Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting Archives

Should you convert your business from a C to an S corporation?

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|June 25, 2024

Choosing the right business entity has many implications, including the amount of your tax bill. The most common business structures are sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, C corporations and S corporations.

In some cases, a business may decide to switch from one entity type to another. Although S corporations can provide substantial tax benefits over C corporations in some circumstances, there are potentially costly tax issues that you should assess before making the decision to convert from a C corporation to an S corporation.

Here are four considerations:

1. LIFO inventories. C corporations that use last-in, first-out (LIFO) inventories must pay tax on the benefits they derived by using LIFO if they convert to S corporations. The tax can be spread over four years. This cost must be weighed against the potential tax gains from converting to S status.

2. Built-in gains tax. Although S corporations generally aren’t subject to tax, those that were formerly C corporations are taxed on built-in gains (such as appreciated property) that the C corporation has when the S election becomes effective, if those gains are recognized within five years after the conversion. This is generally unfavorable, although there are situations where the S election still can produce a better tax result despite the built-in gains tax.

3. Passive income. S corporations that were formerly C corporations are subject to a special tax. It kicks in if their passive investment income (including dividends, interest, rents, royalties, and stock sale gains) exceeds 25% of their gross receipts, and the S corporation has accumulated earnings and profits carried over from its C corporation years. If that tax is owed for three consecutive years, the corporation’s election to be an S corporation terminates. You can avoid the tax by distributing the accumulated earnings and profits, which would be taxable to shareholders. Or you might want to avoid the tax by limiting the amount of passive income.

4. Unused losses. If your C corporation has unused net operating losses, they can’t be used to offset its income as an S corporation and can’t be passed through to shareholders. If the losses can’t be carried back to an earlier C corporation year, it will be necessary to weigh the cost of giving up the losses against the tax savings expected to be generated by the switch to S status.

Other issues to explore

These are only some of the factors to consider when switching a business from C to S status. For example, shareholder-employees of S corporations can’t get all the tax-free fringe benefits that are available as a C corporation. And there may be issues for shareholders who have outstanding loans from their qualified plans. These factors must be taken into account in order to understand the implications of converting from C to S status.

If you’re interested in an entity conversion, contact us. We can explain what your options are, how they’ll affect your tax bill and some possible strategies you can use to minimize taxes.

Federal regulators expand overtime pay requirements, ban most noncompete agreements

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|June 13, 2024

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new final rule regarding the salary threshold for determining whether employees are exempt from federal overtime pay requirements. The threshold is slated to jump 65% from its current level by 2025 and is expected to make four million additional workers eligible for overtime pay.

On the same day the overtime rule was announced, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved a final rule prohibiting most noncompete agreements with employees, with similarly far-reaching implications for many employers. Both regulations could be changed by court challenges, but here’s what you need to know for now.

The overtime rule

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), so-called nonexempt workers are entitled to overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times their regular pay rate for hours worked per week that exceed 40. Employees are exempt from the overtime requirements if they satisfy three tests:

Salary basis test. The employee is paid a predetermined and fixed salary that isn’t subject to reduction due to variations in the quality or quantity of his or her work.
Salary level test. The salary isn’t less than a specific amount, or threshold (currently, $684 per week or $35,568 per year).
Duties test. The employee primarily performs executive, administrative or professional duties.

The new rule focuses on the salary level test and will increase the threshold in two steps. Starting on July 1, 2024, most salaried workers who earn less than $844 per week will be eligible for overtime. On January 1, 2025, the threshold will climb further, to $1,128 per week.

The rule also will increase the total compensation requirement for highly compensated employees (HCEs). HCEs are subject to a more relaxed duties test than employees earning less. They need only “customarily and regularly” perform at least one of the duties of an exempt executive, administrative or professional employee, as opposed to primarily performing such duties.

This looser test currently applies to HCEs who perform office or nonmanual work and earn total compensation (including bonuses, commissions and certain benefits) of at least $107,432 per year. The compensation threshold will move up to $132,964 per year on July 1, and to $151,164 on January 1, 2025.

The final rule also includes a mechanism to update the salary thresholds every three years. Updates will reflect current earnings data from the most recent available four quarters from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The rule also permits the DOL to temporarily delay a scheduled update when warranted by unforeseen economic or other conditions. Updated thresholds will be published at least 150 days before they take effect.

Plan your approach

With the first effective date right around the corner, employers should review their employees’ salaries to identify those affected — that is, those whose salaries meet or exceed the current level but fall below the new thresholds. For employees who are on the bubble under the new thresholds, employers might want to increase their salaries to retain their exempt status. Alternatively, employers may want to reduce or eliminate overtime hours or simply pay the proper amount of overtime to these employees. Or they can reduce an employee’s salary to offset new overtime pay.

Remember, too, that exempt employees also must satisfy the applicable duties test (which varies depending on whether the exemption is for an executive, professional or administrative role). An employee whose salary exceeds the threshold but doesn’t primarily engage in the applicable duties isn’t exempt.

Obviously, depending on the selected approach, budgets may require adjustments. If some employees will be reclassified as nonexempt, employers may need to provide training to employees and supervisors on new timekeeping requirements and place restrictions on off-the-clock work.

Be aware that business groups have promised to file lawsuits to block the new rule, as they succeeded in doing with a similar rule promulgated in 2016. Also, the U.S. Supreme Court has taken a skeptical eye to administrative rulemaking in recent years. So it makes sense to proceed with caution. Bear in mind, too, that some employers also are subject to state and local wage and hour laws with more stringent standards for exempt status.

The noncompete ban

The new rule from the FTC bans most noncompete agreements nationwide (which will conflict with some state laws). In addition, existing noncompetes for most workers will no longer be enforceable after the rule becomes effective, 120 days after it’s published in the Federal Register. The rule is projected to affect 30 million workers. However, it doesn’t apply to certain noncompete agreements and those entered into as part of the sale of a business.

The rule includes an exception for existing noncompetes with “senior executives,” defined as workers earning more than $151,164 annually who are in policy-making positions. Policy-making positions include:

A business’s president,
A chief executive officer or equivalent,
Any other officer who has policy making authority, and
Any other natural person who has policy making authority similar to an officer with such authority.

Note that employers can’t enter new noncompetes with senior executives.

Unlike the proposed rule issued for public comment in January 2023, the final rule doesn’t require employers to legally modify existing noncompetes by formally rescinding them. Instead, they must only provide notice to workers bound by existing agreements — other than senior executives — that they won’t enforce such agreements against the workers. The rule includes model language that employers can use to provide notice.

A lawsuit was filed in a Texas federal court shortly after the FTC voted on the final rule, arguing the FTC doesn’t have the statutory authority to issue the rule. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also subsequently filed a court challenge to block the noncompete ban.

More to come

Whether either of these rules will eventually become effective as written remains to be seen. Judicial intervention or a potential swing in federal political power could mean they land in the dustbin of history before taking effect — or shortly thereafter. We’ll keep you up to date on the latest news regarding these two rules.

When partners pay expenses related to the business

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|June 6, 2024

It’s not unusual for a partner to incur expenses related to the partnership’s business. This is especially likely to occur in service partnerships such as an architecture or law firm. For example, partners in service partnerships may incur entertainment expenses in developing new client relationships. They may also incur expenses for: transportation to get to and from client meetings, professional publications, continuing education and home office. What’s the tax treatment of such expenses? Here are the answers.

Reimbursable or not

As long as the expenses are the type a partner is expected to pay without reimbursement under the partnership agreement or firm policy (written or unwritten), the partner can deduct the expenses on Schedule E of Form 1040. Conversely, a partner can’t deduct expenses if the partnership would have honored a request for reimbursement.

A partner’s unreimbursed partnership business expenses should also generally be included as deductions in arriving at the partner’s net income from self-employment on Schedule SE.

For example, let’s say you’re a partner in a local architecture firm. Under the firm’s partnership agreement, partners are expected to bear the costs of soliciting potential new business except in unusual cases where attracting a large potential new client is deemed to be a firm-wide goal. In attempting to attract new clients this year, you spend $4,500 of your own money on meal expenses. You receive no reimbursement from the firm. On your Schedule E, you should report a deductible item of $2,250 (50% of $4,500). You should also include the $2,250 as a deduction in calculating your net self-employment income on Schedule SE.

So far, so good, but here’s the issue: a partner can’t deduct expenses if they could have been reimbursed by the firm. In other words, no deduction is allowed for “voluntary” out-of-pocket expenses. The best way to eliminate any doubt about the proper tax treatment of unreimbursed partnership expenses is to install a written firm policy that clearly states what will and won’t be reimbursed. That way, the partners can deduct their unreimbursed firm-related business expenses without any problems from the IRS.

Office in a partner’s home

Subject to the normal deduction limits under the home office rules, a partner can deduct expenses allocable to the regular and exclusive use of a home office for partnership business. The partner’s deductible home office expenses should be reported on Schedule E in the same fashion as other unreimbursed partnership expenses.

If a partner has a deductible home office, the Schedule E home office deduction can deliver multiple tax-saving benefits because it’s effectively deducted for both federal income tax and self-employment tax purposes.

In addition, if the partner’s deductible home office qualifies as a principal place of business, commuting mileage from the home office to partnership business temporary work locations (such as client sites) and partnership permanent work locations (such as the partnership’s official office) count as business mileage.

The principal place of business test can be passed in two ways. First, the partner can conduct most of partnership income-earning activities in the home office. Second, the partner can pass the principal place of business test if he or she:

Uses the home office to conduct partnership administrative and management tasks and
Doesn’t make substantial use of any other fixed location (such as the partnership’s official office) for such administrative and management tasks.

To sum up

When a partner can be reimbursed for business expenses under a partnership agreement or standard operating procedures, the partner should turn them in. Otherwise, the partner can’t deduct the expenses. On the partnership side of the deal, the business should set forth a written firm policy that clearly states what will and won’t be reimbursed, including home office expenses if applicable. This applies equally to members of LLCs that are treated as partnerships for federal tax purposes because those members count as partners under tax law.

Scrupulous records and legitimate business expenses are the key to less painful IRS audits

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|May 14, 2024

If you operate a business, or you’re starting a new one, you know records of income and expenses need to be kept. Specifically, you should carefully record expenses to claim all the tax deductions to which you’re entitled. And you want to make sure you can defend the amounts reported on your tax returns in case you’re ever audited by the IRS.

Be aware that there’s no one way to keep business records. On its website, the IRS states: “You can choose any recordkeeping system suited to your business that clearly shows your income and expenses.” But there are strict rules when it comes to deducting legitimate expenses for tax purposes. And certain types of expenses, such as automobile, travel, meal and home office costs, require extra attention because they’re subject to special recordkeeping requirements or limitations on deductibility.

Ordinary and necessary

A business expense can be deducted if a taxpayer establishes that the primary objective of the activity is making a profit. To be deductible, a business expense must be “ordinary and necessary.” In one recent case, a married couple claimed business deductions that the IRS and the U.S. Tax Court mostly disallowed. The reasons: The expenses were found to be personal in nature and the taxpayers didn’t have adequate records for them.

In the case, the husband was a salaried executive. With his wife, he started a separate business as an S corporation. His sideline business identified new markets for chemical producers and connected them with potential customers. The couple’s two sons began working for the business when they were in high school.

The couple then formed a separate C corporation that engaged in marketing. For some of the years in question, the taxpayers reported the income and expenses of the businesses on their joint tax returns. The businesses conducted meetings at properties the family owned (and resided in) and paid the couple rent for the meetings.

The IRS selected the couple’s returns for audit. Among the deductions the IRS and the Tax Court disallowed:

Travel expenses. The couple submitted reconstructed travel logs to the court, rather than records kept contemporaneously. The court noted that the couple didn’t provide “any documentary evidence or other direct or circumstantial evidence of the time, location, and business purpose of each reported travel expense.”
Marketing fees paid by the S corporation to the C corporation. The court found that no marketing or promotion was done. Instead, the funds were used to pay several personal family expenses.
Rent paid to the couple for the business use of their homes. The court stated the amounts “were unreasonable and something other than rent.”

Retirement plan deductions allowed

The couple did prevail on deductions for contributions to 401(k) accounts for their sons. The IRS contended that the sons weren’t employees during one year in which contributions were made for them. However, the court found that 401(k) plan documents did mention the sons working in the business and the father “credibly recounted assigning them research tasks and overseeing their work while they were in school.” Thus, the court ruled the taxpayers were entitled to the retirement plan deductions. (TC Memo 2023-140)

Lessons learned

As this case illustrates, a business can’t deduct personal expenses, and scrupulous records are critical. Make sure to use your business bank account for business purposes only. In addition, maintain meticulous records to help prepare your tax returns and prove deductible business expenses in the event of an IRS audit.

Coordinating Sec. 179 tax deductions with bonus depreciation

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|May 7, 2024

Your business should generally maximize current year depreciation write-offs for newly acquired assets. Two federal tax breaks can be a big help in achieving this goal: first-year Section 179 depreciation deductions and first-year bonus depreciation deductions. These two deductions can potentially allow businesses to write off some or all of their qualifying asset expenses in Year 1. However, they’re moving targets due to annual inflation adjustments and tax law changes that phase out bonus depreciation. With that in mind, here’s how to coordinate these write-offs for optimal tax-saving results.

Sec. 179 deduction basics

Most tangible depreciable business assets — including equipment, computer hardware, vehicles (subject to limits), furniture, most software and fixtures — qualify for the first-year Sec. 179 deduction.

Depreciable real property generally doesn’t qualify unless it’s qualified improvement property (QIP). QIP means any improvement to an interior portion of a nonresidential building that’s placed in service after the date the building is placed in service — except for any expenditures attributable to the enlargement of the building, any elevator or escalator, or the internal structural framework. Sec. 179 deductions are also allowed for nonresidential building roofs, HVAC equipment, fire protection systems and security systems.

The inflation-adjusted maximum Sec. 179 deduction for tax years beginning in 2024 is $1.22 million. It begins to be phased out if 2024 qualified asset additions exceed $3.05 million. (These are up from $1.16 million and $2.89 million, respectively, in 2023.)

Bonus depreciation basics

Most tangible depreciable business assets also qualify for first-year bonus depreciation. In addition, software and QIP generally qualify. To be eligible, a used asset must be new to the taxpayer.

For qualifying assets placed in service in 2024, the first-year bonus depreciation percentage is 60%. This is down from 80% in 2023.

Sec. 179 vs. bonus depreciation

The current Sec. 179 deduction rules are generous, but there are several limitations:

The phase-out rule mentioned above,
A business taxable income limitation that disallows deductions that would result in an overall business taxable loss,
A limited deduction for SUVs with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 6,000 pounds, and
Tricky limitation rules when assets are owned by pass-through entities such as LLCs, partnerships, and S corporations.

First-year bonus depreciation deductions aren’t subject to any complicated limitations. But, as mentioned earlier, the bonus depreciation percentages for 2024 and 2023 are only 60% and 80%, respectively.

So, the current tax-saving strategy is to write off as much of the cost of qualifying asset additions as you can with Sec. 179 deductions. Then claim as much first-year bonus depreciation as you can.

Example: In 2024, your calendar-tax-year C corporation places in service $500,000 of assets that qualify for both a Sec. 179 deduction and first-year bonus depreciation. However, due to the taxable income limitation, the company’s Sec. 179 deduction is limited to only $300,000. You can deduct the $300,000 on your corporation’s 2024 federal income tax return. You can then deduct 60% of the remaining $200,000 ($500,000 − $300,000), thanks to first-year bonus depreciation. So, your corporation can write off $420,000 in 2024 [$300,000 + (60% x $200,000) = $420,000]. That’s 84% of the cost! Note that the $200,000 bonus depreciation deduction will contribute to a corporate net operating loss that’s carried forward to your 2025 tax year.

Manage tax breaks

As you can see, coordinating Sec. 179 deductions with bonus depreciation deductions is a tax-wise idea. We can provide details on how the rules work or answer any questions you have.

Maximize the QBI deduction before it’s gone

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|May 2, 2024

The qualified business income (QBI) deduction is available to eligible businesses through 2025. After that, it’s scheduled to disappear. So if you’re eligible, you want to make the most of the deduction while it’s still on the books because it can potentially be a big tax saver.

Deduction basics

The QBI deduction is written off at the owner level. It can be up to 20% of:

QBI earned from a sole proprietorship or single-member LLC that’s treated as a sole proprietorship for tax purposes, plus
QBI from a pass-through entity, meaning a partnership, LLC that’s treated as a partnership for tax purposes or S corporation.

How is QBI defined? It’s qualified income and gains from an eligible business, reduced by related deductions. QBI is reduced by: 1) deductible contributions to a self-employed retirement plan, 2) the deduction for 50% of self-employment tax, and 3) the deduction for self-employed health insurance premiums.

Unfortunately, the QBI deduction doesn’t reduce net earnings for purposes of the self-employment tax, nor does it reduce investment income for purposes of the 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT) imposed on higher-income individuals.

Limitations

At higher income levels, QBI deduction limitations come into play. For 2024, these begin to phase in when taxable income before any QBI deduction exceeds $191,950 ($383,900 for married joint filers). The limitations are fully phased in once taxable income exceeds $241,950 or $483,900, respectively.

If your income exceeds the applicable fully-phased-in number, your QBI deduction is limited to the greater of: 1) your share of 50% of W-2 wages paid to employees during the year and properly allocable to QBI, or 2) the sum of your share of 25% of such W-2 wages plus your share of 2.5% of the unadjusted basis immediately upon acquisition (UBIA) of qualified property.

The limitation based on qualified property is intended to benefit capital-intensive businesses such as hotels and manufacturing operations. Qualified property means depreciable tangible property, including real estate, that’s owned and used to produce QBI. The UBIA of qualified property generally equals its original cost when first put to use in the business.

Finally, your QBI deduction can’t exceed 20% of your taxable income calculated before any QBI deduction and before any net capital gain (net long-term capital gains in excess of net short-term capital losses plus qualified dividends).

Unfavorable rules for certain businesses

For a specified service trade or business (SSTB), the QBI deduction begins to be phased out when your taxable income before any QBI deduction exceeds $191,950 ($383,900 for married joint filers). Phaseout is complete if taxable income exceeds $241,950 or $483,900, respectively. If your taxable income exceeds the applicable phaseout amount, you’re not allowed to claim any QBI deduction based on income from a SSTB.

Other factors

Other rules apply to this tax break. For example, you can elect to aggregate several businesses for purposes of the deduction. It may allow someone with taxable income high enough to be affected by the limitations described above to claim a bigger QBI deduction than if the businesses were considered separately.

There also may be an impact for claiming or forgoing certain deductions. For example, in 2024, you can potentially claim first-year Section 179 depreciation deductions of up to $1.22 million for eligible asset additions (subject to various limitations). For 2024, 60% first-year bonus depreciation is also available. However, first-year depreciation deductions reduce QBI and taxable income, which can reduce your QBI deduction. So, you may have to thread the needle with depreciation write-offs to get the best overall tax result.

Use it or potentially lose it

The QBI deduction is scheduled to disappear after 2025. Congress could extend it, but don’t count on it. So, maximizing the deduction for 2024 and 2025 is a worthy goal. We can help.

Tax-wise ways to take cash from your corporation while avoiding dividend treatment

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|April 11, 2024

If you want to withdraw cash from your closely held corporation at a low tax cost, the easiest way is to distribute cash as a dividend. However, a dividend distribution isn’t tax efficient since it’s taxable to you to the extent of your corporation’s “earnings and profits,” but it’s not deductible by the corporation.

5 different approaches

Thankfully, there are some alternative methods that may allow you to withdraw cash from a corporation while avoiding dividend treatment. Here are five possible options:

1. Salary. Reasonable compensation that you, or family members, receive for services rendered to the corporation is deductible by the business. However, it’s also taxable to the recipient(s). The same rule applies to any compensation (in the form of rent) that you receive from the corporation for the use of property. In either case, the amount of compensation must be reasonable in relation to the services rendered or the value of the property provided. If it’s excessive, the excess will be nondeductible and treated as a corporate distribution.

2. Fringe benefits. Consider obtaining the equivalent of a cash withdrawal in fringe benefits that are deductible by the corporation and not taxable to you. Examples are life insurance, certain medical benefits, disability insurance and dependent care. Most of these benefits are tax-free only if provided on a nondiscriminatory basis to other employees of the corporation. You can also establish a salary reduction plan that allows you (and other employees) to take a portion of your compensation as nontaxable benefits, rather than as taxable compensation.

3. Capital repayments. To the extent that you’ve capitalized the corporation with debt, including amounts that you’ve advanced to the business, the corporation can repay the debt without the repayment being treated as a dividend. Additionally, interest paid on the debt can be deducted by the corporation. This assumes that the debt has been properly documented with terms that characterize debt and that the corporation doesn’t have an excessively high debt-to-equity ratio. If not, the “debt” repayment may be taxed as a dividend. If you make cash contributions to the corporation in the future, consider structuring them as debt to facilitate later withdrawals on a tax-advantaged basis.

4. Loans. You may withdraw cash from the corporation tax-free by borrowing money from it. However, to avoid having the loan characterized as a corporate distribution, it should be properly documented in a loan agreement or a note and be made on terms that are comparable to those on which an unrelated third party would lend money to you. This should include a provision for interest and principal. All interest and principal payments should be made when required under the loan terms. Also, consider the effect of the corporation’s receipt of interest income.

5. Property sales. You can withdraw cash from the corporation by selling property to it. However, certain sales should be avoided. For example, you shouldn’t sell property to a more than 50% owned corporation at a loss, since the loss will be disallowed. And you shouldn’t sell depreciable property to a more than 50% owned corporation at a gain, since the gain will be treated as ordinary income, rather than capital gain. A sale should be on terms that are comparable to those on which an unrelated third party would purchase the property. You may need to obtain an independent appraisal to establish the property’s value.

Minimize taxes

If you’re interested in discussing any of these ideas, contact us. We can help you get the maximum out of your corporation at the minimum tax cost.

9 tax considerations if you’re starting a business as a sole proprietor

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|April 9, 2024

When launching a small business, many entrepreneurs start out as sole proprietors. If you’re launching a venture as a sole proprietorship, you need to understand the tax issues involved. Here are nine considerations:

1. You may qualify for the pass-through deduction. To the extent your business generates qualified business income, you’re currently eligible to claim the 20% pass-through deduction, subject to limitations. The deduction is taken “below the line,” meaning it reduces taxable income, rather than being taken “above the line” against your gross income. However, you can take the deduction even if you don’t itemize deductions and instead claim the standard deduction. Be aware that this deduction is only available through 2025, unless Congress acts to extend it.

2. You report income and expenses on Schedule C of Form 1040. The net income will be taxable to you regardless of whether you withdraw cash from the business. Your business expenses are deductible against gross income and not as itemized deductions. If you have losses, they’ll generally be deductible against your other income, subject to special rules related to hobby losses, passive activity losses and losses from activities in which you weren’t “at risk.”

3. You must pay self-employment taxes. For 2024, you pay self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare) at a 15.3% rate on your net earnings from self-employment up to $168,600, and Medicare tax only at a 2.9% rate on the excess. An additional 0.9% Medicare tax (for a total of 3.8%) is imposed on self-employment income in excess of $250,000 for joint returns, $125,000 for married taxpayers filing separate returns and $200,000 in all other cases. Self-employment tax is imposed in addition to income tax, but you can deduct half of your self-employment tax as an adjustment to income.

4. You generally must make quarterly estimated tax payments. For 2024, these are due April 15, June 17, September 16 and January 15, 2025.

5. You can deduct 100% of your health insurance costs as a business expense. This means your deduction for medical care insurance won’t be subject to the rule that limits medical expense deductions.

6. You may be able to deduct home office expenses. If you work from a home office, perform management or administrative tasks there, or store product samples or inventory at home, you may be entitled to deduct an allocable part of certain expenses, including mortgage interest or rent, insurance, utilities, repairs, maintenance and depreciation. You may also be able to deduct travel expenses from a home office to another work location.

7. You should keep complete records of your income and expenses. Specifically, you should carefully record your expenses in order to claim all the tax breaks to which you’re entitled. Certain expenses, such as automobile, travel, meals, and home office expenses, require extra attention because they’re subject to special recordkeeping rules or deductibility limits.

8. You have more responsibilities if you hire employees. For example, you need to get a taxpayer identification number and withhold and pay over payroll taxes.

9. You should consider establishing a qualified retirement plan. The advantages are that amounts contributed to it are deductible at the time of the contributions and aren’t taken into income until they’re withdrawn. You might consider a SEP plan, which requires minimal paperwork. A SIMPLE plan is also available to sole proprietors and offers tax advantages with fewer restrictions and administrative requirements. If you don’t establish a retirement plan, you may still be able to contribute to an IRA.

Turn to us

Contact us if you want additional information regarding the tax aspects of your business, or if you have questions about reporting or recordkeeping requirements.

Independent contractor vs. employee status: The DOL issues new final rule

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|March 7, 2024

The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) test for determining whether a worker should be classified as an independent contractor or an employee for purposes of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has been revised several times over the past decade. Now, the DOL is implementing a new final rule rescinding the employer-friendly test that was developed under the Trump administration. The new, more employee-friendly rule takes effect March 11, 2024.

Role of the new final rule

Even though the DOL’s final rule isn’t necessarily controlling for courts weighing employment status issues, it’s likely to be considered persuasive authority. Moreover, it’ll guide DOL misclassification audits and enforcement actions.

If you’re found to have misclassified employees as independent contractors, you may owe back pay if employees weren’t paid minimum wage or overtime pay, as well as penalties. You also could end up liable for withheld employee benefits and find yourself subject to various federal and state employment laws that apply based on the number of affected employees.

The rescinded test

The Trump administration’s test (known as the 2021 Independent Contractor Rule) focuses primarily on whether, as an “economic reality,” workers are dependent on employers for work or are in business for themselves. It examines five factors. And while no single factor is controlling, the 2021 rule identifies two so-called “core factors” that are deemed most relevant:

The nature and degree of the employer’s control over the work, and
The worker’s opportunity for profit and loss.

If both factors suggest the same classification, it’s substantially likely that classification is proper.

The new test

The final new rule closely shadows the proposed rule published in October 2022. According to the DOL, it continues the notion that a worker isn’t an independent contractor if, as a matter of economic reality, the individual is economically dependent on the employer for work. The DOL says the rule aligns with both judicial precedent and its own interpretive guidance prior to 2021.

Specifically, the final rule enumerates six factors that will guide DOL analysis of whether a worker is an employee under the FLSA:

The worker’s opportunity for profit or loss depending on managerial skill (the lack of such opportunity suggests employee status),
Investments by the worker and the potential employer (if the worker makes similar types of investments as the employer, even on a smaller scale, it suggests independent contractor status),
Degree of permanence of the work relationship (an indefinite, continuous or exclusive relationship suggests employee status),
The employer’s nature and degree of control, whether exercised or just reserved (control over the performance of the work and the relationship’s economic aspects suggests employee status),
Extent to which the work performed is an integral part of the employer’s business (if the work is critical, necessary or central to the principal business, the worker is likely an employee), and
The worker’s skill and initiative (if the worker brings specialized skills and uses them in connection with business-like initiative, the worker is likely an independent contractor).

In contrast to the 2021 rule, all factors will be weighed — no single factor or set of factors will automatically determine a worker’s status.

The final new rule does make some modifications and clarifications to the proposed rule. For example, it explains that actions that an employer takes solely to comply with specific and applicable federal, state, tribal or local laws or regulations don’t indicate “control” suggestive of employee status. But those that go beyond compliance and instead serve the employer’s own compliance methods, safety, quality control, or contractual or customer service standards may do so.

The final rule also recognizes that a lack of permanence in a work relationship can sometimes be due to operational characteristics unique or intrinsic to particular businesses or industries and the workers they employ. The relevant question is whether the lack of permanence is due to workers exercising their own independent business initiative, which indicates independent contractor status. On the other hand, the seasonal or temporary nature of work alone doesn’t necessarily indicate independent contractor classification.

The return, and clarification, of the factor related to whether the work is integral to the business also is notable. The 2021 rule includes a noncore factor that asks only whether the work was part of an integrated unit of production. The final new rule focuses on whether the business function the worker performs is an integral part of the business.

For tax purposes

In a series of Q&As, the DOL addressed the question: “Can an individual be an employee for FLSA purposes even if he or she is an independent contractor for tax purposes?” The answer is yes.

The DOL explained that the IRS applies its version of the common law control test to analyze if a worker is an employee or independent contractor for tax purposes. While the DOL considers many of the same factors as the IRS, it added that “the economic reality test for FLSA purposes is based on a specific definition of ‘employ’ in the FLSA, which provides that employers ‘employ’ workers if they ‘suffer or permit’ them to work.”

In court cases, this language has been interpreted to be broader than the common law control test. Therefore, some workers who may be classified as contractors for tax purposes may be employees for FLSA purposes because, as a matter of economic reality, they’re economically dependent on the employers for work.

Next steps

Not surprisingly, the DOL’s final new rule is already facing court challenges. Nonetheless, you should review your work relationships if you use freelancers and other independent contractors and make any appropriate changes. Remember, too, that states can have different tests, some of which are more stringent than the DOL’s final rule. Contact your employment attorney if you have questions about the DOL’s new rule. We can assist with any issues you may have regarding independent contractor status for tax purposes.

Tax-favored Qualified Small Business Corporation status could help you thrive

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|March 5, 2024

Operating your small business as a Qualified Small Business Corporation (QSBC) could be a tax-wise idea.

Tax-free treatment for eligible stock gains

QSBCs are the same as garden-variety C corporations for tax and legal purposes — except QSBC shareholders are potentially eligible to exclude from federal income tax 100% of their stock sale gains. That translates into a 0% federal income tax rate on QSBC stock sale profits! However, you must meet several requirements set forth in Section 1202 of the Internal Revenue Code, and not all shares meet the tax-law description of QSBC stock. Finally, there are limitations on the amount of QSBC stock sale gain that you can exclude in any one tax year (but they’re unlikely to apply).

Stock acquisition date is key

The 100% federal income tax gain exclusion is only available for sales of QSBC shares that were acquired on or after September 28, 2010.

If you currently operate as a sole proprietorship, single-member LLC treated as a sole proprietorship, partnership or multi-member LLC treated as a partnership, you’ll have to incorporate the business and issue yourself shares to attain QSBC status.

Important: The act of incorporating a business shouldn’t be taken lightly. We can help you evaluate the pros and cons of taking this step.

Here are some more rules and requirements:

Eligibility. The gain exclusion break isn’t available for QSBC shares owned by another C corporation. However, QSBC shares held by individuals, LLCs, partnerships, and S corporations are potentially eligible.
Holding period. To be eligible for the 100% stock sale gain exclusion deal, you must hold your QSBC shares for over five years. For shares that haven’t yet been issued, the 100% gain exclusion break will only be available for sales that occur sometime in 2029 or beyond.
Acquisition of shares. You must acquire the shares after August 10, 1993, and they generally must be acquired upon original issuance by the corporation or by gift or inheritance.
Businesses that aren’t eligible. The corporation must actively conduct a qualified business. Qualified businesses don’t include those rendering services in the fields of health; law; engineering; architecture; accounting; actuarial science; performing arts; consulting; athletics; financial services; brokerage services; businesses where the principal asset is the reputation or skill of employees; banking; insurance; leasing; financing; investing; farming; production or extraction of oil, natural gas, or other minerals for which percentage depletion deductions are allowed; or the operation of a hotel, motel, restaurant, or similar business.
Asset limits. The corporation’s gross assets can’t exceed $50 million immediately after your shares are issued. If after the stock is issued, the corporation grows and exceeds the $50 million threshold, it won’t lose its QSBC status for that reason.

2017 law sweetened the deal

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made a flat 21% corporate federal income tax rate permanent, assuming no backtracking by Congress. So, if you own shares in a profitable QSBC and you eventually sell them when you’re eligible for the 100% gain exclusion break, the 21% corporate rate could be all the income tax that’s ever owed to Uncle Sam.

Tax incentives drive the decision

Before concluding that you can operate your business as a QSBC, consult with us. We’ve summarized the most important eligibility rules here, but there are more. The 100% federal income tax stock sale gain exclusion break and the flat 21% corporate federal income tax rate are two strong incentives for eligible small businesses to operate as QSBCs.

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Tax-favored Qualified Small Business Corporation status could help you thrive

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