Summer is just around the corner, so you might be thinking about getting some vacation time. If you’re self-employed or a business owner, you have a golden opportunity to combine a business trip with a few extra days of vacation and offset some of the cost with a tax deduction. But be careful, or you might not qualify for the write-offs you’re expecting.

Basic rules

Business travel expenses can potentially be deducted if the travel is within the United States and the expenses are:

• “Ordinary and necessary” and
• Directly related to the business.

Note: The tax rules for foreign business travel are different from those for domestic travel.

Business owners and the self-employed are generally eligible to deduct business travel expenses if they meet the tests described above. However, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, employees can no longer deduct such expenses. The potential deductions discussed in this article assume that you’re a business owner or self-employed.

A business-vacation trip

Transportation costs to and from the location of your business activity may be 100% deductible if the primary reason for the trip is business rather than pleasure. But if vacation is the primary reason for your travel, generally no transportation costs are deductible. These costs include plane or train tickets, the cost of getting to and from the airport, luggage handling tips and car expenses if you drive. Costs for driving your personal car are also eligible.

The key factor in determining whether the primary reason for domestic travel is business is the number of days you spend conducting business vs. enjoying vacation days. Any day principally devoted to business activities during normal business hours counts as a business day. In addition:

• Your travel days count as business days, as do weekends and holidays — if they fall between days devoted to business and it wouldn’t be practical to return home.
• Standby days (days when your physical presence might be required) also count as business days, even if you aren’t ultimately called upon to work on those days.

Bottom line: If your business days exceed your personal days, you should be able to claim business was the primary reason for a domestic trip and deduct your transportation costs.

What else can you deduct?

Once at the destination, your out-of-pocket expenses for business days are fully deductible. Examples of these expenses include lodging, meals (subject to the 50% disallowance rule), seminar and convention fees, and cab fare. Expenses for personal days aren’t deductible.

Keep in mind that only expenses for yourself are deductible. You can’t deduct expenses for family members traveling with you, including your spouse — unless they’re employees of your business and traveling for a bona fide business purpose.

Keep good records

Be sure to retain proof of the business nature of your trip. You must properly substantiate all of the expenses you’re deducting. If you get audited, the IRS will want to see records during travel you claim was for business. Good records are your best defense. Additional rules and limits apply to travel expense deductions. Please contact us if you have questions.

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If you’re divorcing, it’s important to review your estate plan as early as possible, for two reasons: First, you may wish to revise your plan immediately to prevent your spouse from inheriting or gaining control over your assets if you die or become incapacitated before the divorce is final. Second, although a divorce judgment or settlement automatically extinguishes certain of your former spouse’s rights, some documents must be modified to ensure that he or she doesn’t receive unintended benefits.

Consider revising your will and any revocable trusts to exclude your spouse. Note that, in many states, your spouse will retain elective share or community property rights to a portion of your estate until the marriage ends.

But revising your will or trust will limit your spouse to the legal minimum if you die before the divorce is final. If you have irrevocable trusts, determine whether they provide for your spouse’s interest to terminate automatically upon divorce.

Other actions to consider include:

• Changing beneficiary designations in IRAs, life insurance policies, annuities or retirement plans (note that federal law prevents you from removing your spouse as beneficiary of a retirement plan, without his or her consent, until the divorce is final),
• Revising payable on death (POD) or transfer on death (TOD) designations in bank or brokerage accounts,
• Revoking powers of attorney or health care directives naming your spouse as agent, and
• Establishing trusts for your minor children. (If they inherit assets from you outright, a court will likely appoint your former spouse as conservator.)

Finally, bear in mind that, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, any alimony paid is no longer deductible by the payer or taxable to the payee.

In light of this major life event, don’t hesitate to turn to us. We can review your estate plan and recommend any revisions necessary because of the divorce.

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Your not-for-profit’s ability to pursue its mission depends greatly on its financial health and integrity. If your nonprofit is growing and your executives are struggling to juggle financial responsibilities, it may be time to hire a chief financial officer (CFO).

Core responsibilities

Generally, the nonprofit CFO (also known as the director of finance) is a senior-level position charged with oversight of accounting and finances. He or she works closely with the executive director, finance committee and treasurer and serves as a business partner to your program heads. A CFO reports to the executive director or board of directors on the organization’s finances. He or she analyzes investments and capital, develops budgets and devises financial strategies.

The CFO’s role and responsibilities vary significantly based on the organization’s size, as well as the complexity of its revenue sources. In smaller nonprofits, CFOs often have wide responsibilities — possibly for accounting, human resources, facilities, legal affairs, administration and IT. In larger nonprofits, CFOs usually have a narrower focus. They train their attention on accounting and finance issues, including risk management, investments and financial reporting.

Making the decision

How do you know if you need a CFO? Weigh the following factors:

• Size of your organization,
• Complexity and types of revenue sources,
• Number of programs that require funding, and
• Strategic growth plans.

Static organizations are less likely to need a CFO than not-for-profits with evolving programs and long-term plans that rely on investment growth, financing and major capital expenditures.

The right candidate

At a minimum, you want a CFO with in-depth knowledge of the finance, accounting and tax rules particular to nonprofits. Someone who has worked only in the for-profit sector may find the differences difficult to navigate. Nonprofit CFOs also need a familiarity with funding sources, grant management and, if your nonprofit expends $750,000 or more of federal assistance, single audit requirements. The ideal candidate should have a certified public accountant (CPA) designation and, optimally, an MBA.

In addition, the position requires strong communication skills, strategic thinking, financial reporting expertise and the creativity to deal with resource restraints. Finally, you’d probably like the CFO to have a genuine passion for your mission — nothing motivates employees like a belief in the cause.

Consider outsourcing

If your budget is growing and financial matters are becoming more complicated, you may want to add a CFO to the mix. Otherwise, consider outsourcing CFO responsibilities to a CPA firm. Contact us for more information.

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We’ve reached the middle of the calendar year. So how are things going for your business? Conversationally you might say, “Pretty good.” But, analytically, can you put a number on how well you’re doing — or several numbers for that matter? You can if you choose and calculate the right key performance indicators (KPIs).

4 common indicators

There are a wide variety of KPIs to choose from. Here are four that can give you a solid snapshot of your midyear position:

1. Gross profit. This figure will tell you how much money you made after your manufacturing and selling costs were paid. It’s calculated by subtracting the cost of goods sold from your total revenue.

2. Current ratio. This ratio will help you gauge the strength of your cash flow. It’s calculated by dividing your current assets by your current liabilities.

3. Inventory turnover ratio. This ratio will warn you ahead of time if certain items are moving more slowly than they have in the past. It also will tell you how often these items are turned over. The ratio is calculated by dividing your cost of goods sold by your average inventory for the period.

4. Debt-to-equity ratio. This ratio will measure your company’s leverage, or how much debt is being used to finance your assets. It’s calculated by dividing your total liabilities by shareholder’s equity.

Customized KPIs

KPIs aren’t limited to widely used ratios. You can make up your own and apply them to any area of your business.

For example, let’s say the company’s goal is to improve its response time to customer complaints. Its KPI might be to provide an initial response to complaints within 24 hours, and to eventually resolve at least 80% of complaints to the customer’s satisfaction. You can track response times and document resolutions and eventually calculate this KPI.

As another example, say your business wants to improve its closing rate on sales leads. Its KPI could be to convert 50% of all qualified leads into customers over the next six months with the goal of raising this percentage to 60% next year.

Notice that these KPIs are both specific and measurable. Just saying that your company wants to “provide better customer service” or “close more sales” won’t produce a sound KPI.

Good decisions

Midyear is the perfect time to stop, take a breath and objectively assess your company’s performance. This way, if things are really going well, you can determine precisely why and keep that momentum going. And if they’re not, you can figure out how you’re ailing and adjust your budget and objectives accordingly. Our firm can help you choose the KPIs that will provide the information you need, as well as help you apply that data to good business decisions.

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The record-high exemption amount currently in effect means that fewer families are affected by gift and estate taxes. As a result, the estate planning focus for many people has shifted from transfer taxes to income taxes. A nongrantor trust can be an effective option to reduce income taxes, and it offers a way around the itemized deduction limitations imposed by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

What’s a nongrantor trust?

A nongrantor trust is simply a trust that’s a separate taxable entity. The trust owns the assets it holds and is responsible for taxes on any income those assets generate. A grantor trust, in contrast, is one in which the grantor retains certain powers and, therefore, is treated as the owner for income tax purposes.

Both grantor and nongrantor trusts can be structured so that contributions are considered “completed gifts” for transfer tax purposes (thereby removing contributed assets from the grantor’s taxable estate). But traditionally, grantor trusts have been the estate planning tool of choice. Why? It’s because the trust’s income is taxed to the grantor, reducing the size of the grantor’s estate and allowing the trust assets to grow tax-free, leaving more wealth for beneficiaries. Essentially, the grantor’s tax payments serve as an additional tax-free gift.

With less emphasis today on gift and estate tax savings, nongrantor trusts offer some significant benefits.

How can nongrantor trusts reduce income taxes?

The TCJA places limits on itemized deductions, but nongrantor trusts may offer a way to avoid those limitations. The law nearly doubled the standard deduction to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for married couples. (Indexed annually for inflation, the 2019 standard deduction amounts are $12,200 for individuals and $24,400 for married couples.) The TCJA also limits deductions for state and local taxes (SALT) to $10,000.

These changes reduce or eliminate the benefits of itemized deductions for many taxpayers, especially those in high-SALT states. By placing assets in nongrantor trusts, it may be possible to increase your deductions, because each trust enjoys its own $10,000 SALT deduction.

For example, Andy and Kate, a married couple filing jointly, pay well over $10,000 per year in state income taxes. They also own two homes, each of which generates $20,000 per year in property taxes. Under the TCJA, the couple’s SALT deduction is limited to $10,000, which covers a portion of their state income taxes, but they receive no tax benefit for the $40,000 they pay in property taxes.

To avoid this limitation, Andy and Kate transfer the two homes to an LLC, together with assets that earn approximately $40,000 per year in income. Next, they give 25% LLC interests to four nongrantor trusts. Each trust earns around $10,000 per year, which is offset by its $10,000 property tax deduction. Essentially, this strategy allows the couple to deduct their entire $40,000 property tax bill.

Beware the multiple trust rule

If you’re considering this strategy, be aware that the tax code contains a provision that treats multiple trusts with substantially the same grantors and beneficiaries as a single trust if their purpose is tax avoidance.

To ensure that this rule doesn’t erase the benefits of the nongrantor trust strategy, designate a different beneficiary for each trust. Contact us for more information.

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