Services Archives - Page 25 of 72

Five tax implications of divorce

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|July 8, 2022

Are you in the early stages of divorce? In addition to the tough personal issues that you’re dealing with, several tax concerns need to be addressed to ensure that taxes are kept to a minimum and that important tax-related decisions are properly made. Here are five issues to consider if you’re in the process of getting a divorce.

Alimony or support payments. For alimony under divorce or separation agreements that are executed after 2018, there’s no deduction for alimony and separation support payments for the spouse making them. And the alimony payments aren’t included in the gross income of the spouse receiving them. (The rules are different for divorce or separation agreements executed before 2019.)
Child support. No matter when the divorce or separation instrument is executed, child support payments aren’t deductible by the paying spouse (or taxable to the recipient).
Personal residence. In general, if a married couple sells their home in connection with a divorce or legal separation, they should be able to avoid tax on up to $500,000 of gain (as long as they’ve owned and used the residence as their principal residence for two of the previous five years). If one spouse continues to live in the home and the other moves out (but they both remain owners of the home), they may still be able to avoid gain on the future sale of the home (up to $250,000 each), but special language may have to be included in the divorce decree or separation agreement to protect this tax exclusion for the spouse who moves out.
If the couple doesn’t meet the two-year ownership and use tests, any gain from the sale may qualify for a reduced exclusion due to unforeseen circumstances.
Pension benefits. A spouse’s pension benefits are often part of a divorce property settlement. In these cases, the commonly preferred method to handle the benefits is to get a “qualified domestic relations order” (QDRO). This gives one spouse the right to share in the pension benefits of the other and taxes the spouse who receives the benefits. Without a QDRO the spouse who earned the benefits will still be taxed on them even though they’re paid out to the other spouse.
Business interests. If certain types of business interests are transferred in connection with divorce, care should be taken to make sure “tax attributes” aren’t forfeited. For example, interests in S corporations may result in “suspended” losses (losses that are carried into future years instead of being deducted in the year they’re incurred). When these interests change hands in a divorce, the suspended losses may be forfeited. If a partnership interest is transferred, a variety of more complex issues may arise involving partners’ shares of partnership debt, capital accounts, built-in gains on contributed property, and other complex issues.

A variety of other issues

These are just some of the issues you may have to deal with if you’re getting a divorce. In addition, you must decide how to file your tax return (single, married filing jointly, married filing separately or head of household). You may need to adjust your income tax withholding and you should notify the IRS of any new address or name change. There are also estate planning considerations. We can help you work through all of the financial issues involved in divorce.

Checking in on your accounts payable processes

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|July 1, 2022

Accounts payable is a critical area of concern for every business. However, as a back-office function, it doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. Once in place, accounts payable processes tend to get taken for granted. Following are some tips and best practices for improving your company’s approach.

Be strategic

Too often, businesses take a reactive approach to payables, simply delaying payments as long as possible to improve short-term cash flow. But this approach can backfire if it puts you on bad terms with vendors.

Poor vendor relationships can affect delivery times, service quality and payment terms. A proactive, strategic approach to payables can help you strike a balance between optimizing short-term cash flow and getting along well with vendors.

It’s also critical to explore the potential benefits of early payment discounts, volume discounts or other incentives that can eventually improve cash flow. That doesn’t mean you should accept every available discount. Obviously, the decision hinges on whether the long-term benefits of the discount outweigh the immediate cost of, for example, paying early or buying in bulk.

Strengthen selection and review

Implement policies, procedures and systems to ensure that you properly vet vendors and negotiate the best possible prices and payment terms. Create preferred vendor lists so staff members follow established procedures and don’t engage in “maverick” buying — that is, purchasing from unauthorized vendors.

Review vendor contracts regularly, too. Create and maintain a database of key contractual terms that’s readily accessible to everyone. With an understanding of payment terms and other important contractual provisions, employees can use it to double-check vendor compliance and avoid errors that can result in overpayments or duplicate payments.

Leverage technology

Automating accounts payable with the right software offers many benefits. For one thing, an automated, paperless system can increase efficiency, reduce costs and speed up invoice processing. And, of course, the ability to pay invoices electronically makes it easier to take advantage of available discounts.

In addition, automation can provide greater visibility of payables and better control over payments. For instance, cloud-based systems provide immediate access to account information, allowing you to review and approve invoices from anywhere at any time. The best automated systems also contain security controls that help prevent and detect fraud and errors.

Naturally, there’s an upfront cost to buying good accounts payable software and training your staff to use it. You’ll need to find a solution that suits your company’s size, needs and technological sophistication. You’ll also incur ongoing costs to maintain the system and keep it updated.

Pay attention to payables

Don’t underestimate the impact of accounts payable on the financial performance of your business. Taking a “continuous improvement” approach can enhance cash flow and boost profitability. Let us help you devise strategies for the optimal tracking and handling of outgoing payments.

Dodge the tumult with a buy-sell agreement

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|July 1, 2022

Businesses with multiple owners generally benefit from a variety of viewpoints, diverse experience and strategic areas of specialization. However, there’s a major risk: the company can be thrown into tumult if one of the owners decides, or is compelled by circumstances, to leave.

A logical and usually effective solution is to create and implement a buy-sell agreement. This is a legal document that spells out how an owner’s share in the business will be valued and transferred following a “triggering event” such as voluntary departure, divorce, disability or death.

Buy-sell benefits

A well-designed “buy-sell” (as it’s often called for short) manages risk in various ways. For starters, it helps keep ownership of the business within the family or another select group — for example, people actively involved in the enterprise rather than outsiders. In the case of a divorce, an agreement can prevent an owner’s soon-to-be former spouse from acquiring a business interest.

The death of an owner is a particularly difficult and often complex situation. A buy-sell can establish the value of the business for gift and estate tax purposes so long as certain requirements are met. The agreement is then able to play a role in providing the owner’s family with liquidity to pay estate taxes and other expenses.

Tax impact

Generally, buy-sell agreements are structured as either:

Cross-purchase, under which the remaining owners buy the departing owner’s shares, or
Redemption, under which the business entity itself buys the departing owner’s shares.

From a tax perspective, cross-purchase agreements are generally preferable. The remaining owners receive the equivalent of a “stepped-up basis” in the purchased shares. That is, their basis for those shares will be determined by the price paid, which is the current fair market value.

Having this higher basis will reduce their capital gains if they sell their interests down the road. Also, if the remaining owners fund the purchase with life insurance, the insurance proceeds are generally tax-free.

Redemption agreements, on the other hand, can trigger a variety of unwanted tax consequences. These include corporate alternative minimum tax, accumulated earnings tax or treatment of the purchase price as a taxable dividend.

However, there’s a disadvantage to cross-purchase agreements. That is, the owners, rather than the company, are personally responsible for funding the purchase of a departing owner’s interest. And if they use life insurance as a funding source, each owner will need to maintain policies on the life of each of the other shareholders — a potentially cumbersome and expensive arrangement.

Worth the effort

As you can see, the tax and legal details of a buy-sell agreement can get quite technical. But don’t let that discourage you from establishing one or occasionally reviewing a buy-sell you already have in place. We can help you in either case.

Are you and your spouse considering “splitting” gifts?

Estate & Wealth Transfer Planning|June 28, 2022

Gift splitting can be a valuable estate planning tool, allowing you and your spouse to maximize the amount of wealth you can transfer tax-free. But in some cases, it can have undesirable consequences, so be sure that you understand the implications before making an election to split gifts.

Gifts of separate property

Gift splitting is helpful if you wish to minimize taxes on gifts of separate property (as opposed to jointly owned or marital property). Suppose, for example, that in 2022 you give your child $32,000 in stock that’s your separate property. Your annual gift tax exclusion for 2022 shields half of that amount from gift taxes, but the remaining $16,000 is taxable. However, if you and your spouse elect to split gifts, half of the gift is deemed to be from your spouse and is shielded from tax by his or her 2022 exclusion.

It’s important to understand that when you make an election to split gifts on a gift tax return, it applies to all gifts made by you or your spouse during the year. In some cases, this can have unintended consequences, especially if you plan to leverage your federal gift and estate tax exemption amount, which is $12.06 million in 2022.

Because the exemption is scheduled to return to an inflation-adjusted $5 million in 2026, many people are making large gifts to their loved ones before the current exemption sunsets. But if you elect to split gifts, you risk losing the benefit of the increased exemption.

For example, let’s say that in 2022 you transfer interests in your separately owned business valued at $12.06 million to your children. If you and your spouse elect to split gifts this year, then each of you will be deemed to have made a gift of $6.03 million. Now let’s say that when the exemption amount drops in 2026, the inflation-adjusted amount ends up being $6.03 million. This means that you and your spouse will both have used up your exemptions. Had you not split gifts in 2022, however, you would have enjoyed your full $12.06 million exemption amount, while preserving your spouse’s $6.03 million exemption.

Follow the rules

It’s important to understand the rules surrounding gift-splitting to avoid unintended — and potentially costly — consequences. We’d be pleased to provide additional details and answer any questions regarding making gifts.

The HSA: A healthy supplement to your wealth-building regimen

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|June 23, 2022

A Health Savings Account (HSA) can be a powerful tool for financing health care expenses while supplementing your other retirement savings vehicles. And it offers estate planning benefits to boot.

ABCs of an HSA

Similar to a traditional IRA or 401(k) plan, an HSA is a tax-advantaged savings account funded with pretax dollars. Funds can be withdrawn tax-free to pay for a wide range of qualified medical expenses. (Withdrawals for nonqualified expenses are taxable and, if you’re under 65, subject to penalties.)

An HSA must be coupled with a high-deductible health plan (HDHP). For 2022, an HDHP is a plan with a minimum deductible of $1,400 for individuals and $2,800 for family coverage, and maximum out-of-pocket expenses of $7,050 for individuals and $14,100 for family coverage.

The IRS recently issued inflation-adjusted amounts for 2023: the minimum HDHP deductible for individuals will be $1,500 and $3,000 for family coverage. The maximum HDHP out-of-pocket cost will be $7,500 for self-only coverage and $15,000 for family coverage.

Be aware that, to contribute, you must not be enrolled in Medicare or covered by any non-HDHP insurance (a spouse’s plan, for example).

For 2022, the annual contribution limit for HSAs is $3,650 for individuals and $7,300 for those with family coverage. For 2023, the HSA contribution limit for individuals will be $3,850 and $7,750 for those with family coverage.

If you’re 55 or older, you can add another $1,000 annually. Typically, contributions are made by individuals, but some employers contribute to employees’ accounts.

HSA benefits

HSAs can lower health care costs in two ways: 1) by reducing your insurance expense (HDHP premiums are substantially lower than those of other plans) and 2) by allowing you to pay qualified expenses with pretax dollars.

In addition, any funds remaining in an HSA may be carried over from year to year and invested, growing on a tax-deferred basis indefinitely. To the extent that HSA funds aren’t used to pay for qualified medical expenses, they behave much like in an IRA or a 401(k) plan.

Estate planning and your HSA

Unlike traditional IRA and 401(k) plan accounts, HSAs need not make required minimum distributions once you reach a certain age. Except for funds used to pay qualified medical expenses, the account balance continues to grow on a tax-deferred basis indefinitely, providing additional assets for your heirs. The tax implications of inheriting an HSA differ substantially depending on who receives it, so it’s important to consider your beneficiary designation.

If you name your spouse as beneficiary, the inherited HSA will be treated as his or her own HSA. That means your spouse can allow the account to continue growing and withdraw funds tax-free for his or her own qualified medical expenses.

If you name your child or someone else other than your spouse as beneficiary, the HSA terminates and your beneficiary is taxed on the account’s fair market value. It’s possible to designate your estate as beneficiary, but in most cases that’s not the best choice, because a beneficiary other than your estate can avoid taxes on qualified medical expenses paid with HSA funds within one year after death.

Inflation enhances the 2023 amounts for Health Savings Accounts

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|June 14, 2022

The IRS recently released guidance providing the 2023 inflation-adjusted amounts for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). High inflation rates will result in next year’s amounts being increased more than they have been in recent years.

HSA basics

An HSA is a trust created or organized exclusively for the purpose of paying the “qualified medical expenses” of an “account beneficiary.” An HSA can only be established for the benefit of an “eligible individual” who is covered under a “high deductible health plan.” In addition, a participant can’t be enrolled in Medicare or have other health coverage (exceptions include dental, vision, long-term care, accident and specific disease insurance).

A high deductible health plan (HDHP) is generally a plan with an annual deductible that isn’t less than $1,000 for self-only coverage and $2,000 for family coverage. In addition, the sum of the annual deductible and other annual out-of-pocket expenses required to be paid under the plan for covered benefits (but not for premiums) can’t exceed $5,000 for self-only coverage, and $10,000 for family coverage.

Within specified dollar limits, an above-the-line tax deduction is allowed for an individual’s contribution to an HSA. This annual contribution limitation and the annual deductible and out-of-pocket expenses under the tax code are adjusted annually for inflation.

Inflation adjustments for next year

In Revenue Procedure 2022-24, the IRS released the 2023 inflation-adjusted figures for contributions to HSAs, which are as follows:

Annual contribution limitation. For calendar year 2023, the annual contribution limitation for an individual with self-only coverage under an HDHP will be $3,850. For an individual with family coverage, the amount will be $7,750. This is up from $3,650 and $7,300, respectively, for 2022.

In addition, for both 2022 and 2023, there’s a $1,000 catch-up contribution amount for those who are age 55 and older at the end of the tax year.

High deductible health plan defined. For calendar year 2023, an HDHP will be a health plan with an annual deductible that isn’t less than $1,500 for self-only coverage or $3,000 for family coverage (these amounts are $1,400 and $2,800 for 2022). In addition, annual out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, co-payments, and other amounts, but not premiums) won’t be able to exceed $7,500 for self-only coverage or $15,000 for family coverage (up from $7,050 and $14,100, respectively, for 2022).

Reap the rewards

There are a variety of benefits to HSAs. Contributions to the accounts are made on a pre-tax basis. The money can accumulate tax free year after year and can be withdrawn tax free to pay for a variety of medical expenses such as doctor visits, prescriptions, chiropractic care and premiums for long-term care insurance. In addition, an HSA is “portable.” It stays with an account holder if he or she changes employers or leaves the workforce. If you have questions about HSAs at your business, contact your employee benefits and tax advisors.

Tighten up billing and collections to mitigate economic uncertainties

Management Advisory Services & Business Consulting|June 9, 2022

While many economic indicators remain strong, the U.S. economy is still giving business owners plenty to think about. The nation’s gross domestic product unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter of 2022. Rising inflation is on everyone’s mind. And global supply chain issues persist, spurred on by events such as the COVID-19 lockdowns in China and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Obviously, these factors are far beyond your control. However, you can look inward at certain aspects of your own operations to see whether there are adjustments you could make to mitigate some of the financial challenges you might face this year.

One fundamental aspect of doing business is billing and collections. Managing accounts receivable can be challenging in any economy. So, to keep your company financially fit, you should occasionally revisit and tighten up billing and collections processes as necessary.

Resolve issues quickly

The quality of your products or services — and the efficiency of order fulfillment — can significantly impact collections. You literally give customers an excuse not to pay when an order arrives damaged, late or not at all, or when you fail to timely provide the high-quality service you promise. Other mistakes include incorrectly billing a customer or failing to apply discounts or fulfill special offers.

Make sure your staff is resolving billing conflicts quickly. For starters, ask customers to pay any portion of a bill they’re not disputing. Once the matter is resolved, and the product or service has been delivered, immediately contact the customer regarding payment of the remainder.

Depending on the circumstances, you might request that some customers sign off on the resolution by attaching a note to the final invoice. Doing so can help protect you from potential legal claims.

Bill on time, use technology

Sending invoices out late can also thwart your collection efforts. Familiarize yourself with the latest industry norms before setting or changing payment schedules. If your most important customers have their own payment schedules, be sure they’re officially set up in your system, if possible, so invoicing doesn’t go awry if a new employee comes on board.

Of course, technology is also important. Implement an up-to-date accounts receivable system that, for example:

Generates invoices when work is complete,
Flags problem accounts, and
Allows you to run various useful reports.

Look into the latest ways to transmit account statements and invoices electronically. Emphasize to customers that they can safely pay online, assuming you allow them to do so.

Last, regularly verify account information to make sure invoices and statements are accurate and going to the right place. Set clear standards and expectations with customers — both verbally and in writing — about your credit policy, as well as pricing, delivery and payment terms.

Set the ground rules

Sometimes you might feel at the mercy of your customers when it comes to cash inflows. Yet businesses get to set the ground rules for incentivizing and pursuing timely payments. We can help assess your accounts receivable processes, suggest key metrics to track and explore actions you might take to help ensure customers pay on time.

IRA charitable donations: An alternative to taxable required distributions

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|June 7, 2022

Are you a charitably minded individual who is also taking distributions from a traditional IRA? You may want to consider the tax advantages of making a cash donation to an IRS-approved charity out of your IRA.

When distributions are taken directly out of traditional IRAs, federal income tax of up to 37% in 2022 will have to be paid. State income taxes may also be owed.

Qualified charitable distributions

One popular way to transfer IRA assets to charity is via a tax provision that allows IRA owners who are age 70½ or older to direct up to $100,000 per year of their IRA distributions to charity. These distributions are known as qualified charitable distributions (QCDs). The money given to charity counts toward your required minimum distributions (RMDs) but doesn’t increase your adjusted gross income (AGI) or generate a tax bill.

Keeping the donation out of your AGI may be important for several reasons. Here are some of them:

It can help you qualify for other tax breaks. For example, having a lower AGI can reduce the threshold for deducting medical expenses, which are only deductible to the extent they exceed 7.5% of AGI.
You can avoid rules that can cause some or all of your Social Security benefits to be taxed and some or all of your investment income to be hit with the 3.8% net investment income tax.
It can help you avoid a high-income surcharge for Medicare Part B and Part D premiums, which kick in if AGI is over certain levels.
The distributions going to the charity won’t be subject to federal estate tax and generally won’t be subject to state death taxes.

Important points: You can’t claim a charitable contribution deduction for a QCD not included in your income. Also keep in mind that the age after which you must begin taking RMDs is 72, but the age you can begin making QCDs is 70½.

To benefit from a QCD for 2022, you must arrange for a distribution to be paid directly from the IRA to a qualified charity by December 31, 2022. You can use QCDs to satisfy all or part of the amount of your RMDs from your IRA. For example, if your 2022 RMDs are $10,000, and you make a $5,000 QCD for 2022, you have to withdraw another $5,000 to satisfy your 2022 RMDs.

Other rules and limits may apply. Want more information? Contact us to see whether this strategy would be beneficial in your situation.

Caring for an elderly relative? You may be eligible for tax breaks

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|June 2, 2022

Taking care of an elderly parent or grandparent may provide more than just personal satisfaction. You could also be eligible for tax breaks. Here’s a rundown of some of them.

1. Medical expenses. If the individual qualifies as your “medical dependent,” and you itemize deductions on your tax return, you can include any medical expenses you incur for the individual along with your own when determining your medical deduction. The test for determining whether an individual qualifies as your “medical dependent” is less stringent than that used to determine whether an individual is your “dependent,” which is discussed below. In general, an individual qualifies as a medical dependent if you provide over 50% of his or her support, including medical costs.

However, bear in mind that medical expenses are deductible only to the extent they exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI).

The costs of qualified long-term care services required by a chronically ill individual and eligible long-term care insurance premiums are included in the definition of deductible medical expenses. There’s an annual cap on the amount of premiums that can be deducted. The cap is based on age, going as high as $5,640 for 2022 for an individual over 70.

2. Filing status. If you aren’t married, you may qualify for “head of household” status by virtue of the individual you’re caring for. You can claim this status if:

The person you’re caring for lives in your household,
You cover more than half the household costs,
The person qualifies as your “dependent,” and
The person is a relative.

If the person you’re caring for is your parent, the person doesn’t need to live with you, so long as you provide more than half of the person’s household costs and the person qualifies as your dependent. A head of household has a higher standard deduction and lower tax rates than a single filer.

3. Tests for determining whether your loved one is a “dependent.” Dependency exemptions are suspended (or disallowed) for 2018–2025. Even though the dependency exemption is currently suspended, the dependency tests still apply when it comes to determining whether a taxpayer is entitled to various other tax benefits, such as head-of-household filing status.

For an individual to qualify as your “dependent,” the following must be true for the tax year at issue:

You must provide more than 50% of the individual’s support costs,
The individual must either live with you or be related,
The individual must not have gross income in excess of an inflation-adjusted exemption amount,
The individual can’t file a joint return for the year, and
The individual must be a U.S. citizen or a resident of the U.S., Canada or Mexico.

4. Dependent care credit. If the cared-for individual qualifies as your dependent, lives with you, and physically or mentally can’t take care of him- or herself, you may qualify for the dependent care credit for costs you incur for the individual’s care to enable you and your spouse to go to work.

Contact us if you’d like to further discuss the tax aspects of financially supporting and caring for an elderly relative.

Thinking about converting your home into a rental property?

Tax Prep, Planning & Strategy|May 31, 2022

In some cases, homeowners decide to move to new residences, but keep their present homes and rent them out. If you’re thinking of doing this, you’re probably aware of the financial risks and rewards. However, you also should know that renting out your home carries potential tax benefits and pitfalls.

You’re generally treated as a regular real estate landlord once you begin renting your home. That means you must report rental income on your tax return, but also are entitled to offsetting landlord deductions for the money you spend on utilities, operating expenses, incidental repairs and maintenance (for example, fixing a leak in the roof). Additionally, you can claim depreciation deductions for the home. You can fully offset rental income with otherwise allowable landlord deductions.

Passive activity rules

However, under the passive activity loss (PAL) rules, you may not be able to currently claim the rent-related deductions that exceed your rental income unless an exception applies. Under the most widely applicable exception, the PAL rules won’t affect your converted property for a tax year in which your adjusted gross income doesn’t exceed $100,000, you actively participate in running the home-rental business, and your losses from all rental real estate activities in which you actively participate don’t exceed $25,000.

You should also be aware that potential tax pitfalls may arise from renting your residence. Unless your rentals are strictly temporary and are made necessary by adverse market conditions, you could forfeit an important tax break for home sellers if you finally sell the home at a profit. In general, you can escape tax on up to $250,000 ($500,000 for married couples filing jointly) of gain on the sale of your principal home. However, this tax-free treatment is conditioned on your having used the residence as your principal residence for at least two of the five years preceding the sale. So renting your home out for an extended time could jeopardize a big tax break.

Even if you don’t rent out your home so long as to jeopardize your principal residence exclusion, the tax break you would have gotten on the sale (the $250,000/$500,000 exclusion) won’t apply to the extent of any depreciation allowable with respect to the rental or business use of the home for periods after May 6, 1997, or to any gain allocable to a period of nonqualified use (any period during which the property isn’t used as the principal residence of the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s spouse or former spouse) after December 31, 2008. A maximum tax rate of 25% will apply to this gain (attributable to depreciation deductions).

Selling at a loss

Some homeowners who bought at the height of a market may ultimately sell at a loss someday. In such situations, the loss is available for tax purposes only if the owner can establish that the home was in fact converted permanently into income-producing property. Here, a longer lease period helps an owner. However, if you’re in this situation, be aware that you may not wind up with much of a loss for tax purposes. That’s because basis (the cost for tax purposes) is equal to the lesser of actual cost or the property’s fair market value when it’s converted to rental property. So if a home was bought for $300,000, converted to a rental when it’s worth $250,000, and ultimately sold for $225,000, the loss would be only $25,000.

The question of whether to turn a principal residence into rental property isn’t easy. Contact us to review your situation and help you make a decision.

Five tax implications of divorce

Checking in on your accounts payable processes

Dodge the tumult with a buy-sell agreement

Are you and your spouse considering “splitting” gifts?

The HSA: A healthy supplement to your wealth-building regimen

Inflation enhances the 2023 amounts for Health Savings Accounts

Tighten up billing and collections to mitigate economic uncertainties

IRA charitable donations: An alternative to taxable required distributions

Caring for an elderly relative? You may be eligible for tax breaks

Thinking about converting your home into a rental property?

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