Category: cannabis

Business Taxes, cannabis, Chicago cannabis, Family Taxes, General Information, General Tax Topics, Self Employed, Small Business, Tax Debt, Tax Deductions, Tax Planning, Tax Reduction, Uncategorized

Congress Reinstates Expired Tax Provisions—Some Back to 2018

Howard Tax Prep LLC

congress 3

Congress let many tax provisions expire on December 31, 2017, making them dead for your already- filed 2018 tax returns.

In what has become much too common practice, Congress resurrected the dead provisions retroactively to January 1, 2018. That’s good news. The bad news is that we have to amend your tax returns in our Chicago south loop tax preparation office to make this work for you.

And you can relax when filing your 2019 and 2020 tax returns, because lawmakers extended the “extender” tax laws for both years. Thus, no worries until 2021—and even longer for a few extenders that received special treatment.

Back from the Dead

The big five tax breaks that most likely impact your Form 1040 are as follows:

  1. Exclusion from income for cancellation of acquisition debt on your principal residence (up to $2 million)
  2. Deduction for mortgage insurance premiums as residence interest
  3. 7.5 percent floor to deduct medical expenses (instead of 10 percent)
  4. Above-the-line tuition and fees deduction
  5. Nonbusiness energy property credit for energy-efficient improvements to your residence

Congress extended these five tax breaks retroactively to January 1, 2018. They now expire on December 31, 2020, so you’re good for both 2019 and 2020.
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Other Provisions Revived

Congress also extended the following tax breaks retroactively to January 1, 2018, and they now expire on December 31, 2020 (unless otherwise noted):

  • Black lung disability trust fund tax
  • Indian employment credit
  • Railroad track maintenance credit (December 31, 2022)
  • Mine rescue team training credit
  • Certain racehorses as three-year depreciable property
  • Seven-year recovery period for motorsports entertainment complexes
  • Accelerated depreciation for business property on Indian reservations
  • Expensing rules for certain film, television, and theater productions
  • Empowerment zone tax incentives
  • American Samoa economic development credit
  • Biodiesel and renewable diesel credit (December 31, 2022)
  • Second-generation biofuel producer credit
  • Qualified fuel-cell motor vehicles
  • Alternative fuel-refueling property credit
  • Two-wheeled plug-in electric vehicle credit (December 31, 2021)
  • Credit for electricity produced from specific renewable resources
  • Production credit for Indian coal facilities
  • Energy-efficient homes credit
  • Special depreciation allowance for second-generation biofuel plant property
  • Energy-efficient commercial buildings deduction

Temporary Provisions Extended

Congress originally scheduled these provisions to end in 2019 and now extended them through 2020:

  • New markets tax credit
  • Paid family and medical leave credit
  • Work opportunity credit
  • Beer, wine, and distilled spirits reductions in certain excise taxes
  • Look-through rule for certain controlled foreign corporations
  • Health insurance coverage credit

If you have questions about the extenders, please call us at 855-743-5765. Although we’ve given you the basics, this is not an all-inclusive article. Should you have questions, need help with tax debt, business tax preparation, business entity creation, business insurance, or business compliance
assistance please contact us online, or call our office toll free at 1-855-743-5765 or locally in Chicago or Indiana at 1-708-529-6604. Make sure to join our newsletter for more tips on reducing taxes, and increasing your wealth.

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Business Taxes, cannabis, Chicago cannabis, Family Taxes, General Information, General Tax Topics, Self Employed, Small Business, Tax Debt, Tax Deductions, Tax Planning, Tax Reduction, Uncategorized

Impact of Death, Retirement, & Disability on the 179 Tax Deduction

Howard Tax Prep LLC

hospital work process

What tax effect would death, retirement, or disability have on you or your business?

Here’s an easy example to illustrate.

Let’s say that in 2017, you purchased (for business use) a pickup truck with a gross vehicle weight rating greater than 6,000 pounds. Asserting that you use the pickup 100 percent for business, you expensed the entire $55,000 cost.

What happens to that $55,000 expensed amount if you die, retire, or become disabled before the end of the vehicle’s five-year depreciation period?

Death

If your heirs are not going to pay estate taxes, your death is about as good as it gets. Here’s why:

  • You get to keep your Section 179 deduction. (It goes to the grave with you.)
  • Your pickup truck gets marked up to fair market value. (Remember, you expensed it to zero, but now at your death, the fair market value is the new basis to your heir or heirs.)

Example. Using Section 179, you expensed the entire cost of your $55,000 pickup truck. You die. Your daughter Amy inherits the pickup at its fair market value, which is now $31,000, and sells it immediately for $31,000. Here are the results:

  • You get to keep your Section 179 deduction—no recapture applies.
  • Amy pays zero tax on her sale of the pickup truck.
  • Your estate includes the $31,000 fair market value of the pickup, and if your estate is less than $11.4 million, your estate pays no estate taxes.

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Disability

This is ugly. If you become disabled and you allow your business use of the pickup to fall to 50 percent or below during its five-year depreciable life, you must recapture and pay taxes on the excess deductions generated by the Section 179 deduction.

To make matters worse, you must use straight-line depreciation in making the excess-deduction calculation.

Retirement

With retirement, you have exactly the same problem as you would have if you became disabled. In fact, with retirement, you disable your business involvement, and that makes your pickup truck fail the more-than-50-percent-business-use test, resulting in recapture of the excess benefit over straight-line depreciation.

Takeaways

You need to consider what happens should you become disabled, or retire, or die.

Although we’ve given you the basics, this is not an all-inclusive article. Should you have tax debt help questions, need Chicago business tax preparation, business entity creation, business insurance, or business compliance assistance please contact us online, or call our office toll free at 1-855-743-5765 or locally in Chicago or Indiana at 1-708-529-6604. Make sure to join our newsletter for more tips on reducing taxes, and increasing your wealth.

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Never miss another tip again! Join our newsletter, to receive tax reduction/wealth building tips delivered right to your inbox!

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Business Taxes, cannabis, Chicago cannabis, Family Taxes, General Information, General Tax Topics, notary, Self Employed, signing agent, Small Business, Tax Debt, Tax Deductions, Tax Planning, Tax Reduction, Uncategorized

Proprietors and Partners Mistakenly Pay Themselves Illegal W-2 Wages

Howard Tax Prep LLC

Cropped,Hands,Of,Businessman,Opening,Envelope,With,Paycheck

In our Chicago South Loop Tax Preparation office, we often see sole proprietors, single member LLC members, and partners who are above the Section 199A thresholds look for W-2 wages as a means to salvage the 20 percent deduction allowed by Section 199A. They also often look enviously at the fringe benefits that are available to employees and not to them as sole proprietors, single member LLC members, or partners.

To overcome getting shorted on the Section 199A deduction or being denied fringe benefits, some sole proprietors, single member LLC members, and partners instruct their payroll services to make them W-2 employees. When the payroll services do this, the proprietors, single member LLC members, and partners believe they are now legitimate employees of their proprietorships/disregarded entities (the IRS regards single member LLC’s as a sole proprietorship/disregarded entity for tax purposes), and partnerships. This belief is wrong; Totally wrong!

  • The sole proprietor/single member LLC member, may not be a W-2 employee of his or her sole proprietorship/disregarded entity UNLESS they have elected to have their single member LLC taxed as S-corp, or C-corp.
  • A partner may not be a W-2 employee of a partnership.
  • Some sole proprietors, single member LLC members, and partners have had their Certified Professional Employer Organization (CPEO) treat them as employees; this is also, wrong!
  • Using a CPEO does not create the possibility of paying a W-2 wage to a partner, single member LLC member, or a sole proprietor.

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Takeaways

The sole proprietor, nor the single member LLC member is a W-2 employee of the proprietorship/disregarded entity. He or she is self-employed and operates under the IRS rules for the self-employed. The partner is not a W-2 employee of the partnership. He or she is a partner and is treated as a partner under the tax rules. Partners receive remuneration for services as guaranteed payments, which are subject to self employment taxes.

The single-member LLC is viewed as a disregarded entity, and taxed as a sole proprietorship unless the member elects treatment as an S or a C corporation. Similarly, a multi member LLC is a partnership.

If you are looking to setup single member LLC payroll in Chicago, and learn how to pay yourself through your business, please look into our service of changing your LLC to be taxed as a S-Corp, or C-Corp.

Although we’ve given you the basics, this is not an all-inclusive article. Should you have tax debt help questions, need Chicago business tax preparation, business entity creation, business insurance, or business compliance assistance please contact us online, or call our office toll free at 1-855-743-5765 or locally in Chicago or Indiana at 1-708-529-6604. Make sure to join our newsletter for more tips on reducing taxes, and increasing your wealth.

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Never miss another tip again! Join our newsletter, to receive tax reduction/wealth building tips delivered right to your inbox!

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cannabis, Chicago cannabis, General Information, General Tax Topics, Self Employed, Small Business, Tax Debt, Tax Deductions, Tax Reduction, Uncategorized

ILLINOIS CANNABIS LICENSE DEEP DIVE CLASS.

Howard Tax Prep LLC

weed

Most recently, Illinois became the second most-populous state to legalize recreational marijuana. Cannabis licenses in Illinois will be issued in 2 groups. In the first wave in mid-2020, the state will award licenses for up to 75 stores, 40 processors and 40 craft growers. In a second wave in December 2021, the state could issue licenses for 110 stores, 60 craft growers and 60 processors.

Although Cannabis is legal on the state level, Federally, the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) still list cannabis as a schedule 1 drug. Those wanting to enter the cannabis business need to understand that the cannabis business doesn’t allow the same tax deductions as other business.

Class attendees will learn the following:

  • The different types of licensing offered.
  • How to maximize the point system.
  • The best entities for Cannabis businesses.
  • Complicated Taxation 280E Rules.
  • Software companies & bookkeeping options.

COMMON CANNABIS FAQ’S

  • What is the state of Illinois looking for in cannabis license candidates?

  • Can I start a home based recreational cannabis business?

  • What are my banking options?

  • What strategies can I use to reduce my Federal tax bill?

  • What type of license will be offered?

  • What must I include in a partnership agreement to protect myself?

  • What’s entity is used the most in the Cannabis business?

  • Is there funding available for s socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses & persons?

Get the answers to these questions and more on August 4th 2019! We have teamed up with Chicago Cannabis Consultants to educate consumers about the 4 types of recreational cannabis licenses, funding for social equity applicants, required insurance, and how to reduce Federal taxation. Chicago Cannabis Consultants have served the cannabis industry for the last 5 years in Denver, Nevada, and California. Chicago cannabis consultants have developed effective marketing, management, product development, and distribution techniques which they will be sharing with us during this class.

Light refreshments & small plates will be served until exhausted. 1 TICKET PER PERSON ANY DUPLICATE EMAILS WILL BE KICKED OUT OF THE SYSTEM AND WILL NOT BE ALLOWED ENTRY. To purchase a ticket, you must sign up for our email list here.