Author: Admin

June 2018 Market Recap: What’s the playbook for the second half?

The U.S. economy is growing at an above-trend pace, and the rest of the world seems to be finding its footing. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve (Fed) continues to normalize monetary policy, and it appears that other central banks are following suit. Interest rates have come down off the highs seen earlier this year, and equity valuations are no longer looking as pricey. With this as the setup, how should investors think about navigating markets during the second half of the year?

With respect to growth, the second half of this year should be better than the first. The weakening in global goods demand that led to disappointing growth metrics in the first quarter seems to have worked its way through the system, with U.S. consumption expected to have grown by nearly 4% from a year prior in the second quarter, and retail sales in Europe showing signs of stabilization. Furthermore, the Purchasing Managers Indices (PMIs) and other soft data all point to a continued improvement in growth outside of the U.S. While the hard data will need to provide confirmation of this trend, the clouds which have been hanging over the international economy for the past few months finally seem to be breaking.

Solid growth in and outside the U.S. would align with policymaker expectations, leading the Fed to continue hiking rates and the European Central Bank (ECB) to hike for the first time around the middle of next year. If these expectations are realized against a backdrop of solid economic growth, it could lead the dollar to soften, providing a boost to emerging markets and supporting a resynchronization of growth as we approach 2019. This resynchronization of global growth could help alleviate trade-related concerns, and provide support for risk assets to move higher. With earnings growth looking solid, equity valuations in-line with or below their long-term averages around the world, and interest rates still historically low, stocks should be able to rally into 2019. However, diversification should remain the central tenet of any investment strategy given the political risk premium which continues to exist in markets around the world.

Saving for Education: 529 Plans

Many parents are looking for ways to save for their child’s education and a 529 Plan is an excellent way to do so. Even better, is that thanks to the passage of tax reform legislation in 2017, 529 plans are now available to parents wishing to save for their child’s K-12 education as well as college or vocational school.

You may open a Section 529 plan in any state, and there are no income restrictions for the individual opening the account. Contributions, however, must be in cash and the total amount must not be more than is reasonably needed for higher education (as determined initially by the state). There may also be a minimum investment required to open the account, typically, $25 or $50.

Each 529 Plan has a Designated Beneficiary (the future student) and an Account Owner. The account owner may be a parent or another person and typically is the principal contributor to the program. The account owner is also entitled to choose (as well as change) the designated beneficiary.

Neither the account owner or beneficiary may direct investments, but the state may allow the owner to select a type of investment fund (e.g., fixed income securities), change the investment annually as well as when the beneficiary is changed. The account owner decides who gets the funds (can pick and change the beneficiary) and is legally allowed to withdraw funds at any time, subject to tax and penalties (more about this below).

Unlike some of the other tax-favored higher education programs such as the American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning Tax Credits, federal tax law doesn’t limit the benefit only to tuition. Room, board, lab fees, books, and supplies can be purchased with funds from your 529 Savings Account. Individual state programs could have a more narrow definition, however, so be sure to check with your particular state.

Tax-free Distributions

Distributions from 529 plans are tax-free as long as they are used to pay qualified higher education expenses for a designated beneficiary. Distributions are tax-free even if the student is claiming the American Opportunity Credit, Lifetime Learning Credit, or tax-free treatment for a Section 530 Coverdell distribution–provided the programs aren’t covering the same specific expenses. Qualified expenses include tuition, required fees, books, supplies, equipment, and special needs services. For someone who is at least a half-time student, room and board also qualify. Also, starting in 2018, “qualified higher education expenses” include up to $10,000 in annual expenses for tuition in connection with enrollment or attendance at an elementary or secondary public, private, or religious school.

Note: Qualified expenses also include computers and related equipment used by a student while enrolled at an eligible educational institution; however, software designed for sports, games, or hobbies does not qualify unless it is predominantly educational in nature.

Federal Tax Rules

Income Tax. Contributions made by the account owner or other contributor are not deductible for federal income tax purposes, but many states offer deductions or credits. Earnings on contributions grow tax-free while in the program. Distribution for a purpose other than qualified education is taxed to the one receiving the distribution. In addition, a 10 percent penalty must be imposed on the taxable portion of the distribution, comparable to the 10 percent penalty in Section 530 Coverdell plans. Also, the account owner may change the beneficiary designation from one to another in the same family. Funds in the account roll over tax-free for the benefit of the new beneficiary.

Gift Tax. For gift tax purposes, contributions are treated as completed gifts even though the account owner has the right to withdraw them – thus they qualify for the up-to-$15,000 annual gift tax exclusion. One contributing more than $15,000 may elect to treat the gift as made in equal installments over that year and the following four years, so that up to $75,000 can be given tax-free in the first year.

Estate Tax. Funds in the account at the designated beneficiary’s death are included in the beneficiary’s estate – another odd result, since those funds may not be available to pay the tax. Funds in the account at the account owner’s death are not included in the owner’s estate, except for a portion thereof where the gift tax exclusion installment election is made for gifts over $15,000. For example, if the account owner made the election for a gift of $75,000 in 2018, a part of that gift is included in the estate if he or she dies within five years.

Tip: A Section 529 program can be an especially attractive estate-planning move for grandparents. There are no income limits, and the account owner giving up to $75,000 avoids gift tax and estate tax by living five years after the gift, yet has the power to change the beneficiary.

State Tax. State tax rules are all over the map. Some reflect the federal rules, some quite different rules. For specifics of each state’s program, see http://www.collegesavings.org.

Professional Guidance

Considering the differences among state plans, the complexity of federal and state tax laws, and the dollar amounts at stake, please call the office and speak to a tax and accounting professional before opening a 529 plan.

Tax Consequences of Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding websites such as Kickstarter, GoFundMe, Indiegogo, and Lending Club have become increasingly popular for both individual fundraising and small business owners looking for start-up capital or funding for creative ventures. The upside is that it’s often possible to raise the cash you need but the downside is that the IRS considers that money taxable income. Here’s what you need to know.

What is Crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project by gathering online contributions from a large group of backers. Crowdfunding was initially used by musicians, filmmakers, and other creative types to raise small sums of money for projects that were unlikely to turn a profit. Now it is used to fund a variety of projects, events, and products and in some cases, has become an alternative to venture capital.

There are three types of crowdfunding: donation-based, reward-based, and equity-based. Donation-based crowdfunding is when people donate to a cause, project, or event. GoFundMe is the most well-known example of donation-based crowdfunding with pages typically set up by a friend or family member (“the agent”) such as to help someone (“the beneficiary”) pay for medical expenses, tuition, or natural disaster recovery.

Reward-based crowdfunding involves an exchange of goods and services for a monetary donation, whereas, in equity-based crowdfunding, donors receive equity for their contribution.

Are Crowdfunding Donations Taxable?

This is where it can get tricky. As the agent, or person who set up the crowdfunding account, the money goes directly to you; however, you may or may not be the beneficiary of the funds. If you are both the agent and the beneficiary you would be responsible for reporting this income. If you are acting as “the agent”, and establish that you are indeed, acting as an agent for a beneficiary who is not yourself, the funds will be taxable to the beneficiary when paid–not to you, the agent. An easy way to circumvent this issue is to make sure when you are setting up a crowdfunding account such as GoFundMe you clearly designate whether you are setting up the campaign for yourself or someone else.

Again, as noted above, as the beneficiary, all income you receive, regardless of the source, is considered taxable income in the eyes of the IRS–including crowdfunding dollars. However, money donated or pledged without receiving something in return may be considered a “gift.” As such the recipient does not pay any tax. Up to $15,000 per year per recipient may be given by the “gift giver.”

Let’s look at an example of reward-based crowdfunding. Say you develop a prototype for a product that looks promising. You run a Kickstarter campaign to raise additional funding, setting a goal of $15,000 and offer a small gift in the form of a t-shirt, cup with a logo or a bumper sticker to your donors. Your campaign is more successful than you anticipated it would be and you raise $35,000–more than twice your goal.

Taxable sale. Because you offered something (a gift or reward) in return for a payment pledge it is considered a sale. As such, it may be subject to sales and use tax.

Taxable income. Since you raised $35,000, that amount is considered taxable income. But even if you only raised $15,000 and offered no gift, the $15,000 is still considered taxable income and should be reported as such on your tax return–even though you did not receive a Form 1099-K from a third party payment processor (more about this below).

Generally, crowdfunding revenues are included in income as long as they are not:

– Loans that must be repaid;
– Capital contributed to an entity in exchange for an equity interest in the entity; or
– Gifts made out of detached generosity and without any “quid pro quo.” However, a voluntary transfer without a “quid pro quo” isn’t necessarily a gift for federal income tax purposes.

Income offset by business expenses. You may not owe taxes however, if your crowdfunding campaign is deemed a trade or active business (and not a hobby) your business expenses may offset your tax liability.

Factors affecting which expenses could be deductible against crowdfunding income include whether the business is a start-up and which accounting method (cash vs. accrual) you use for your funds. For example, if your business is a startup you may qualify for additional tax benefits such as deducting startup costs or applying part or all of the research and development credit against payroll tax liability instead of income tax liability.

Timing of the crowdfunding campaign, receipt of funds, and when expenses are incurred also affect whether business expenses will offset taxable income in a given tax year. For instance, if your crowdfunding campaign ends in October but the project is delayed until January of the following year it is likely that there will be few business expenses to offset the income received from the crowdfunding campaign since most expenses are incurred during or after project completion.

How do I Report Funds on my Tax Return?

Typically, companies that issue third-party payment transactions such as Amazon if you use Kickstarter, PayPal if you use Indiegogo, or WePay if you use GoFundMe) are required to report payments that exceed a threshold amount of $20,000 and 200 transactions to the IRS using Form 1099-K, Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions. The minimum reporting thresholds of greater than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions apply only to payments settled through a third-party network; there is no threshold for payment card transactions.

Form 1099-K includes the gross amount of all reportable payment transactions and is sent to the taxpayer by January 31 if payments were received in the prior calendar year. Include the amount found on your Form 1099-K when figuring your income on your tax return, generally, Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business for most small business owners.

Again, tax law is not clear on this when it comes to crowdfunding donations. Some third-party payment processors may deem these donations as gifts and do not issue a 1099-K. This is why it is important to keep good records of transactions relating to your crowdfunding campaign including a screenshot of the crowdfunding campaign (it could be several years before the IRS “catches up”) and documentation of any money transfers.

Don’t Get Caught Short

If you’re thinking of crowdfunding to raise money for your small business or startup or for a personal cause, consult a tax and accounting professional first. Don’t make the mistake of using all of your crowdfunding dollars on your project and then discovering you owe tax and have no money with which to pay it.

Reduce Your Taxes: Make Your Spouse a Business Partner

Tax reform likely has you considering your business’s tax structure. We’ll show how you can use a spousal partnership to reduce your tax hit compared with a sole proprietorship. And here’s the real surprise: you can possibly save more money with this type of partnership compared with the S corporation.

Strategy Overview
It works like this:
1) You own an existing sole proprietorship or want to start a new business.
2) You and your spouse form a general partnership or limited liability company to manage the business.
3) You and your spouse provide cash or property for your interests in the new business.
4) Your spouse does not participate in any way in the business. He or she is merely an investor.

Here are the tax benefits to you:
– Your spouse’s income is free from self-employment tax.
– You and your spouse both still qualify for the new pass-through income deduction under Section 199A.
– The IRS audits partnerships at a much lower rate than proprietorships (Schedule Cs).
– You don’t have to worry about the costs or hassle of running payroll or determining your reasonable
compensation as you would if you operated the business as an S corporation.

Here are the potential issues:
– The passive activity rules limit your spouse’s use of any losses against regular income.
– Your cost of preparing a partnership return (but you’d have this cost with an S corporation, too).

No Self-Employment Tax?
Limited partners in a partnership don’t pay self-employment taxes on their share of partnership net income. To make your limited-partner situation crystal clear to the IRS, make sure your spouse meets the limited-partner requirements by:
– providing no services to the partnership
– complying with the limited partnership statute of your state
– and signing a document delegating management authority of the LLC to you.

Proposed regulations originally issued in 1996 would clarify who is a limited partner for self-employment tax purposes, but the Treasury Department never finalized them. Under the proposed regulations, a limited partner can’t have personal liability for the debts of the partnership by reason of being a partner, have authority to contract on behalf of the partnership, or participate in the partnership’s business for more than 500 hours during the partnership’s taxable year. (Note. Above, we recommended no participation for the spouse.)

Planning note. Although the IRS has not finalized the proposed regulations, you should follow them because they represent substantial authority and protect you from the substantial underpayment penalty.

Pass-Through Deduction
Tax reform gave you a new 20 percent pass-through deduction starting in 2018. Partnership pass-through income qualifies for Section 199A, but partnership guaranteed payments do not. Guaranteed payments compensate partners for services to the partnership and are self-employment income to the partner, and deductible as a business expense by the partnership. Unlike S corporations, which require reasonable compensation by salary for owner/employees, the tax law has no requirement that a partnership make guaranteed payments to its partners. Therefore, in your spousal partnership, you and your spouse can take cash distributions of the partnership profits and no guaranteed payments in order to maximize your pass-through deduction. Another bonus: unlike an S corporation, where shareholder distributions must be pro rata based on ownership interest, partnerships have no such requirement.

Example. Louis and Lisa, a married couple, have a partnership. Louis is a 60 percent partner and Lisa is a 40 percent partner. The partnership has net income of $100,000, and none of the Section 199A limitations apply to them. With no guaranteed payments, they get a $20,000 Section 199A deduction. If the partnership pays Louis a $50,000 guaranteed payment, then only the $50,000 partnership net income qualifies for the Section 199A deduction, reducing that deduction to $10,000 (20 percent of the net income).

Passive Loss Issues
Under the passive loss rules, a passive loss can only offset passive income. A limited partner’s interest in a partnership is automatically passive regardless of participation level. If it’s unlikely your business will suffer a loss, then this isn’t a major concern. If your business does have a loss, you’ll have to
carry forward the loss until there is passive income that can absorb it. If you have activities that create passive losses (a rental activity, for example), then the passive income created by this strategy could allow you to use your losses in the current tax year.

Example. John is a limited partner in his spouse’s business. The partnership passes through $10,000 of passive net income to John. John also owns a rental property that generates a $5,000 passive loss. John can net the partnership income and the rental loss and only pay taxes on the $5,000 of net passive income. This income offset works with privately held partnerships, but not with publicly traded partnerships, where the tax law requires separate application of the passive loss rules.

By the Numbers
Jean wants to start a graphic design business. She has three options:
1) Form a single-member LLC with herself as sole owner
2) Form a multimember LLC with her husband, Tom, who would have no involvement in the business
3) Form a single-member LLC or corporation and elect S corporation status

Let’s assume that the business nets $50,000 in the first year of operation, Jean’s S corporation reasonable compensation is $35,000, and they are in the 22 percent tax bracket. Here’s a comparison of four options.

Jean pays the least amount of taxes on the structure where her husband is a 40 percent limited partner. Note that the S corporation results in more tax than the single-member LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship because the increased pass-through deduction from the sole proprietorship negates the payroll tax savings from the move to the S corporation.

Takeaways
Tax planning after tax reform has mostly focused on C and S corporation tax strategies. But as you have just seen, in the right circumstances a spousal partnership can:
– provide optimal tax reduction over the sole proprietorship and S corporation,
– eliminate the need for payroll and reasonable compensation determinations, and
– reduce your overall risk of an IRS audit.

By running your partnership as a limited liability company, you also leave the door open to electing a different tax treatment in a later year if business changes make the S corporation a better tax strategy for you.

May 2018 Market Commentary: “Back to Normalcy?”

Markets were again plagued by volatility in May, largely due to heightened political risk. The US administration’s approach to global trade, North Korea and Iran remain uncertain, while Italy’s new populist government added to market concerns. Risk-off sentiment contributed to a significant rise in the value of the US dollar, which strengthened 2% vs. a basket of major currencies.

Despite the noise, the macro backdrop is still relatively supportive. The ongoing strength of global growth was evident in corporate earnings reports. Moreover, inflation remains benign, and so any interest rate normalisation looks set to be gradual. Therefore, despite significant intra-month swings, developed world equity markets rose over the month by more than 1% and broad fixed income markets were down around 1%.

US data was strong across the board. April consumer confidence is still close to the 17-year high reached in February, and the flash manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI)—the key business survey—increased in May, indicating an acceleration in the pace of activity into the second quarter. The tailwind to growth from tax reform and the energy sector should more than offset any drag to consumption caused by higher gasoline prices.

What has been unusual about recent events is not the volatility of the S&P 500, the unusual part is that the bond market has performed poorly at the same time. In fact, over the last 20 years there have only been four instances where the S&P 500 and the bond market both fell by more than 1% over a 3 month period….we just experienced one of those periods (February through April, the S&P 500 was down 5.8% and the bond market was down 1.1%). The only other times this occurred over the last 20 years was once in 2004 and twice in 2008.

Overall, the calm markets of 2017, which saw both bond and stock prices drifting gently upwards on a monthly basis, seem firmly behind us. Geopolitical risk is likely to continue to be felt most keenly in currency markets. We continue to believe that over the long term a combination of a large trade deficit and rising government debt should weigh on the value of the dollar. But in the near term, geopolitical risk is likely to coincide with dollar strength. Looking through the noise, we still expect a benign growth environment—characterised by above-trend growth, relatively low inflation and accommodative global monetary policy—to be supportive for earnings growth and equity markets. But a more unpredictable US administration and the re-emergence of political risk in Europe serve for caution in the degree of risk taken at this stage in the cycle.

We encourage you to tune out the markets (whatever they decide to do) and enjoy your summer. Rest assured, we will be here listening nonetheless…noise and all…focused on keeping your plans on track.

Tax Reform Increases the Tax Benefits of Employing Your Child

The recent tax reform eliminated personal exemptions for taxable years after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2026. This makes your child worthless to you on your Form 1040. But there is a way to get even or, perhaps, much more than even.

Let’s set the stage first. For taxable years after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2026, the standard deduction for a single taxpayer begins at $12,000 in 2018 and increases every year for inflation. The 2017 standard deduction for a single taxpayer was only $6,350.

The new standard deduction means that a single taxpayer such as your child can earn up to $12,000 in W-2 wages and pay not a penny in federal taxes. As the owner of a business, you have the advantage of being able to hire your child to work in your business, and that creates tax-saving opportunities for both you and your child.

Self-Employed Businesses

The big dollar benefits of hiring your child go to the Form 1040, Schedule C taxpayer and the husband-and-wife partnership because such businesses are exempt from FICA when they employ their children who are under age 18. The parental proprietorship and partnership hiring rules also exempt wages paid to a child under the age of 21 from unemployment taxes. Keep in mind that the single-member LLC that did not elect corporate tax treatment is taxed as a sole proprietorship for federal tax purposes.

Example. You employ your 9-, 11-, and 13-year-old children to work in your proprietorship. You pay them a fair market wage for the work they perform, and that just happens to equal $12,000 per child and total $36,000 for the year.

Children’s federal taxes. Zero! The $12,000 standard deduction zeroed each of the children out of federal income taxes for the year.

Your federal taxes. You claim the $36,000 W-2 wages deduction on your Schedule C, where it reduces both your income taxes and your self-employment taxes. If you are single with Schedule C income and taxable income of $120,000, you save at the 38.13 percent rate, for a total of $13,127. Of course, your tax rate is likely higher or lower than the example above, but you get the idea of how this works to your benefit. No taxes to the child and tax savings to you. Yes, you are having your cake and eating it, too.

 

S and C Corporations, Non-Spouse Partnerships, and Self-Employed Taxpayers with Children Age 18 and Over

When you hire the child under age 18, the Form 1040, Schedule C business and the partnership with only the child’s parents are exempt from Social Security, Medicare, and federal unemployment taxes. The S and C corporations and the non-spouse partnerships do not qualify for this benefit. They have to pay the payroll taxes on all employees—period. There is no parental benefit. (Similarly, the self-employed individual or the spouse-only partnership with a child age 21 or over does not qualify for any employment tax breaks.) This obviously changes the game. Let’s look at the three children above and apply the payroll taxes. Here’s how:

• $2,754 employer FICA taxes on the $36,000 in wages paid to the three children
• $2,754 employee FICA taxes extracted from the three children’s $36,000 in wages
• $1,200 in state and federal unemployment (this could be a little higher or lower depending on the employer’s experience with unemployment and the unemployment condition of the state where the business resides)

The payroll taxes above have left the pockets of either the children or the business entity. But the bottom line is that the money is now with the governments. All is not lost, and in most cases, this actually works out pretty well.

The business does get a tax deduction for its FICA and unemployment taxes. Let’s say this is your business and you operate it as an S corporation, so the net income passes to you. The tax deduction for hiring your three children is the $36,000 of wages paid, plus the $2,754 in FICA and the $1,200 in unemployment taxes, for a total of $39,954.

If you are in the 35 percent tax bracket, you save $13,984 on your $39,954 deduction. Remember, the children pay no income taxes, although they did suffer the $2,754 in FICA taxes.

Here’s the tally for the family:

Cash received from the government $13,984
Corporate cash paid out for FICA -$2,754
Corporate cash paid out for unemployment taxes -$1,200
Children’s cash paid out for FICA -$2,754
Net cash benefit to the family $7,276

You can see that payroll taxes take a toll, but they by no means kill the strategy. You, as the owner of this S corporation that hired the children, just put $7,276 in the pockets of the family. And you are going to do this for a number of years, so this one corporate strategy could be worth a lot of money to you. Of course, it’s unlikely that your savings will equal the calculation above. You might save more or less. Use the example above with your tax rates to calculate your exact savings.

Takeaways

If you can hire your children, the recent tax reform did you a big favor with the new $12,000 standard deduction.

The biggest benefits accrue to the Form 1040, Schedule C business or the spouse-only partnership when such a business can hire the under-age-18 child of the parent (or parents, in the case of the partnership). Why? Because with such a business, both the business and the parents are exempt from FICA taxes.

But every business where the owner can employ his or her children likely produces a nice financial benefit for the family. Make sure to review the tax savings in this article to see how you can come out ahead.

Maximize Your Travel Deduction

As you likely know by now (I love assuming everyone has read the new tax bill), your travel meals continue under tax reform as tax-deductible meals subject to the 50 percent cut. And tax reform did not change the rules that apply to your other travel expense deductions.

One beauty of being in business for yourself is the ability to pick your travel destinations and also deduct your travel expenses. For example, you can travel to exotic locations using the seven-day travel rule and/or attend conventions and seminars in boondoggle areas. From these examples, you can understand why the IRS might want to see proof of your business purpose for any trips, should it examine them.

With deductions for lodging, a meal, or other travel expenses, the rules governing receipts, business reasons, and canceled checks are the same for corporations, proprietorships, individuals, and employees. The entity claiming the tax deduction must keep timely records that prove the four elements listed below:

1. Amount. The amount of each expenditure for traveling away from home, such as the costs of transportation, lodging, and meals.
2. Time. Your dates of departure and return, and the number of days on business.
3. Place. Your travel destination described by city or town.
4. Business purpose. Your business reason for the travel, or the nature of the business benefit derived or expected to be derived.

When in tax-deductible travel status, you need a receipt, a paid bill, or similar documentary evidence to prove

• every expenditure for lodging, and
• every other travel expenditure of $75 or more, except transportation, for which no receipt is required if one is not readily available.

The receipt you need is a document that establishes the amount, date, place, and essential character of the expenditure.

Hotel example. A hotel receipt is sufficient to support expenditures for business travel if the receipt contains

• the name of the hotel,
• the location of the hotel,
• the date, and
• separate amounts for charges such as lodging, meals, and telephone.

Restaurant example. A restaurant receipt is sufficient to support an expenditure for a business meal if it contains the

• name and location of the restaurant,
• date and amount of the expenditure, and
• number of people served, plus an indication of any charges for an item other than meals and beverages, if such charges were made.

You can’t simply use your credit card statement as a receipt. Like a canceled check, it proves only that you paid the money, not what you purchased. To prove the travel expenditure, you need both the receipt (proof of purchase) and the canceled check or credit card statement (proof of payment).

In a nutshell, a travel expense is an expense of getting to and from the business destination and an expense of sustaining life while at the business destination. Here are some examples from the IRS:

• Costs of traveling by airplane, train, bus, or car between your home and your overnight business destination
• Costs of traveling by ship (subject to the luxury water travel rules and cruise ship rules)
• Costs of renting a car or taking a taxi, commuter bus, or airport limo from the airport to the hotel and to work destinations, including restaurants for meals
• Costs for baggage and shipping of business items needed at your travel destination
• Costs for lodging and meals (meal costs include tips to waiters and waitresses)
• Costs for dry cleaning and laundry
• Costs for telephone, computer, Internet, fax, and other communication devices needed for business
• Tips to bellmen, maids, skycaps, and others

The travel deduction rules are the same whether you operate your business as a corporation or a proprietorship, with one important exception. When you operate as a corporation during the tax years 2018 through 2025, you must either

• have the corporation reimburse you for the expenses, or
• have the corporation pay the expenses.

If You’re a S Corp, Review your Fringe Benefits

Fringe benefits are usually a good thing—but there’s a catch when you own more than 2 percent of an S corporation. The good news? Federal tax law allows the cost of these fringes as deductible expenses for your S corporation. The bad news? You, the shareholder-employee who owns more than 2 percent, may suffer additional taxes on some of the benefits because the tax code requires your corporation to put selected benefits on your W-2 (sometimes favorable, sometimes not).

Here’s the ugly rule that causes this problem. Under the federal income and employment tax rules for the most popular fringe benefits, tax law treats the more than 2 percent shareholder-employee of an S corporation as a partner. And—we know you are just waiting for this—more bad news: related-party stock attribution rules apply to the S corporation. Under these rules, tax law says that your spouse, parents, children, and grandchildren own the same stock you own—and if you employ them in your S corporation, their fringe benefits suffer the same ugly fate as your fringe benefits.

In this article, we are going to explain the following:

1. Four fringe benefits that are (a) deductible by your S corporation, (b) taxable to you as a shareholder who owns more than 2 percent, and then (c) deductible by you on your personal tax return. You can see that navigating this maze is a little crazy, and you have to do it right to make it work—which, of course, we explain how to do.
2. Six stinky fringe benefits. These benefits are stinky because, first, you get nothing from them because you are a shareholder-employee who owns more than 2 percent and, worse, you pay extra taxes because the “non-benefit to you” goes on your W-2 subject to FICA.
3. Three maybe (but maybe not) fringe benefits. This group of S corporation fringe benefits comes with special rules that can disqualify your eligibility for the benefits.
4. Four no-problem fringe benefits.

Four Beneficial but Somewhat Crazy Fringe Benefits

The following four fringe benefits work their way through a tax code maze to eventually produce a personal benefit to the shareholder-employee who owns more than 2 percent. For example, for the more than 2 percent shareholder-employee to get any tax benefit whatsoever from health insurance, he or she needs to follow the exact road map you see in No. 1 below.

1. Health Insurance

If you are a shareholder-employee who owns more than 2 percent of an S corporation and you want a tax benefit from your health insurance, you need to follow the three-step path that we lay out in Update: 2018 Health Insurance for S Corporation Owners. The three steps are described below:

1. Make the S corporation pay for your insurance premiums, either directly or through reimbursement to you.
2. Have the S corporation include the health insurance as wages not subject to FICA on your W-2.
3. Deduct (as an individual taxpayer) the cost of the premiums, using the self-employed health insurance deduction on page 1 of your Form 1040.

Warning No. 1—No Section 125 plan. You, as a more than 2 percent S corporation shareholder-employee, can destroy the S corporation’s tax-favored Section 125 cafeteria benefit plan. If you participate in the Section 125 plan, you disqualify the plan and make it taxable to yourself and all employee participants.

Warning No. 2—Beware of employees. The S corporation can pay for or reimburse your individual owned insurance because you are a shareholder who owns more than 2 percent. But your S corporation may not pay for or directly reimburse your employees for individually owned health insurance

An S corporation that directly pays for or reimburses employees for employee-arranged health insurance premiums (as opposed to paying premiums for company-arranged group coverage) faces the Affordable Care Act penalty of $100 a day per affected employee per day ($36,500 per employee per year).

2. Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs)

As a shareholder-employee who owns more than 2 percent, you don’t gain any extra benefit from a Section 105 plan or other HRA. If the S corporation reimburses the more than 2 percent shareholder-employee using a health reimbursement plan or account, it simply creates W-2 treatment for the shareholder. If health insurance costs are included in the reimbursement, the shareholder treats the health insurance costs included in his or her W-2 as discussed in No. 1 above.

For medical reimbursements other than health insurance that the S corporation reports on the W-2, the shareholder itemizes those deductions on Schedule A of the Form 1040.

3. Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)

The S corporation treats contributions to the more than 2 percent shareholder-employee’s health savings account (HSA) as W-2 income exempt from FICA and Medicare, and the shareholder-employee deducts the HSA on his or her Form 1040.

4. Disability Insurance

The S corporation treats the premiums paid for an income replacement disability policy on a more than 2 percent shareholder-employee as wages for withholding tax purposes that are exempt from FICA and unemployment taxes. Under this requirement, the more than 2 percent shareholder-employee actually paid the disability premiums personally because of the W-2 treatment, and that means he or she collects the disability income tax-free.

 

Six Stinky Fringe Benefits

What makes a fringe benefit stinky? The stinky fringe benefit gives your S corporation a tax deduction for the compensation that it includes on your W-2. Effectively, this gives you a zero tax benefit from the stinky fringe benefit. The stinky fringe benefit increases the corporation’s FICA taxes on the compensation it has to add to your W-2 and the stinky fringe benefit increases your personal FICA taxes because of the compensation added to your W-2.

In summary, the stinky fringe benefit is absolutely NO benefit to you, and it increases both your and your corporation’s FICA taxes. That’s really stinky.

Stinky No. 1: Group Term Life Insurance

Your S corporation treats the cost of any company-provided group term life insurance coverage as wages to you SUBJECT TO FICA. You, the shareholder-employee, have no tax code section that allows you to deduct the group term life insurance on your personal tax return.

To see how good or bad the idea of having the group health insurance cover a more than 2 percent shareholder-employee is, you need to compare the cost savings (if any) of the group insurance with the additional FICA taxes paid by both you and your S corporation. For your S corporation’s regular employees, you can provide up to $50,000 of group term life insurance tax-free.

Stinky No. 2: Qualified Moving Expense Reimbursements

For tax years beginning January 1, 2018, and before January 1, 2026, tax reform eliminates both the fringe benefits and tax deductions for moving expenses. This applies both to employees and to shareholder-employees who own more than 2 percent. If your S corporation provides moving expense reimbursements to a more than 2 percent shareholder-employee, the corporation treats the reimbursement as wages subject to FICA. Having your S corporation reimburse you, the more than 2 percent shareholder-employee, for moving expenses was and is a bad idea because both your S corporation and you, the employee, pay FICA taxes on the amounts included on your W-2.

Planning tip. Pay the moving expenses yourself. That way you save the corporation its FICA, which increases the S corporation income that flows through to you. And second, you save yourself the FICA taxes that apply to you, the W-2 employee.

Stinky No. 3: Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits

Your S corporation has to treat as wages subject to FICA and FUTA any qualified transportation fringe benefits it pays to you, the more than 2 percent shareholder-employee. As you’ve seen, the inclusion of the monies on your W-2 does more than just eliminate the benefit—it makes you and your corporation pay additional FICA taxes. So, forget this fringe benefit for the shareholders who own more than 2 percent.

Instead, and especially if you are the sole owner of the S corporation, follow a strategy that allows your S corporation to deduct your cost of transportation and more without creating wages for you, as detailed in S Corporation? Office in the Home? Learn How to Escape Taxes.

Rank and file. Note that tax reform has made transportation fringe benefits granted to employees a less attractive offering from the employer perspective.

Stinky No. 4: Meals and Lodging

Meals and/or lodging that are provided by the company to a more than 2 percent shareholder-employee for the company’s convenience (for example, because the shareholder-employee must be on the company premises for overnight duty) are treated as wages subject to FICA. The amounts included in the shareholder-employee’s income are not deductible by the shareholder-employee on his or her personal tax return.

Rank and file. The S corporation may provide lodging and meals for the convenience of the employer to employees who are not shareholders who own more than 2 percent.

Stinky No. 5: Qualified Employee Achievement Program

Your S corporation treats the cost of a qualified employee achievement award given to a more than 2 percent shareholder-employee as wages subject to FICA at both the corporate and employee levels. The more than 2 percent shareholder-employee may not deduct the value of an employee achievement award on his or her Form 1040.

Rank and file. The S corporation may deduct the cost of qualified achievement awards given tax-free to employees other than shareholder-employees who own more than 2 percent.

Stinky No. 6: Qualified Adoption Assistance

If your S corporation pays you, the more than 2 percent shareholder-employee, the adoption assistance fringe benefit, the corporation has to put that payment on your W-2 as wages subject to FICA. You may, of course, claim the adoption tax credit allowed by the tax code on your personal tax return (your IRS Form 1040).

Planning tip. Pay the adoption expenses yourself. Don’t let your S corporation pay the monies and then put those monies on your W-2. By paying the monies yourself, you save both the corporation and yourself the FICA taxes.

Rank and file. Your S corporation may establish an adoption assistance fringe benefit that’s tax-free to employees who are not shareholders who own more than 2 percent.

 

Three Maybe (but Maybe Not) Fringe Benefits

The three fringe benefits in this section face special tax code disallowance rules that often take these benefits away from the S corporation shareholder-employee who owns more than 2 percent.

Maybe No. 1: Qualified Educational Assistance Program

The qualified educational assistance program fails as a qualified program and is not tax favored for ANY employee when more than 5 percent of the benefits are provided to shareholder-employees who own more than 2 percent or their spouses or dependents.

You may, however, be able to provide this benefit to your child if he or she is an employee and certain other conditions are met. For more on this, see Business Tax Deductions with Section 127 Plan for Child’s College.

Rank and file. The qualified educational assistance program is relatively easy to implement when all the benefits are going to employees who are not shareholder-employees who own more than 2 percent of the S corporation.

Maybe No. 2: Qualified Dependent Care Assistance Program

Your S corporation can implement a qualified dependent care assistance program, but if more than 25 percent of benefits paid for dependent care assistance during the year are provided to those who own more than 5 percent, the program fails as a tax-favored program and the benefits are taxable for all participants.

Maybe No. 3: Working Condition Fringe Benefits

Your S corporation’s ability to provide a working condition fringe benefit to all employees—including you, the more than 2 percent shareholder-employee—is found in tax code Section 132(d), which states:

For purposes of this section, the term “working condition fringe” means any property or services provided to an employee of the employer to the extent that, if the employee paid for such property or services, such payment would be allowable as a deduction under section 162 or 167.

Tax reform adds a fly to the ointment because it does not allow miscellaneous itemized deductions (where you claim employee business expenses) for any taxable year beginning after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2026. Does this mean that working condition fringe benefits are not deductible by your S corporation during this period because of tax reform? Maybe, but maybe not.

Planning tip. We think you should proceed as if the working condition fringe benefit requirements were unchanged by tax reform. To us, sloppy drafting of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act inadvertently overlooked IRC Section 132(d) when disallowing employee business expenses, and we expect that oversight to be corrected.

Working condition fringes that your S corporation can provide to you, the more than 2 percent shareholder-employee, and/or your employees include:

• Use of the corporate-owned car for business purposes
• A smartphone, when provided for non-compensatory reasons
• Job-related education

 

Four No-Problem Fringe Benefits

Your S corporation can provide you, as a shareholder-employee who owns more than 2 percent, and its other employees with the following fringe benefits, which are tax-free to the employees and deductible by the S corporation:

1. De minimis fringe benefits. De minimis fringe benefits include occasional use of the company copy machine, holiday and birthday gifts with a low value, occasional parties and picnics for employees and their guests, and occasional tickets to the theater or sporting events.
2. No-additional-cost services. No-additional-cost services are excess capacity services, such as airline, bus, or train tickets; hotel rooms; or telephone services provided free, at a reduced price, or through a cash rebate to employees working in those lines of business.
3. Qualified employee discounts. This exclusion applies to a price reduction you give your employee on property or services you offer to customers in the ordinary course of the line of business in which the employee performs substantial services. The employee discounts can be up to 20 percent on services and the gross profit percentage on merchandise.
4. On-premises athletic facilities. Your S corporation can exclude the value of an employee’s use of an on-premises gym or other athletic facility from the employee’s wages if substantially all use of the facility during the calendar year is by the corporation’s employees, their spouses, and their dependent children.

Takeaways

As you have learned, you need to pay attention when it comes to the fringe benefits that your S corporation is going to offer you, the shareholder-employee who owns more than 2 percent. And of course, you have to pay attention when your S corporation offers fringe benefits to rank-and-file employees, too.

In “Four Beneficial but Somewhat Crazy Fringe Benefits,” you learned that the corporation puts the fringe benefit on your W-2 free of FICA taxes so that you can obtain a tax deduction on your personal income return.

In “Six Stinky Fringe Benefits,” you learned how to make both yourself and your S corporation pay extra FICA taxes on non-benefits to you. You can think of this as shooting yourself in the foot. It’s unnecessary and painful.

In “Three Maybe (but Maybe Not) Fringe Benefits,” you learned how special benefit rules can (and likely do) rob you of both the educational assistance and the dependent care assistance programs. With the working condition fringe benefits, you found a fly in the ointment caused by the recent tax reform—and why we think you can ignore it.

In the final section, you finally got to smile as you learned about the four no-problem fringe benefits that your S corporation can give tax-free to you and all your corporation’s employees. That’s really what a fringe benefit is supposed to be—a tax-free benefit.

Four Medicaid Rules that will Save you Money

Many couples face an uphill battle when one spouse has a catastrophic health crisis and needs long-term care. Most people are uninsured for the risk of the Medicaid spenddown and often the healthy spouse is faced with sticker shock when the nursing home bills start coming in. There are four rules that – when used together – can help the community spouse avoid financial devastation.

                               RULE 1: THE 5-YEAR LOOKBACK

In every state but California, Medicaid uses a 60-month lookback rule on the transfer of assets. When a nursing home patient applies for Medicaid, the state will look at five years of bank and account statements. As part of the eligibility review process, the state makes the applicant account for any gifted funds or any assets transferred without receiving full consideration. For instance, a gift of $50,000 would trigger a transfer penalty for the full amount. But if the applicant sold a $150,000 house to his granddaughter for $100,000 they would treat that the same as gifting the $50,000 in cash.

Penalties are prospective from the date of application. Assuming the average cost of care is $10,000 a month. Medicaid determines the penalty by dividing the average cost of care into the total gift. The applicant who gave away $50,000 would be ineligible for nursing home care for five months after the application was filed with the department. What confuses a lot of people is the idea that there is no way to help the healthy spouse protect assets because it would have had to have been done prior to the 5-year lookback window. That’s simply not true. Most asset protection techniques are designed to work AFTER the patient enters the nursing home.

                                RULE 2: THE SNAPSHOT DATE

When a married couple has one spouse in the nursing home and another spouse living at home (called the “community spouse” by Medicaid), the amount of money they are required to spend down is governed by a formula. States either use the one-half deduction formula or the straight deduction formula, both of which are confusing to the average community spouse. In 2018, the maximum a community spouse can keep is $123,600. This is known as the Community Spouse Resource Allowance (“CSRA”).

The CSRA is determined based upon the value of the assets on the snapshot date. The snapshot date is typically tied to the date of institutionalization that proceeds the first thirty days of care. Some states make it the actual date in time and others make it the first of the month when that occurs. Countable assets (i.e., assets which count towards the spenddown) are added up on the snapshot to determine how much the community spouse can keep and what amount must be spent to achieve Medicaid eligibility. Many nursing homes DO NOT disclose this to the nursing home patients or their spouses because there is hope that they will private pay longer than is required.

A married couple with $400,000 in countable assets would only be able to keep the CSRA of $123,600 and would be on track to have to spend down $276,400 before Medicaid eligibility can be established. That amount represents the couple’s total exposure to the spenddown. Given the high cost of care, this couple is likely to spend down three-fourths of their retirement savings on the cost of care in slightly over two years. When determining the assets available on the snapshot date, Medicaid counts assets owned by both spouses and does not care if there is a prenuptial agreement in place.

                RULE 3: THE ASSET-TO-INCOME RULE

Excess recourses can be converted into income. This is known as the “asset-to-income rule” although it’s not called such in the Medicaid statutes. Medicaid has specific rules on the use of promissory notes and certain Single Premium Immediate Annuities (SPIAs) that it deems to be compliant with strict rules on payout and revocability. These annuities are known as the Medicaid safe harbor annuities because of the safe harbor language protecting these annuities written right into the federal Medicaid statute in 2006. The purchase of a Medicaid safe harbor annuity converts countable assets into income. These are typically purchased on behalf of the community spouse who is not required to contribute her income towards the cost of her husband’s care in the nursing home once he’s on Medicaid. As long as the annuity meets all safe harbor rules, the purchase is NOT considered a transfer for less than fair market value and the five-year lookback rule does not come into effect.

Because there is typically a desire to maximize the amount of money a community spouse can keep liquid, the purchase of the annuity often takes place after the patient goes into the nursing home in states that use the one-half deduction formula. This way the community spouse can have all of the countable resources available on the snapshot date to maximize the CSRA. Then the excess resources are placed into the Medicaid safe harbor annuity and the couple applies for Medicaid. The purchase of the annuity brings the couple’s countable assets below the resource limit IMMEDIATELY!

                                RULE 4: ONLY ONE MARITAL SPENDDOWN

Many people – advisors included – falsely think that the CSRA is an ongoing asset limit for the healthy spouse. However, the last rule to note here is that there is only ever one spenddown for a married couple when the CSRA is set. Once the assets have fallen below the CSRA, the couple applies for Medicaid for the institutional spouse. On the first Medicaid application they look at both spouse’s assets held individually or jointly to determine if the couple has spent down below the resource limit. Once the Medicaid department determines that they have, Medicaid is approved for the spouse in the nursing home. On subsequent redeterminations, Medicaid no longer inquiries about the community spouse’s assets except to make sure that assets held jointly were given exclusively to the community spouse. Those assets can no longer be held in the name of the institutional spouse whose assets will be limited to the state’s individual countable resource allowance (usually $2,000 or thereabout depending on the state).

The community spouse can re-accumulate funds from the annuity or promissory note and re-invest those funds. Because the community spouse’s countable assets do not factor into future eligibility for the nursing home spouse, she does not need to keep her countable assets below the resource limit.

                

    

 

 

 

April 2018 Market Recap: Where Do We Go From Here?

I’m confused.  We’re enjoying a highly unusual financial “cocktail” these days that combines one part low inflation, one part low unemployment, one part strong earnings and one part low interest rates.  We should be happier – share prices should be moving up – but they’re not.  Do you share my concerns?

First quarter real GDP growth came in at a respectable 2.3%, easing slightly from the robust growth experienced throughout 2017. Markets have experienced heightened volatility so far in 2018 compared to 2017. Geopolitical headlines continue to play a significant role in perceived risk, with particular focus on tariff negotiations with China and tensions in Syria. Coupled with uncertainty over the role of Iran in the international community, oil prices rose 7% over the month. As a result, commodities were the top performing asset class (up 2.2% YTD and 2.6% in April). The oil price rallied. The International Energy Agency announced that the excess oil inventories that had kept prices low have now disappeared thanks to the production cuts put in place by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the strength of global oil demand. According to consensus estimates the oil price could rise further, also boosted by the prospect of sanctions on Iran.

Despite market volatility, economic readings continue to support a healthy expansion (According to Bloomberg, 180 companies in the S&P 500 Index that have reported first-quarter earnings have seen their effective tax rate drop by an average of 6%). The consumer remains confident with the US consumer confidence reading exceeding analysts expectations in April, rebounding from a slight decline in March. The Department of Labor’s initial jobless claims report came in at 209,000, marking the longest sub-300,000 recording since 1967. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1% for the sixth consecutive month. The manufacturing side of the economy continues to perform well.

The S&P 500® Index followed two consecutive months of losses with a slim gain of 0.22% in April. While most of the 11 sectors of the S&P 500 had modest gains or losses, the Energy sector enjoyed one of its largest monthly gains in years. Energy was up 9.36% in April, as oil prices continued to stage a strong recovery. Investor fervor for “growth” stocks appears intact, as the technology-laden NASDAQ Index remains by far the best performing domestic index year-to-date. Investors also appear to be favoring companies less exposed to geopolitical concerns and tariff issues. As such, small-capitalization stocks (Russell 2000) posted a relatively strong April, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is trailing year-to-date. Internationally, worries of a Eurozone economic slowdown eased in April, resulting in a rebound in the MSCI EAFE Index.

With the U.S. 10-year yield pushing past 3% and reaching its highest level since January 2014 investors are wondering why are yields rising now? As I highlight in the below chart for the last few years two anchohave been weighing down on the back-end of the yield curve: demand from international investors for U.S. fixed income and a lack of inflationary pressure. In 2018 both of these anchors have begun to lighten.
Rising hedging costs have eroded the relative attractiveness of U.S. fixed income to overseas investors. Falling demand from overseas has pushed U.S. bond prices down and forced yields higher. Inflationary pressure is driven higher by the falling U.S. dollar, which increases to the price of imports into the U.S. and oil prices moving higher. With inflation now back on investor’s radar, bond yields have begun to grind higher. The takeaway for investors is that higher bond yields are likely here to stay as both anchors continue to lighten in 2018. We encourage investors to remain flexible when managing duration, sectors and geographies during this tough time for fixed income markets.

Despite some risks related to trade restrictions, geopolitical noise and expectations of tighter monetary policy, markets remain on track thanks to signs that the global economy continues to expand, inflation is only rising gradually and earnings growth is healthy.