 2017 tax liability will expire on 12/31/17. It is crucial to review your tax situation prior to the end of the year and implement any potential tax savings measures while you still have the ability to do so. Below are a few of the most common individual planning opportunities.

• If you expect to be in the same or lower tax bracket next year consider accelerating deductions into 2017 and/or deferring receipt of taxable income. If you expect to be in a higher tax bracket you may benefit from doing the reverse.
• Increase your charitable donations prior to year-end. Any donations made before 12/31/17 will be deductible on your 2017 return. (This is especially true IF the charitable donation deduction is eliminated for 2018.)
• Related to charitable donations, if you are planning on making a substantial gift you may want to donate appreciated stock.  The benefit is two-fold; you will get a deduction for the full market value of the stock AND you don’t have to pay capital gains tax on any unrealized gain. 
• Consider contributing to retirement accounts. 401(k) accounts are eligible for employee deferrals of up to $18,000 (plus a bonus $6,000 catch-up contribution if you are over 50) and must be deferred from your paycheck before 12/31/17. (IRA contributions can be made up until 04/15/18.)
• If you are eligible for an HSA account consider contributing to it as well.
• Harvest portfolio gains and/or losses. If you have gains in your portfolio, are eligible for the 0% capital gains rate, and expect to be subject to the higher capital gains rates in the future, you may want to sell now. Then repurchase the securities you want to keep and increase your cost basis to the new purchase price. If you have securities that are worth less than you paid for them and you are ready to reinvest the money elsewhere you may want to go ahead and sell.  “Harvesting” the capital loss before year end will allow you to offset the loss against any taxable capital gains in your portfolio. If you do harvest losses make sure that you are aware of the “wash sale” rules and wait at least 30 days if you are going to repurchase a substantially identical security.  (The wash sale rule does not apply to harvesting gains.)
• Use your Flex Plan at work. It is a “use it or lose it” account. You must use it by 12/31/17 unless your plan allows for the optional two and a half month carryover or $500 carryover provisions.
• Low to moderate income earners can take advantage of the expanded Saver’s Credit.
• Consider converting a Traditional IRA to a ROTH IRA. You will pay tax in the year of conversion but all future growth will be tax free.

We have also recently posted a Year End Business Tax Planning article if you are either self-employed or a small business owner. 

This is general information and a brief summarization of complicated tax issues which are often subject to many exclusions and limitations. We make every effort to verify the accuracy of all information but we do not guarantee or warranty advice disseminated over the internet. Please give us a call to discuss potential strategies and ensure they make sense for your specific situation.

​If you are a Georgia resident you may be interested in the popular GA GOAL or GA 529 tax benefits.  The GA GOAL scholarship program allows taxpayers up to a $2,500 credit for contributions to the program.  The Path2College Georgia 529 Plan allows a deduction of up to $2,000 ($4,000 for joint filers) per year, per beneficiary.  See the links below for more details.

http://www.goalscholarship.org/
https://www.path2college529.com/

Georgia taxpayers getting close to age 62 may be pleasantly surprised to find out that their state income tax liability can be significantly reduced in retirement. The Georgia Retirement Income Exclusion applies to many forms of retirement income and reduces total Georgia liability to $0 for many retirees.

https://dor.georgia.gov/retirement-income-exclusion​

This is general information and a brief summarization of complicated tax issues which are often subject to many exclusions and limitations. We make every effort to verify the accuracy of all information but we do not guarantee or warranty advice disseminated over the internet. Please give us a call to discuss potential strategies and ensure they make sense for your specific situation.

The Senate passed their version of the tax bill late Friday night. If you missed the details of the bill, below are some of the major differences with the House bill that passed last month.

(And if you missed the update on the House Tax Bill Proposal, click here to read that one first.)
​

The main things that stand out to me with the Senate bill is the different treatment of flow through businesses (think S-Corps and partnerships), the retention of the AMT, and the addition of Obamacare mandate repeal.

We'll see what actually comes out of the House and Senate reconciliation process before we dig too deep into the details but, as others have said, this bill is more about tax cuts than tax reform and very different from the last tax reform bill delivered by the Reagan administration in 1986.

There are some very good things in the bill(s), and some simplifications, but overall this is written to be a major tax cut (especially to corporate rates) and written, first and foremost, in an attempt to drive the economy forward.

The administration would like to have a bill signed by Christmas, and at this point it's hard to see a way the GOP won't come up with some agreement between the two bills.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions or concerns about how the final bill may relate to your personal tax situation.
​
This is general information and a brief summarization of complicated tax issues which are often subject to many exclusions and limitations. We make every effort to verify the accuracy of all information but we do not guarantee or warranty advice disseminated over the internet. Please give us a call to discuss potential strategies and ensure they make sense for your specific situation.

In the current version of the proposed bill, there are major points that, as usual, some will love, and some will hate. The bill originated in the House of Representatives and it’s just the first draft. It is important to remember that the proposed legislation will be sent to committee for debate as they consider changes and revision. House members are confident that their version will be revised and pass fairly quickly. The Senate will then need to write their own version of the bill. It is expected that the Senate bill will be similar to the version in the House, but may experience more difficulty getting passed. If both the House and Senate pass their versions of the bill, they will work together to reconcile the bill before final passage into law.
 
That said, let’s review some of the major points of the current House bill:

* Individual tax brackets go from 7 to 4
 
* The Standard Deduction is nearly doubled, BUT
 
* Personal Exemptions are ELIMINATED. This offsets some of the advantage of the increased standard deduction, BUT
 
* Certain credits are increased (enhanced child tax credit & a new credit for non-child dependents), somewhat offsetting the disadvantage to families losing multiple personal exemptions.
 
* Many itemized deductions are ELIMINATED
 
* The AMT is ELIMINATED (It’s about time!)
 
* The Student loan interest deduction is ELIMINATED
 
* The Educator expense deduction is ELIMINATED
 
* Alimony tax treatment is changed
 
* The Primary Residence Gain Exclusion is significantly
LIMITED
 
* Corporate tax rates are REDUCED significantly
 
* Pass through (think S-Corps and Partnerships) tax rates are REDUCED on SOME shareholders – (This one is a partial reduction for some shareholders in certain industries. It is likely to change significantly before passage.)
 
* Potentially Retroactive - (There have been calls for making the bill retroactive to 01/01/17 but recent remarks by the administration make this seem unlikely.)
 
These are highlights of a 400+ page bill and it’s obviously not intended to be a full review. Expect major changes if it becomes law. We’ll keep an eye on the bill as it works its way through Congress.
 
Please feel free to reach out if you have any specific questions or concerns about how the bill may relate to your personal tax situation.

This is general information and a brief summarization of complicated tax issues which are often subject to many exclusions and limitations. We make every effort to verify the accuracy of all information but we do not guarantee or warranty advice disseminated over the internet. Please give us a call to discuss potential strategies and ensure they make sense for your specific situation.