This is being written as the bill is still in progress. Edits may be required as more information becomes available. Please check back for updates and be sure to consult a financial professional before implementing any of the strategies suggested in this post. The Senate has passed an emergency relief bill that is expected to pass the House later this week. The package is over $2 trillion in scope, $6 trillion if you include loan provisions, and is the largest relief bill in the history of the United States. Relief Payments Made Directly to TaxpayersLet’s start with the direct payment checks you have probably heard about. In general, individuals will receive payments of $1,200 and joint filers $2,400, plus $500 for each qualifying child. The definition of a qualifying child is already in the current Child Tax Credit Guidelines i.e. if you claim someone as a dependent child on your tax return in 2020 then they’ll qualify for the additional $500 per child payment. High income taxpayers will see these amount reduced as income exceeds $150,000 for joint filers, $112,500 for head of household, and $75,000 for single filers. For every $100 over those limits the payment is reduced by $5 until you reach zero. That means joint filers earning $198,000 or more, heads of households earning $136,500 or more and single filers earning $99,000 or more will receive nothing. The payments will be based on the most recent tax return filed. So, if you have already filed for 2019 you are stuck with those earnings. If you have not filed for 2019, then your payment will be based on 2018 return information. If your income is higher in 2019 than 2018 DO NOT FILE YOUR TAXES UNTIL LATER. On the other hand, if your 2019 income is lower than 2018 IT IS IMPORTANT TO FILE YOUR TAXES NOW. The payments will be direct deposited for taxpayers who elected to have direct deposit on their income tax forms. This could be a problem if the direct deposit instructions you provided in 2018 are to an account that has since been closed, or if you have divorced or separated since your 2018 tax filing. Within 15 days of the money being released, the IRS will send a letter informing you of the amount and where it was sent. If there is an issue with your payment, like it never arrived or went to a divorced spouse, the letter will include a phone number where you can call to resolve the issue, but unfortunately, the IRS is difficult to communicate with in general. Required Minimum Distributions from IRA Accounts SuspendedFor the tax year 2020, there are no required minimum distributions (RMDS) from IRA accounts. If you have already withdrawn your RMDs for 2020, you cannot undo that. If you haven't taken your RMD yet, consider how delaying or withdrawing your RMD will affect your income tax brackets. For inherited IRA accounts required withdrawals are also eliminated for the 2020 tax year. Corona Virus Distributions from Qualified Retirement PlansDistributions of up to $100,000 from any IRA, 401k, 403b, or other qualified plan will not be subject to the usual 10% early withdrawal penalty for those who are infected with the COVID virus, have a family member infected by the virus, or were laid off or lost wages due to the virus. The distribution is still taxable, but the income, by default, will be spread over a 3-year period. This can help you access funds without bumping yourself into a much higher income tax bracket. It could potentially be used to advance fund Roth IRA conversions. More on that as we have time to digest all the ins and outs of the legislation. The law also allows for repayment of any qualified plan distributions over a 3-year period as a qualified rollover contribution. So, if you need the funds now and are re-employed later, you will be able to replace the funds, offsetting any potential tax bracket increase in the future. Allowable loans from qualified plans, such as a 401ks, are also increased to $100,000 or 100% of the vested account balance, whichever is lower. Repayment of any loan taken in 2020 can be delayed for up to one year. Charitable Contribution DeductionAfter the recent Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), many taxpayers found themselves using the increased standard deduction and no longer itemizing on their income tax return. That eliminated the charitable contribution deduction. One of the permanent changes the relief bill provides is a new above the line deduction for up to $300 of cash contributions to a qualified charity. This does not include contributions to donor advised funds. *Again, this is a preliminary look at the relief bill, we will provide updates and corrections as new information becomes available
What's the Problem?IRAs that will be inherited by anyone except a spouse, minor children, beneficiaries with disabilities, and anyone who is ten years or less younger than the IRA owner, are now to be completely distributed over 10 years, rather than the lifetime of the heir. Why is this a Problem?With a shortened time span to distribute inherited IRAs, taxable income generated from an inherited IRA, in addition to one’s normal earned income, can cause uncharacteristically high tax bills if appropriate tax planning is not executed. In larger inherited IRAs, tens of thousands of tax dollars are at stake. What are some Solutions to the SECURE Act?
Tax Planning for the SECURE ActWith the passage of the SECURE Act, stretch IRAs became a thing of the past. Rather than allowing beneficiaries to withdraw funds based on their life expectancy, the Act requires IRA beneficiaries to make a total distribution of all funds from the IRA within 10 years, with limited exceptions for spouses, minor children, beneficiaries with disabilities, and anyone who is ten years or less younger than the IRA owner. Congress passed the Act knowing the net effect would be higher income taxes to most IRA beneficiaries. According to the Congressional Research Service, the elimination of the stretch IRA alone has the potential to generate about $15.7 billion in tax revenue over the next decade. For many beneficiaries, the inherited IRA will come during their peak earnings years when their income tax rate could be at a maximum. The effect of high earnings and additional taxable distributions from a Beneficiary IRA could cause the net value of the IRA to be reduced by 30% or more. To minimize to tax bite of an IRA inheritance, both the original IRA owner and the beneficiary will need to do diligent tax planning. How IRA Owners can Minimize Taxes from the SECURE ActRoth IRA Conversions Now, more than ever, converting Traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs should be examined. We strongly believe almost everyone should convert enough funds from a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA to fill the 12% income tax bracket each year. 12% is a fair tax rate for most taxpayers and it’s much easier to implement effective tax planning for inherited Roth IRAs than for inherited Traditional IRAs. Having assets in a Roth IRA has advantages for the original IRA owner as well. It will reduce the amount of required minimum distributions (RMDs) when you reach age 72 (up from 70 ½, a positive from the SECURE Act), as well as provide more flexibility in managing your income-tax rate in retirement. For a free Roth conversion flow chart that will help you understand how a Roth conversion can work for you click here. While we usually don’t recommend going beyond the 12% bracket for Roth conversions, there could be certain circumstances where that might be appropriate. For example, if you don’t need the assets in your Traditional IRA for your retirement lifestyle and all of your heirs are high wage earners, it might be better for you to pay a 22% tax rate now rather than leaving the IRA to an heir who may be taxed 32-40% on those same assets. Naming Grandchildren as Partial IRA Beneficiaries If you have grandchildren, including them as partial beneficiaries of your IRA can potentially increase the net value of an inherited IRA. For example, suppose you have a $500,000 IRA, two children, and four minor grandchildren. Both children and their spouses work and earn $150,000 per year in combined taxable income, so under current income tax law that puts them in the 22% marginal Federal income tax bracket. With a Beneficiary IRA of $250,000 each, if they take equal distributions from their Beneficiary IRA of $25,000 per year for 10 years, they will be pushed into the 24% bracket and thus nearly every dollar distributed from the Beneficiary IRA is taxed at the 24% level. Or worse, say they wait to take the full $250,000 distributions in year 10 or another single year—they would jump into the 32% Federal tax bracket. To steer some IRA assets away from being taxed at those higher tax brackets you could earmark a portion of the IRA to go to each grandchild. Under current rules, any minor can have $1,100/year of unearned income with no income tax liability. This kiddie tax rate applies to children under the age of 19 and college students under the age of 24. Every year $1,100 is distributed from your grandchild’s inherited IRA tax-free, resulting in a savings of $242 each year the child qualifies. If the child has earned income during their teen years, the distributions can be increased to fund a Traditional IRA or Roth IRA for the child’s benefit. Smart tax-planning could combine Traditional and Roth IRA contributions to eliminate all taxes on the child’s earnings. Once the child reaches the age of majority, the ten-year rule begins. It is unlikely the grandchild’s earnings will place them in a top bracket fresh out of school, so the strategy of offsetting distributions with tax-deferred savings could allow your grandchild to build a nice retirement nest egg without much loss to income taxes. To accomplish this, you must be sure to name a custodian for the minor grandchildren since minors cannot make financial decisions for themselves. The custodian could be a parent, but one must be named. Another important factor in determining the dollar amount that should be allocated to a grandchild is the age of the grandchild when they receive the Beneficiary IRA. Most IRA owners will name a spouse as a primary beneficiary and that is perfectly fine. Spouses are exempt from the ten-year distribution rules. Children are generally named as contingent beneficiaries, in some equitable percentage of the account value. Most custodians only allow for simple percentage distributions to be named beneficiaries and that could create some problems. For complex beneficiary strategies, using a pass-through trust might be a better solution. Using Pass-Through Trusts Correctly If you’ve already established a trust as the beneficiary of your IRA, it is imperative that you review and update that trust. Most trusts have language that instructs the trustee to pay out the required minimum distribution (RMD) to the beneficiary each year. Under the SECURE Act, there are no annual RMDs until the end of the 10-year term, then the required distribution is 100% of the account value. This is a tax time bomb just waiting to explode. At a minimum, you must rewrite the trust to allow flexibility for distributions, which also provide flexibility for income tax planning for the beneficiary(ies) of your IRA. Realizing a $500,000 Beneficiary IRA distribution through a trust in one single year will likely subject the distribution to the maximum income tax rate of 37%, plus a 3.8% Medicare surtax on some of the recipient’s income. This is just for the Federal level taxes; add in state income taxes and the beneficiary may only end up with 50% of the original account value-- certainly not what you had in mind when you drew up the trust. Most IRA custodians do not allow for complex IRA beneficiary schemes, so the ability of pass-through trusts to manage distributions to multiple generations becomes much more important. Through a trust you can establish custodians for minor beneficiaries, name an investment and income tax counselor, and provide for flexibility in the timing of distributions during the 10-year window allowed under the SECURE Act, or even longer in the case of minor children. Although establishing the trust incurs more expense and investment of time and thought, the result can certainly provide enough benefit to owners of substantial IRA assets and their families to make it worthwhile. How Beneficiaries Can Reduce Taxes from an Inherited IRAOff-Setting Distributions with Tax-Deductible SavingsFor many Beneficiary IRA owners, the biggest tax planning opportunity will be to simply manage the distributions over the 10-year period. One strategy would be to offset the taxable Beneficiary IRA distributions with additional tax-deferred savings. To do this, simply increase savings to an employer’s retirement plan such as a 401k, 403b, or other tax-deferred plan, or establish and contribute to a separate deductible Traditional IRA or self-employed retirement plan of your own. Any form of tax-deductible contribution will reduce the impact on income realized from one’s Beneficiary IRA dollar-for-dollar. Let’s go back to our previous example with the $500,000 IRA. If the IRA owner’s children in this illustration are like most investors, they only contribute about 5% of their salaries to an employee retirement plan in order to maximize the company matching formula-- a.k.a get the free money. This means the parents are likely contributing much less than the $19,500 maximum salary deferral allowed by the IRS. Let’s assume the decedent’s children can defer an additional $15,000 for each spouse in their employer 401k plans. If they defer the additional $30,000 in one year, they can distribute another $30,000 from their Beneficiary IRA(s). This results in a wash for $30,000 of distributions from the Beneficiary IRA as it would swap funds from one tax-deferred account to another and fulfill the original IRA owner’s estate planning intent. Inherited Roth IRAsWhile inherited Roth IRAs are easier to manage from an income tax perspective, you should put some thought into the options. The most obvious option is to do nothing until the final day of the ten-year withdrawal period and then take a distribution of the entire account. This maximizes the tax-free growth of the inherited Roth IRA and because the distribution is tax free, has no effect on the recipient’s tax rate. If the beneficiary is not making maximum retirement plan contributions when they inherit the Roth IRA, taking distributions along the way and using those funds to fund their own Roth IRA, or even better-- make contributions to a Roth 401k-- could mean you really do get to stretch the inherited Roth IRA over your lifetime. Non-deductible 401k contributions, up to the annual $19,500 limit, will work as well. When you retire, the non-deductible contributions, but not the earnings, can be rolled over into your own Roth IRA. Taking money from one pocket and moving it to the other pocket, that has no hole in it, (i.e. tax-free) makes a lot of sense. The Role of Your Financial Planner The SECURE Act makes working with a financial planner more important than ever before. Earning an 8% or even 10% return on your investments pales in comparison to shielding 30% or more of your assets from the ravages of our income tax system. To get started on a plan to preserve your IRA assets, click HERE.
With the end of the year approaching, now is the time to look for opportunities to save on income taxes. Here are some items you should look for:
In Charleston and Myrtle Beach, clients and potential clients often assume the Affordable Care Act (ACA) only helps low earning individuals and families. This is far from the case. When using proper financial planning strategies, some families can make up to $239,000 and still qualify for the healthcare subsidy. Over 10 million Americans utilized Affordable Care Act (ACA) healthcare insurance in 2018, 87% of which received some sort of subsidy to help them pay for that insurance. Many receiving that subsidy don’t understand the how and why of the program; and many who aren’t receiving the subsidy don’t realize just how close they may be to pocketing thousands in tax relief via the Premium Tax Credit. We’re going to walk you through a broad overview, without getting into too much detail, so you may determine if you can qualify for the Premium Tax Credit and what strategies you can implement to help you qualify. Who qualifies for tax relief from the Affordable Care Act in 2020? How do you determine your Modified Gros Income (MAGI)? Start with Gross Income which, for simplicity, is any income you receive throughout the year. Next, you’ll need to determine your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). You’ll do this by subtracting:
Finally, to determine your MAGI, add-back to your AGI:
We see that for most people, the only way to lower your MAGI number is to increase the deductions that calculate your AGI, such as 401k (or any qualified employer plan), IRA (SEP, SIMPLE, Traditional) and HSA contributions—therefore we use these deductions in our general example below. Theoretically, the following gross compensations can be earned with corresponding contributions reducing overall MAGI: Often families cannot afford to, or choose not to, dedicate the maximum amounts to these accounts. We recommend establishing a strategy each year for qualifying for the Premium Tax Credit that matches your personal and financial goals.
Keep in mind, this is a general overview. There are many other rules that can change these calculations, such as non-working Spousal IRA contributions which phase out at certain income levels and the catch-up provisions afforded to anyone over the age of 50 for IRAs and 55 for HSAs; The goal of this article is to give a broad overview so you may pinpoint exactly where your family sits in reference to the Premium Tax Credit eligibility. If you’d like a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ to help create and manage a tax strategy that will aims to qualify your family for the Premium Tax Credit click here. Okay-- you just completed your income tax return for last year. You want to file it away and not worry about taxes until next year, but before you do-- take a look at your completed return to identify ways you can save tax dollars next year. Income tax planning can add to your future net worth and your future income streams. Here is a line by line view of some of the things that good income tax planning can do to improve your financial life. Taxable Income Line 10 on your new 1040 return shows your taxable income after all deductions. Knowing your marginal income tax rate is the first step to efficient income tax planning. Lowering your income taxes in the current tax year is not always the best long-term strategy, lowering your lifetime income tax liability is often much more important. For 2019, the federal income tax brackets for individuals are: Your marginal income tax rate is the amount you would pay on your last dollar. For example, a single person with taxable income of $84,201 would pay a 24% rate on only one dollar of income, not their total taxable income. They would in fact pay 10% on their first $9,700 of taxable income, then 12% on the next $29,775, then 22% on the next $44,725, and finally 24% on the last dollar of taxable income. It is important to remember that the current income tax rates for individuals are scheduled to revert to the pre Tax Cuts and Jobs Act rates in 2025. Barring tax changes passed by Congress in the interim, you have six years to utilize the current brackets to your benefit. Managing Your Income Tax BracketDepending on your income level, managing the income tax bracket you fall in may mean realizing extra income to take advantage of a favorable rate; or you may want to lower your taxable income to qualify for a lower tax bracket or other income tax benefits (such as Obamacare). In my opinion the 12% bracket is extremely valuable. Married couples can have up to $78,950 of taxable income and pay no more than 12% in federal income taxes. Less than 25% of American households have taxable income above this level and I believe the odds of their marginal income tax rate falling is quite small. If you are among the many that fall into the 12% rate, you should look for ways to pay taxes on as much income as you can without moving into the 22% bracket. Some of the things you should consider are: Contribute to a Roth IRA or Roth 401k rather than a Traditional IRA or standard 401k account
Convert existing Traditional IRA funds to a Roth IRA
Higher marginal income tax payers will want to take the opposite approach. They’ll want to defer more income unless they anticipate being in an even higher bracket in future years. High bracket individuals will want to:
The absolute worst taxable income numbers are $200,000 for single filers and $250,000 for joint filers; along with $157,500 for single filers and $315,000 for joint filers who own their own business. The first range, $200,000 single and $250,000 joint subjects a taxpayer to the 3.8% net investment income tax. The second range for self employed filers of $157,500 for single and $315,000 for joint are the cutoff for the pass-through business income deduction. Taxpayers at those levels should take aggressive steps to lower their taxable income. Investment IncomeMoving back up your return, line 2 and line 3 deal with investment income. Note that these lines have been subdivided into an A and B column. The column on the left is better than the column on the right for income tax purposes. Tax-Exempt Interest On the left you have tax-exempt interest, which is income generated from municipal and state government entities. Municipal bond interest is generally income-tax free, although there are some taxable municipal bonds, and some municipal bond interest is subject to the Alternative Minimum Tax. Tax-exempt interest is also added to your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) for purposes of calculating how much of your Social Security benefits are taxed. The higher your marginal income-tax rate, the more valuable tax-exempt interest is. To determine the taxable equivalent yield of a tax-exempt security, you divide the tax-exempt yield by 1 less your marginal income tax rate. For an investor in the 12% marginal income tax bracket, a municipal bond yielding 2.5% gives them the same after-tax return as a taxable security that yields 2.8% (.025/ (1-.12)). For an investor in the 32% tax bracket the same 2.5% yield from a municipal bond equates to a 3.6% taxable yield. Qualified Dividends Again, the column on the left is more valuable than the column on the right. A qualified dividend is a dividend from a company that: a) trades publicly on a US exchange and b) is incorporated in a US possession or c) is eligible for the benefits of a comprehensive income-tax treaty with the US. The advantage to generating qualified dividend income is that these payments are taxed at your capital gains rate, which is generally much lower than the rate on your ordinary income Dividends from REITs, MLPs, employee stock options, tax-exempt organizations, money market accounts, and shares used for hedging are not eligible for qualified dividend status. Make sure to also consider the treatment of preferred stock dividends. Although ranked below bondholders in the event of financial difficulty, preferred stock pay yields that are similar to long-term bonds. All taxpayers should consider these securities against table bond holdings for the tax advantages alone. IRAs, Pensions, and Annuities Income received from pensions and some annuities are absolute, in that you receive the income and you pay the taxes; however, income from an IRA and certain types of annuities are somewhat discretionary. You can plan the timing and the amount you withdraw to achieve the best income-tax outcome for your personal needs. If you are over 70 ½, you are required to take some distributions from your traditional IRA accounts (required minimum distributions/RMDs), but even then you can take advantage of the Qualified Charitable Distribution rules to lower the amount that is reported to the IRS. Income derived from variable annuities can be problematic for some. All income from variable annuities is considered ordinary income until you have spent down those assets to your cost basis. At that point, the withdrawals are deemed to be return of principal and are no longer subject to income taxes. Although we prefer to use IRA to Roth IRA conversions to manage income tax brackets for those in the 12% marginal tax bracket, you can certainly use variable annuities in a similar fashion. If you are in a higher marginal tax bracket, you can also consider exchanging your variable annuity for an immediate annuity. Doing this will change the deemed ordinary income rule to a pro-rata distribution rule, where some of your distribution is considered ordinary income and some of it is considered a return of principal. Social SecurityYou probably will pay taxes on some of your Social Security benefits. If your total income is more than $25,000 but less than $34,000 for individuals; or $32,000 but less than $44,000 for joint filers, you will pay income tax on 50% of your Social Security benefit. If you are above those ranges, you’ll pay income tax on 85% of your Social Security benefit. Sadly, I have to say I have seen cases where an individual is less than 70 years old, in a 30%+ marginal income-tax bracket, saving money, and still insists on claiming their Social Security benefit. It would be a simple fix to suspend Social Security benefits, reduce their taxable income, and accrue delayed filing credits to their future social security income. Yet some will still continue those benefits because they feel they have paid in all their life and want to see some return on their money. Yes, you could die, but throwing away money paying needless taxes is hard to understand. Additional Income and AdjustmentsIn trying to make the form 1040 look simpler, the IRS added this line. It refers to a Schedule 1 and is attached to your 1040. Alimony Under the old tax rules, alimony was deductible to the payer and taxable to the payee. No more--Congress has managed to shift the income tax burden for alimony payments to what is likely the higher earner with the higher marginal income tax rate. If you are divorcing it is important that the income tax liability of alimony payments be considered in developing an equitable settlement. Business Income/Loss This has become a much more important item than in years past, as owners of any business that uses a pass-through entity can receive a 20% reduction to taxable income generated through that business. Assuring you maximize this important benefit is essential. See our previous post ‘Big Savings for Self-Employed and Business Owners’. Capital Gains and Losses For all taxpayers, it is important to use tax-efficient strategies for taxable investment accounts. High yield stocks and bonds are more efficient being owned in tax advantaged accounts (401ks, IRAs, Roth IRAs etc), while investments that mostly appreciate in value are a better fit for taxable accounts. Still, capital gains rates are attractive relative to the tax rates on ordinary income. You can use capital losses to offset any capital gains you receive, plus $3,000 of ordinary income. Capital losses are never a good thing, but at the end of each year you should review your investments to look for opportunities to offset gains. Rental Real Estate, Royalties, Partnerships, S-Corps, trusts, etc. If you own rental properties you know how helpful depreciation can be for your income tax liability. Yes, some of the depreciation will be needed to maintain the property, but some of it will also reduce your taxable income, and if you sell, will result in more income being taxed as capital gains at currently favorable rates. If you own a property that has been fully depreciated you might consider using a tax-free exchange to like property to increase your basis and start the depreciation process all over again. Adjustments to Income Health Savings Accounts Many American’s are now covered by high-deductible health insurance plans either through their employer or purchased directly from insurers through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace. Contributing to an HSA will reduce your current income tax liability, and if the funds are used to pay for qualified medical expenses the distributions are tax-free as well. See our post on ‘Hacking Your Health Savings Account’. Self Employed SEP, SIMPLE, and Qualified Plans An easy way to reduce your current year income tax liability is to contribute to a retirement plan. IRA contributions are reported on line 32, but if you’re self-employed you can defer taxes on even more money. You can establish a SIMPLE retirement plan before October 31 of the current tax year and defer up to $13,000 ($16,000 if you are over age 50) annually. A SEP retirement plan allows an even bigger tax deferred contribution of up to $56,000, plus a catch-up contribution of $6,000 if you are over age 50. Another useful benefit is you have until your income tax filing deadline, plus any extension, to establish and fund a SEP for the previous tax year. If you’re a business owner who still needs to reduce your previous years taxable income-- this is your chance! Self Employed Health Insurance Deduction If you’re self-employed, this is where you get to reduce some of your taxable income for health insurance expenses. If you’re not self-employed and are not covered by an employer health insurance plan, this is motivation for starting a side gig.
For example, the mechanic that works on cars after hours, or maybe the carpenter that does an occasional job on the side. Formalize your business to take advantage of this deduction. In Conclusion While this is far from an exhaustive list of ways to reduce your income tax liability both now and in the future, you can see there are opportunities for almost everyone to benefit from income tax planning. Take some additional time to review the tax forms you just filed or see a financial planning professional-- there is a lot at stake. The holidays may be on your mind now, but taking steps to reduce your income tax bill for 2017 could make for a merrier April. If you wait until the start of the New Year to think about income taxes, you will be too late. To help us understand the steps we should be considering, we enlisted the help of Myrtle Beach CPA Bart Buie. With the proposed changes to deductibility of state and local income taxes it makes sense to accelerate the current year deduction. That means you should make your estimated tax payments In December of 2017 rather than waiting until January of 2018. You may even want to purposely over pay your state income taxes this month to get a bigger deduction when you file in 2018. Don’t worry if you overpay you will get that refunded to you in April of 2018. Business owners should be doing a pro forma income tax calculation now to be sure they are minimizing their taxes. With rates purportedly going down in 2018, it makes sense to push as much income as possible into the new year. That means any billing should be delayed to the end of the month, if possible, so that the receipt will post to your books in 2018. Also, business owners should be looking to pay all the bills they have incurred in calendar year 2017 before December 31, even if they are not due until January of 2018. This will reduce 2017 taxable income by increasing expenses for the year. Bart also talks about purchasing equipment needed for your business now. He offers an example of purchasing a work vehicle in December to qualify for a 2017 deduction, even though your payment may not begin until 2018. December is also the last month to establish 401(k) and solo 401(k) plans to save on 2017 income taxes. Bart points out that an S-Corp with one employee can establish a plan before year end and the business owner can then make a salary deferral contribution in 2017; with the company match being made by their tax filing deadline in 2018. Because an S-Corp is a pass-through entity, the matching contribution will still lower your income tax bill for 2017. Bart also encourages clients to accelerate charitable donations. If you have planned giving, you can go ahead and make the contribution to reduce your tax liability. Don’t forget to look for chances to offset any realized capital gains with any capital losses available. You can use losses to offset 100% of any gains you claim plus $3,000 of other taxable income. There is talk of eliminating your ability to designate which lot of stock you sell in the future, so now would be a good time to review your accounts for places where the FIFO accounting method might be a negative for you. Be careful not to run afoul of the thirty-day wash sale rule as you implement this strategy. |
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