Services Archives - Page 15 of 72

Inheriting stock or other assets? You’ll receive a favorable “stepped-up basis”

Estate & Wealth Transfer Planning|August 10, 2023

If you’re planning your estate, or you’ve recently inherited assets, you may be unsure of the “cost” (or “basis”) for tax purposes.

How do the rules work?

Under the current fair market value basis rules (also known as the “step-up and step-down” rules), an heir receives a basis in inherited property equal to its date-of-death value. So, for example, if your grandfather bought stock in 1940 for $600 and it’s worth $1 million at his death, the basis is stepped up to $1 million in the hands of your grandfather’s heirs — and all of that gain escapes federal income tax.

The fair market value basis rules apply to inherited property that’s includible in the deceased’s gross estate, and those rules also apply to property inherited from foreign persons who aren’t subject to U.S. estate tax. It doesn’t matter if a federal estate tax return is filed. The rules apply to the inherited portion of property owned by the inheriting taxpayer jointly with the deceased, but not the portion of jointly held property that the inheriting taxpayer owned before his or her inheritance. The fair market value basis rules also don’t apply to reinvestments of estate assets by fiduciaries.

What if assets are given before death?

It’s crucial to understand the current fair market value basis rules so that you don’t pay more tax than you’re legally required to.

For example, in the above example, if your grandfather decides to make a gift of the stock during his lifetime (rather than passing it on when he dies), the “step-up” in basis (from $600 to $1 million) would be lost. Property that has gone up in value acquired by gift is subject to the “carryover” basis rules. That means the person receiving the gift takes the same basis the donor had in it ($600 in this example), plus a portion of any gift tax the donor pays on the gift.

A “step-down” occurs if someone dies owning property that has declined in value. In that case, the basis is lowered to the date-of-death value. Proper planning calls for seeking to avoid this loss of basis. Giving the property away before death won’t preserve the basis. That’s because when property that has gone down in value is the subject of a gift, the person receiving the gift must take the date of gift value as his basis (for purposes of determining his or her loss on a later sale). Therefore, a good strategy for property that has declined in value is for the owner to sell it before death so he or she can enjoy the tax benefits of the loss.

Need help with estate planning and taxes?

These are the basic rules. Other rules and limits may apply. For example, in some cases, a deceased person’s executor may be able to make an alternate valuation election. Contact us for tax assistance when estate planning and taxes as they relate to inheritances.

Retirement account catch-up contributions can add up

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|August 3, 2023

If you’re age 50 or older, you can probably make extra “catch-up” contributions to your tax-favored retirement account(s). It is worth the trouble? Yes! Here are the rules of the road.

The deal with IRAs

Eligible taxpayers can make extra catch-up contributions of up to $1,000 annually to a traditional or Roth IRA. If you’ll be 50 or older as of December 31, 2023, you can make a catch-up contribution for the 2023 tax year by April 15, 2024.

Extra deductible contributions to a traditional IRA create tax savings, but your deduction may be limited if you (or your spouse) are covered by a retirement plan at work and your income exceeds certain levels.

Extra contributions to Roth IRAs don’t generate any up-front tax savings, but you can take federal-income-tax-free qualified withdrawals after age 59½. There are also income limits on Roth contributions.

Higher-income individuals can make extra nondeductible traditional IRA contributions and benefit from the tax-deferred earnings advantage.

How company plans stack up

You also have to be age 50 or older to make extra salary-reduction catch-up contributions to an employer 401(k), 403(b), or 457 retirement plan — assuming the plan allows them and you signed up. You can make extra contributions of up to $7,500 to these accounts for 2023. Check with your human resources department to see how to sign up for extra contributions.

Salary-reduction contributions are subtracted from your taxable wages, so you effectively get a federal income tax deduction. You can use the resulting tax savings to help pay for part of your extra catch-up contribution, or you can set the tax savings aside in a taxable retirement savings account to further increase your retirement wealth.

Tally the amounts

Here’s the proof of how much you can accumulate.

IRAs

Let’s say you’re age 50 and you contribute an extra $1,000 catch-up contribution to your IRA this year and then do the same for the following 15 years. Here’s how much extra you could have in your IRA by age 65 (rounded to the nearest $1,000).

4% Annual Return 6% Annual Return 8% Annual Return $22,000 $26,000 $30,000

Remember: Making larger deductible contributions to a traditional IRA can also lower your tax bills. Making additional contributions to a Roth IRA won’t, but you can take more tax-free withdrawals later in life.

Company plans

Say you’ll turn age 50 next year. You contribute an extra $7,500 to your company plan next year. Then, you do the same for the next 15 years. Here’s how much more you could have in your 401(k), 403(b), or 457 plan account (rounded to the nearest $1,000).

4% Annual Return 6% Annual Return 8% Annual Return $164,000 $193,000 $227,000

Again, making larger contributions can also lower your tax bill.

Both IRA and company plans

Finally, let’s say you’ll turn age 50 next year. If you’re eligible, you contribute an extra $1,000 to your IRA for next year plus you make an extra $7,500 contribution to your company plan. Then, you do the same for the next 15 years. Here’s how much extra you could have in the two accounts combined (rounded to the nearest $1,000).

4% Annual Return 6% Annual Return 8% Annual Return $186,000 $219,000 $257,000

Make retirement more golden

As you can see, making extra catch-up contributions can add up to some pretty big numbers by the time you retire. If your spouse can make them too, you can potentially accumulate even more. Contact us if you have questions or want more information.

When can seniors deduct Medicare premiums on their tax returns?

Estate & Wealth Transfer Planning|August 1, 2023

If you’re age 65 and older and have basic Medicare insurance, you may need to pay additional premiums to get the level of coverage you want. The premiums can be costly, especially for married couples with both spouses paying them. But there may be an advantage: You may qualify for a tax break for paying the premiums.

Premiums count as medical expenses

For purposes of claiming an itemized deduction for medical expenses on your tax return, you can combine premiums for Medicare health insurance with other qualifying medical expenses. These includes amounts for “Medigap” insurance and Medicare Advantage plans. Some people buy Medigap policies because Medicare Parts A and B don’t cover all their health care expenses. Coverage gaps include co-payments, coinsurance, deductibles and other costs. Medigap is private supplemental insurance that’s intended to cover some or all gaps.

You must itemize

Qualifying for a medical expense deduction is difficult for many people for a couple of reasons. For 2023, you can deduct medical expenses only if you itemize deductions and only to the extent that total qualifying expenses exceed 7.5% of adjusted gross income.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act nearly doubled the standard deduction amounts for 2018 through 2025. For 2023, the standard deduction amounts are $13,850 for single filers, $27,700 for married couples filing jointly and $20,800 for heads of household. (For 2022, these amounts were $12,950, $25,900 and $19,400, respectively.)

So, many people claim the standard deduction because their itemized deductions are less than their standard deduction amount.

Note: Self-employed people and shareholder-employees of S corporations can generally claim an above-the-line deduction for their health insurance premiums, including Medicare premiums. So, they don’t need to itemize to get the tax savings from their premiums.

Other expenses that qualify

In addition to Medicare premiums, you can deduct various medical expenses, including those for dental treatments, ambulance services, dentures, eyeglasses and contacts, hospital services, lab tests, qualified long-term care services, prescription medicines and others.

There are also many other items that Medicare doesn’t cover that can be deducted for tax purposes, if you qualify. You can also deduct transportation expenses to get to and from medical appointments. If you go by car, you can deduct a flat 22-cents-per-mile rate for 2023 or you can keep track of your actual out-of-pocket expenses for gas, oil, maintenance and repairs.

Evaluate the options

We can answer any questions you have about whether you should claim the standard deduction or whether you’re able to claim medical expense deductions on your tax return.

IRS provides transitional relief for RMDs and inherited IRAs

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|August 1, 2023

The IRS has issued new guidance providing transitional relief related to recent legislative changes to the age at which taxpayers must begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts. The guidance in IRS Notice 2023-54 also extends relief already granted to taxpayers covered by the so-called “10-year rule” for inherited IRAs and other defined contribution plans.

The need for RMD relief

In late 2019, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act brought numerous changes to the retirement and estate planning landscape. Among other things, it generally raised the age at which retirement account holders must begin to take their RMDs. The required beginning date (RBD) for traditional IRAs and other qualified plans was raised from age 70½ to 72.

Three years later, in December 2022, the SECURE 2.0 Act increased the RBD age for RMDs further. This year the age increased to 73, and it’s scheduled to climb to 75 in 2033.

The RBD is defined as April 1 of the calendar year following the year in which an individual reaches the applicable age. Therefore, an IRA owner who was born in 1951 will have an RBD of April 1, 2025, rather than April 1, 2024. The first distribution made to the IRA owner that will be treated as a taxable RMD will be a distribution made for 2024.

While the delayed onset of RMDs is largely welcome news from an income tax perspective, it has caused some confusion among retirees and necessitated updates to plan administrators’ automatic payment systems. For example, retirees who were born in 1951 and turn 72 this year may have initiated distributions this year because they were under the impression that they needed to start taking RMDs by April 1, 2024.

Administrators and other payors also voiced concerns that the updates could take some time to implement. As a result, they said, plan participants and IRA owners who would’ve been required to start receiving RMDs for calendar year 2023 before SECURE 2.0 (that is, those who reach age 72 in 2023) and who receive distributions in 2023 might have had those distributions mischaracterized as RMDs. This is significant because RMDs aren’t eligible for a tax-free rollover to an eligible retirement plan, so the distributions would be includible in gross income for tax purposes.

The IRS response

To address these concerns, the IRS is extending the 60-day deadline for rollovers of distributions that were mischaracterized as RMDs due to the change in the RBD from age 72 to age 73. The deadline for rolling over such distributions made between January 1, 2023, and July 31, 2023, is now September 30, 2023.

For example, if a plan participant born in 1951 received a single-sum distribution in January 2023, and part of it was treated as ineligible for a rollover because it was mischaracterized as an RMD, the plan participant will have until the end of September to roll over that portion of the distribution. If the deadline passes without the distribution being rolled over, the distribution will then be considered taxable income.

The rollover also applies to mischaracterized IRA distributions made to an IRA owner (or surviving spouse). It applies even if the owner or surviving spouse rolled over a distribution within the previous 12 months, although the subsequent rollover will preclude the owner or spouse from doing another rollover in the next 12 months. (The individual could still make a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer.)

Plan administrators and payors receive some relief, too. They won’t be penalized for failing to treat any distribution made between January 1, 2023, and July 31, 2023, to a participant born in 1951 (or that participant’s surviving spouse) as an eligible rollover distribution if the distribution would’ve been an RMD before SECURE 2.0’s change to the RBD.

The 10-year rule conundrum

Prior to the enactment of the original SECURE Act, beneficiaries of inherited IRAs could “stretch” the RMDs on the accounts over their entire life expectancies. The stretch period could run for decades for younger heirs, allowing them to take smaller distributions and defer taxes while the accounts grew. These heirs then had the option to pass their IRAs to later generations, potentially deferring tax payments even longer.

To accelerate tax collection, the SECURE Act eliminated the rules permitting stretch RMDs for many heirs (referred to as designated beneficiaries, as opposed to eligible designated beneficiaries, or EDBs). For IRA owners or defined contribution plan participants who died in 2020 or later, the law generally requires that the entire balance of the account be distributed within 10 years of death. The rule applies regardless of whether the deceased dies before, on or after the RBD for RMDs from the plan. (EDBs may continue to stretch payments over their life expectancies or, if the deceased died before the RBD, may elect the 10-year rule treatment.)

According to proposed IRS regulations released in February 2022, designated beneficiaries who inherit an IRA or defined contribution plan before the deceased’s RBD can satisfy the 10-year rule by taking the entire sum before the end of the calendar year that includes the 10-year anniversary of the death. Notably, though, if the deceased dies on or after the RBD, designated beneficiaries would be required to take taxable annual RMDs (based on their life expectancies) in years one through nine, receiving the remaining balance in year 10. They can’t wait until the end of 10 years and take the entire account as a lump-sum distribution. The annual RMD rule would provide designated beneficiaries less tax-planning flexibility and could push them into higher tax brackets during those years, especially if they’re working.

The 10-year rule and the proposed regs left many designated beneficiaries who recently inherited IRAs or defined contribution plans bewildered as to when they needed to begin taking RMDs. For example, the IRS heard from heirs of deceased family members who died in 2020. These heirs hadn’t taken RMDs in 2021 and were unsure whether they were required to take them in 2022.

In recognition of the lingering questions, the IRS previously waived enforcement against taxpayers subject to the 10-year rule who missed 2021 and 2022 RMDs if the plan participant died in 2020 on or after the RBD. It also excused missed 2022 RMDs if the participant died in 2021 on or after the RBD. The latest guidance extends that relief by excusing 2023 missed RMDs if the participant died in 2020, 2021 or 2022 on or after the RBD.

The relief means covered individuals needn’t worry about being hit with excise tax equal to 25% of the amounts that should’ve been distributed but weren’t (or 10% if the failure to take the RMD is corrected in a timely manner). And plans won’t be penalized for failing to make an RMD in 2023 that would be required under the proposed regs.

Final regs are pending

The IRS also announced in the guidance that final regs related to RMDs will apply for calendar years no sooner than 2024. Previously, the agency had said final regs would apply no earlier than 2023. We’ll let you know when the IRS publishes the final regs and how they may affect you. Contact us with any questions.

Are you married and not earning compensation? You may be able to put money in an IRA

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|July 27, 2023

When one spouse in a married couple is not earning compensation, the couple may not be able to save as much as they need for a comfortable retirement. In general, an IRA contribution is allowed only if a taxpayer earns compensation. However, there’s an exception involving a “spousal” IRA. It allows contributions to be made for a spouse who is out of work or who stays home to care for children, elderly parents or for other reasons, as long as the couple files a joint tax return.

For 2023, the amount that an eligible married couple can contribute to an IRA for a nonworking spouse is $6,500, which is the same limit that applies for the working spouse.

Benefits of an IRA

As you may know, IRAs offer two advantages for taxpayers who make contributions to them:

Contributions of up to $6,500 a year to a traditional IRA may be tax deductible, and
The earnings on funds within the IRA aren’t taxed until withdrawn. (Alternatively, you may make contributions to a Roth IRA. There’s no deduction for Roth IRA contributions, but, if certain requirements are met, future distributions are tax-free.)

As long as a married couple has a combined earned income of at least $13,000, $6,500 can be contributed to an IRA for each spouse, for a total of $13,000. (The contributions for both spouses can be made to either a regular IRA or a Roth IRA, or split between them, as long as the combined contributions don’t exceed the $13,000 limit.)

Higher contribution if 50 or older

In addition, individuals who are age 50 or older can make “catch-up” contributions to an IRA or Roth IRA in the amount of $1,000. Therefore, for 2023, a taxpayer and his or her spouse, who have both reached age 50 by the end of the year can each make a deductible contribution to an IRA of up to $7,500, for a combined deductible limit of $15,000.

However, there are some limitations. If, in 2023, the working spouse is an active participant in one of several types of retirement plans, a deductible contribution of up to $6,500 (or $7,500 for a spouse who will be 50 by the end of the year) can be made to the IRA of the nonparticipant spouse only if the couple’s AGI doesn’t exceed a certain threshold. This limit is phased out for AGI between $218,000 and $228,000.

If you’d like more information about IRAs or want to discuss retirement planning, contact us.

The best way to survive an IRS audit is to prepare

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|July 25, 2023

The IRS recently released its audit statistics for the 2022 fiscal year and fewer taxpayers had their returns examined as compared with prior years. But even though a small percentage of returns are being chosen for audits these days, that will be little consolation if yours is one of them.

Recent statistics

Overall, just 0.49% of individual tax returns were audited in 2022. However, as in the past, those with higher incomes were audited at higher rates. For example, 8.5% of returns of taxpayers with adjusted gross incomes (AGIs) of $10 million or more were audited as of the end of FY 2022.

However, audits are expected to be on the rise in coming months because the Biden administration has made it a priority to go after high-income taxpayers who don’t pay what they legally owe. In any event, the IRS will examine thousands of returns this year. With proper planning, you may fare well even if you’re one of the unfortunate ones.

Be ready

The easiest way to survive an IRS examination is to prepare in advance. On a regular basis, you should systematically maintain documentation — invoices, bills, canceled checks, receipts or other proof — for all items reported on your tax returns.

Keep in mind that if you’re chosen, it’s possible you didn’t do anything wrong. Just because a return is selected for audit doesn’t mean that an error was made. Some returns are randomly selected based on statistical formulas. For example, IRS computers compare income and deductions on returns with what other taxpayers report. If an individual deducts a charitable contribution that’s significantly higher than what others with similar incomes report, the IRS may want to know why.

Returns can also be selected if they involve issues or transactions with other taxpayers who were previously selected for audit, such as business partners or investors.

The government generally has three years from when a tax return is filed to conduct an audit, and often the exam won’t begin until a year or more after you file a return.

Tax return complexity

The scope of an audit generally depends on whether it’s simple or complex. A return reflecting business or real estate income and expenses will obviously take longer to examine than a return with only salary income.

In FY 2022, most examinations (78.6%) were “correspondence audits” conducted by mail. The rest were face-to-face audits conducted at an IRS office or “field audits” at the taxpayers’ homes, businesses, or accountants’ offices.

Important: Even if you’re chosen, an IRS examination may be nothing to lose sleep over. In many cases, the IRS asks for proof of certain items and routinely “closes” the audit after the documentation is presented.

Get professional help

It’s prudent to have a tax professional represent you at an audit. A tax pro knows the issues that the IRS is likely to scrutinize and can prepare accordingly. In addition, a professional knows that in many instances IRS auditors will take a position (for example, to disallow certain deductions) even though courts and other guidance have expressed contrary opinions on the issues. Because pros can point to the proper authority, the IRS may be forced to concede on certain issues.

That email or text from the IRS: It’s a scam!

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|July 20, 2023

“Thousands of people have lost millions of dollars and their personal information to tax scams,” according to the IRS. The scams may come in through email, text messages, telephone calls or regular mail. Criminals regularly target both individuals and businesses and often prey on the elderly.

Important: The IRS will never contact you by email, text or social media channels about a tax bill or refund. Most IRS contacts are first made through regular mail. So if you get a text message saying it’s the IRS and asking for your Social Security number, it’s someone trying to steal your identity and rob you. Remember that the IRS already has your Social Security number.

“Scammers are coming up with new ways all the time to try to steal information from taxpayers,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. “People should be wary and avoid sharing sensitive personal data over the phone, email or social media to avoid getting caught up in these scams.”

Here are some of the crimes the IRS has identified in recent months:

Email messages and texts that infect recipients’ computers and phones. In this scam, a phony email claims to come from the IRS. The subject line of the email often states that the message is a notice of underreported income or a refund. There may be an attachment or a link to a bogus web page with your “tax statement.” When you open the attachment or click on the link, a Trojan horse virus is downloaded to your computer.

The trojan horse is an example of malicious code (also known as malware) that can take over your computer hard drive, giving someone remote access to the computer. It may also look for passwords and other information. The scammer will then use whatever information is gathered to commit identity theft, gain access to bank accounts and more.

Phishing and spear phishing messages. Emails or text messages that are designed to get users to provide personal information are called phishing. Spear phishing is a tailored phishing attempt sent to a specific organization or business department.

For example, one spear phishing scam targets employees who work in payroll departments. These employees might get an email that looks like it comes from an official source, such as the company CEO, requesting W-2 forms for all employees. The payroll employees might erroneously reply with these documents, which then provides criminals with personal information about the staff that can be used to commit fraud.

The IRS recommends using a two-person review process if you receive a request for W-2s. In addition, employers should require any requests for payroll to be submitted through an official process, like the employer’s human resources portal.

Scams keep evolving

These are only a few examples of the types of tax scams circulating. Be on guard for any suspicious messages. Don’t open attachments or click on links. Contact us if you get an email about a tax return we prepared. You can also report suspicious emails that claim to come from the IRS at phishing@irs.gov. Those who believe they may already be victims of identity theft should find out what do by going to the Federal Trade Commission’s website, OnGuardOnLine.gov.

Starting a business? How expenses will be treated on your tax return

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|July 18, 2023

Government officials saw a large increase in the number of new businesses launched during the COVID-19 pandemic. And the U.S. Census Bureau reports that business applications are still increasing slightly (up 0.4% from April 2023 to May 2023). The Bureau measures this by tracking the number of businesses applying for Employer Identification Numbers.

If you’re one of the entrepreneurs, you may not know that many of the expenses incurred by start-ups can’t be currently deducted on your tax return. You should be aware that the way you handle some of your initial expenses can make a large difference in your federal tax bill.

Handling expenses

If you’re starting or planning to launch a new business, here are three rules to keep in mind:

Start-up costs include those incurred or paid while creating an active trade or business — or investigating the creation or acquisition of one.
Under the tax code, taxpayers can elect to deduct up to $5,000 of business start-up and $5,000 of organizational costs in the year the business begins. As you know, $5,000 doesn’t go very far these days! And the $5,000 deduction is reduced dollar-for-dollar by the amount by which your total start-up or organizational costs exceed $50,000. Any remaining costs must be amortized over 180 months on a straight-line basis.
No deductions or amortization deductions are allowed until the year when “active conduct” of your new business begins. Generally, that means the year when the business has all the pieces in place to start earning revenue. To determine if a taxpayer meets this test, the IRS and courts generally ask questions such as: Did the taxpayer undertake the activity intending to earn a profit? Was the taxpayer regularly and actively involved? Did the activity actually begin?

Rules to qualify

In general, start-up expenses are those you incur to:

Investigate the creation or acquisition of a business,
Create a business, or
Engage in a for-profit activity in anticipation of that activity becoming an active business.

To qualify for the election, an expense also must be one that would be deductible if it were incurred after a business began. One example is money you spend analyzing potential markets for a new product or service.

To be eligible as an “organization expense,” an expense must be related to establishing a corporation or partnership. Some examples of organization expenses are legal and accounting fees for services related to organizing a new business and filing fees paid to the state of incorporation.

Decision to be made

If you have start-up expenses that you’d like to deduct this year, you need to decide whether to take the election described above. Recordkeeping is critical. Contact us about your start-up plans. We can help with the tax and other aspects of your new business.

Hiring family members can offer tax advantages (but be careful)

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|July 7, 2023

Summertime can mean hiring time for many types of businesses. With legions of working-age kids and college students out of school, and some spouses of business owners looking for part-time or seasonal work, companies may have a much deeper hiring pool to dive into this time of year.

If you’re considering hiring your children or spouse, there could be some tax advantages in play. However, you’ll need to be careful about following the IRS rules.

Employing your kids

Children who work for the business of a parent are subject to income tax withholding regardless of age. If the company is a partnership or corporation, children’s wages are also subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes (commonly known as FICA taxes) and Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) taxes — unless each partner is a parent of the child.

However, substantial savings are possible for a business that’s a sole proprietorship or a partnership in which each partner is a parent of the child-employee. In such cases:

Children under age 18 aren’t subject to FICA or FUTA taxes, and
Children who are 18 to 20 years old are subject to FICA taxes but not FUTA taxes.

As you can see, substantial tax savings may be in the offing depending on your child’s age. Avoiding FICA or FUTA taxes, or both, means more money in your pocket and that of your child.

It’s also worth noting that children generally are taxed at lower rates than their parents. Moreover, a child’s income can be offset partially or completely by the child’s standard deduction ($13,850 for single taxpayers in 2023). If your child earns less than the standard deduction, income is tax-free for the child on top of being deductible for the business.

Hiring your spouse

When your spouse goes to work for your business, that individual’s wages are subject to income tax withholding and FICA taxes — but not FUTA taxes. Employers generally must pay 6% of an employee’s first $7,000 in earnings as the FUTA tax, subject to tax credits for state unemployment taxes paid. Thus, you’ll save the money you’d otherwise spend for a nonspouse employee’s FUTA taxes.

It’s important that your spouse is treated and compensated as an employee. When spouses run a business together, and they share in profits and losses, the IRS may deem them partners — even in the absence of a formal partnership agreement.

You also may reap some savings from hiring your spouse if you’re a sole proprietor and have a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA). Your family can receive tax-free reimbursement from the business for medical expenses, and the business can deduct the reimbursements — reducing your income and self-employment taxes. HRA reimbursements aren’t subject to FICA taxes and the plan itself is a tax-free fringe benefit for your spouse. Do note, however, that this strategy isn’t available if you have other employees.

Handling it properly

Whether you decide to hire a child or spouse, or both, you’ll need to step carefully. Assign them actual job duties, pay them a reasonable amount, and keep thorough employment records (including timesheets as well as IRS Forms W-4 and I-9). Essentially, treat them as you would any other employee. Our firm can help you handle the situation properly.

Solo business owner? There’s a 401(k) for that

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|July 6, 2023

If you own a successful small business with no employees, you might be ready to set up a retirement plan. Now a 401(k) might seem way out of your reach — only bigger companies can manage one of those, right? Not necessarily.

Two ways to contribute

With a solo 401(k), the self-employed can make large annual deductible contributions to a qualified (that is, tax-advantaged) retirement account. However, this prime nest-egg-building opportunity comes with some administrative complexity.

How much can you contribute? For the 2023 tax year, you can make an “elective deferral contribution” of up to $22,500 of your net self-employment (SE) income to a solo 401(k). If you’ll be 50 or older as of December 31, 2023, you can make additional catch-up contributions up to $7,500 for a grand total of $30,000.

On top of your elective deferral contribution, an additional contribution of up to 25% (depending on your business structure) of net SE income is also permitted. This additional pay-in is called an “employer contribution,” though of course there’s no employer other than you when you’re self-employed.

For purposes of calculating the employer contribution, your net SE income isn’t reduced by your elective deferral contribution. So, for the 2023 tax year, the combined elective deferral and employer contributions can’t exceed:

$66,000 ($73,500 with the max catch-up contribution if you qualify), or
100% of your net SE income.

Along with the ability to make such a large annual deductible contribution, another advantage of solo 401(k)s is that contributions are completely discretionary. When cash is tight, you can contribute a small amount or nothing. In years when cash flow is strong, you can contribute the maximum allowable amount.

In addition, you can borrow from your solo 401(k) account, assuming the plan document permits it — which you should insist on when working with a provider (usually a financial services firm). The maximum loan amount is 50% of the account balance or $50,000, whichever is less. Some other types of retirement plans don’t allow loans.

Downsides to consider

The biggest downside to a solo 401(k) is, as mentioned, administrative complexity. You’ll encounter some substantial upfront paperwork when applying for a plan with a provider.

From there, ongoing administrative efforts will be required, including adopting a written plan document and arranging for how and when elective deferral contributions will be collected and paid into the account. Also, once your solo 401(k) account balance exceeds $250,000, you must file Form 5500-EZ with the IRS each year.

Bottom line

For a one-person business, a solo 401(k) may be a smart, tax-favored retirement plan choice as long as you have the desire and cash flow to make large contributions. This is particularly true if you’re 50 or older. Of course, there are other options to consider. We can help you shop for the right retirement plan, set one up and administer it going forward.

Inheriting stock or other assets? You’ll receive a favorable “stepped-up basis”

Retirement account catch-up contributions can add up

When can seniors deduct Medicare premiums on their tax returns?

IRS provides transitional relief for RMDs and inherited IRAs

Are you married and not earning compensation? You may be able to put money in an IRA

The best way to survive an IRS audit is to prepare

That email or text from the IRS: It’s a scam!

Starting a business? How expenses will be treated on your tax return

Hiring family members can offer tax advantages (but be careful)

Solo business owner? There’s a 401(k) for that

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