Milkus, Trier & Company CPAs

12/10/2019

The holiday season is in full swing. Your business may want to show its gratitude to employees and customers by giving them gifts or hosting parties. It’s a good idea to understand the tax rules involved. Are they tax deductible by your business and taxable to the recipients? Gifts to customers are generally deductible up to $25 per recipient per year. De minimis, noncash gifts to employees (such as a holiday turkey) aren’t included in their taxable income yet are deductible by you. Holiday parties are 100% deductible if they’re primarily for the benefit of non-highly-paid employees and their families. If customers attend, parties may be partially deductible. http://bit.ly/2qAYXOi

12/02/2019

When you file your tax return, you do so with one of five filing statuses. It’s possible that more than one status will apply. The box checked on your return generally depends in part on whether you’re unmarried or married on December 31. Here are the filing statuses: Single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, head of household and qualifying widow(er) with a dependent child. Head of household status can be more favorable than filing as a single person, but special rules apply. You must generally be unmarried, have a qualifying child (or dependent relative) and meet certain rules involving “maintaining a household.” If you have questions about your filing status, contact us. http://bit.ly/2P59AB9

11/28/2019

11/27/2019

Does your employer offer a 401(k) or Roth 401(k) plan? Contributing to it is a taxwise way to build a nest egg. If you’re not already socking away the maximum allowed, consider increasing your contribution between now and year end. With a 401(k), an employee elects to have a certain amount of pay deferred and contributed by an employer on his or her behalf to the plan. The contribution limit for 2019 is $19,000. Employees age 50 or older by year end are also permitted to make additional “catch-up” contributions of $6,000, for a total limit of $25,000 in 2019. The IRS just announced that the 401(k) contribution limit for 2020 will increase to $19,500 (plus the $6,500 catch-up contribution). http://bit.ly/34ryhyk

11/20/2019

Early next year, your business may be required to comply with Form 1099 rules. You may have to send forms to independent contractors, vendors and others whom you pay nonemployee compensation, as well as file them with the IRS. There are penalties for noncompliance. Employers must provide a Form 1099-MISC for nonemployee compensation by Jan. 31, 2020, to each noncorporate service provider who was paid at least $600 for services during 2019. (1099-MISCs generally don’t have to be provided to corporate service providers.) A copy of each Form 1099-MISC with payments listed in box 7 must also be filed with the IRS by Jan. 31. If you have questions about your reporting requirements, contact us. http://bit.ly/37ygR58

11/18/2019

If you’re thinking about relocating to another state in retirement, consider the impact of state and local taxes. It may seem like a state with no income tax is a smart choice, but you also have to factor in property and sales taxes, as well as any state estate tax. If you make a move to a new state and want to escape taxes in the state you came from, it’s important to establish legal domicile in the new location. How? Take steps such as buying a new home, changing your mailing address, registering to vote and getting a driver’s license in the new state. Before deciding where to live in retirement, do some research and contact us. We can help you avoid unpleasant tax surprises. http://bit.ly/2CV4v9a

11/13/2019

Are you charitably minded and have a significant amount of money in an IRA? If you’re age 70-1/2 or older, and don’t need the money from required minimum distributions, you may benefit by giving these amounts to charity. A popular way to transfer IRA assets to charity is through a tax provision that allows IRA owners who are 70-1/2 or older to give up to $100,000 per year of their IRA distributions to charity. These distributions are called qualified charitable distributions, or QCDs. The money given to charity counts toward the donor’s required minimum distributions (RMDs) but doesn’t increase the donor’s adjusted gross income or generate a tax bill. Contact us for more information. http://bit.ly/3706B5p

11/12/2019

Most businesses have a website. But determining the proper tax treatment for the costs involved in developing a website isn’t easy. The IRS hasn’t yet released official guidance, so you must apply existing guidance that’s available on other costs to the issue of website development costs. The exact treatment of website design costs depends on whether they’re software or hardware and whether they’re part of a start-up business. If you hire third parties to set up and run your website, payments are currently deductible as ordinary and necessary business expenses. Contact us if you have questions or want more information about planning for website costs. http://bit.ly/32Mo9Pa

11/04/2019

A Health Savings Account (HSA) offers tax-advantaged funding of health care costs. If you have a qualified high-deductible health plan, you can contribute to an HSA sponsored by your employer or set up by you. You own the account, which can bear interest or be invested. It can grow tax-deferred, similar to an IRA. Withdrawals for qualified medical expenses are tax-free, and you can carry over a balance from year to year. So unlike Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), undistributed balances in HSAs aren’t forfeited at year end. For 2019, the deductible contribution limits are $3,500 self-only, $7,000 family. Contact us with questions or if you need help setting up an HSA. http://bit.ly/2PSidku

10/30/2019

Do you want to withdraw cash from your closely held corporation at a low tax cost? The easiest way is to distribute cash as a dividend. However, a dividend distribution is taxable to you as a shareholder but it’s not deductible by the corporation. But there are several alternatives that may allow you to withdraw cash from a corporation and avoid dividend treatment. For example, you might be able to receive capital repayments, or obtain reasonable compensation for you (or family members), as well as certain fringe benefits. If you’re interested in discussing these or other ideas, contact us. We can help you get the maximum out of your corporation at a minimum tax cost. http://bit.ly/2MXsvxY

10/28/2019

Victims of tax-related scams can be contacted through regular mail, phone calls and email. If you receive a text, letter, email or phone call purporting to be from the IRS, keep in mind that the tax agency never calls taxpayers demanding immediate payment using a specific method of payment (such as a wire transfer or prepaid debit card). The IRS generally mails bills or notices to taxpayers and gives them time to respond with questions or appeals. The tax agency also doesn’t threaten taxpayers with arrest. In addition, the IRS doesn’t initiate contact by email, text message or social media channels to request information. Contact us if you have questions about a letter, email or call from the IRS. http://bit.ly/34abxlK

10/23/2019

Right now, football teams are trying to put as many wins on the board as possible to make this a special season. Sports can highlight important lessons for business owners about profitability. One is that companies must learn from their mistakes and adjust their profitability game plans accordingly. Typical fumbles include poor customer service, ineffective pricing strategies and a broken-down supply chain. After identifying profit fumbles, fortify your offensive line by defining (or redefining) a feasible profit game plan, appointing team leaders to champion each initiative and communicating the plan clearly to build consensus. http://bit.ly/2MEcbC9