General Tax Topics – Page 9 – Your #1 source for tax reduction strategies.

Let’s face it, no one really likes to pay taxes.

Unfortunately, while most Americans don’t like to pay taxes, we know that taxes have to be paid. As a self employed person, and business owner, not only do you have to pay local & state taxes, but you must also make Federal estimated tax payments throughout the year. Whenever I work with Chicago South Loop small business tax preparation customers, I find that they are often very surprised to hear about the estimated tax concept.

The American tax system is a a pay as you go system, not a pay once a year, or pay when you feel like it system. According to the IRS, “taxpayers must generally pay at least 90 percent of their taxes throughout the year through withholding, estimated tax payments or a combination of the two. If they don’t, they may owe an estimated tax penalty.” In most cases, you must pay estimated tax for 2019 if both of the following apply: 1. You expect to owe at least $1,000 in tax for 2019, after subtracting your withholding and refundable credits. You expect your withholding and refundable credits to be less than the smaller of: a. 90% of the tax to be shown on your 2019 tax return, or b. 100% of the tax shown on your 2018 tax return. Your 2018 tax return must cover all 12 months.

If you are a self employed driver (think UBER, LYFT, DOORDASH), contractor, real estate agent, barber, beautician, makeup artist, blogger, home care provider, etc. you need to have an EFTPS® account to make your Federal estimated tax payments. EFTPS® is a system for paying federal taxes electronically using the Internet, or by phone using the EFTPS® Voice Response System. EFTPS® is offered free by the U.S. Department of Treasury, however, you must setup an account to use the system. Listed below are the estimated quarterly tax payment dates for sole proprietors, and the quarterly payment dates for S-corp owners and C-corporations.

Estimated tax payment due dates for 2019:

April 15, 2019: Income tax due date AND the due date for your first quarterly estimated tax (QET) payment. In April, you’ll pay quarterly estimated taxes on the income you made in January, February, and March 2019.

June 17, 2019: This is when you’ll pay quarterly estimated taxes on the income you made in April, May, and June 2019.

September 16, 2019: Quarterly estimated taxes for the months of July, August, and September 2019 are due on this date.

January 15, 2020: Quarterly estimated taxes for the months of October, November, and December 2019 are due on this date.

For those that are S-corps or Corps. Remember that you are considered an employee, and a shareholder. This means that you’ll need to pay your income, social security, and Medicare taxes as the employer & the employee. In addition to making the deposits, you will also need to file quarterly payroll tax return. C-corporation owners will need to file estimated taxes on the corporations income, and file a 941 quarterly payroll return.

Here are the quarterly payroll tax return due dates for 2019:

April 30, 2019: File Form 941 – Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return. If you made all required payments in full by the due dates, you have 10 more days to submit this form (by February 10).

July 31st 2019: File Form 941 – Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return. If you made all required payments in full by the due dates, you have 10 more days to submit this form

October 31 2019 File Form 941 – Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return. If you made all required payments in full by the due dates, you have 10 more days to submit this form.

January 31, 2020: File Form 941 – Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return. If you made all required payments in full by the due dates, you have 10 more days to submit this form.

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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Business Taxes, General Information, General Tax Topics, Self Employed, Small Business, Tax Deductions, Uncategorized

How the 90-Day Mileage Log Rule Works for You

February 18, 2019 Howard Tax Prep LLC

Often in an IRS audit, the examiner will ask for your mileage log at the beginning of the audit. If you do not have a mileage log, then you are in danger of losing more than just vehicle deductions. Think about it. If you don’t have a log for mileage, what is the IRS examiner going to think about your other records? Right—he or she is going to think you are a bad taxpayer with bad tax records who needs extra scrutiny.

The IRS says that you may keep an adequate record for part of a tax year and use that part-year record to substantiate your vehicle’s business use for the entire year. To use a sample record, you need to prove that your sample is representative of your use for the year.

By using your appointment book as the basis for your mileage, you not only build great business-use proof, but you also do a great job of showing that your sample vehicle record mirrors your general appointments during the year. (If you are using a mileage app, synchronize the app results with the appointment book.)

The IRS illustrates two possible sampling methods:

One identical week each month (for example, the third week of each month)
Three consecutive months

We don’t recommend the one-same-week-each-month method because it is difficult to start and stop a record-keeping process. (Think about how hard it would be to create a habit, undo it, and then create it again—every month.)

For this reason, the three-month log is the superior alternative. Before getting into the three-month method, we should note that once you have done three months, you are in the habit. You might find it easier to continue all year, rather than stop this year and then have to start again next year.

Here are the basics of how the IRS describes the three-month test:

The taxpayer uses her vehicle for business use.
She and other members of her family use the vehicle for personal use.
The taxpayer keeps a mileage log for the first three months of the taxable year, and that log shows that 75 percent of the vehicle’s use is for her business.
Invoices and paid bills show that her vehicle use is about the same throughout the year.

According to this IRS regulation, this three-month sample is adequate to prove 75 percent business use.

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Fact check me with IRS Regulation 1.274-5T(c)(3)(ii)(A).

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

TCJA Tax Reform Sticks It to Business Start-Ups That Lose Money

February 11, 2019 Howard Tax Prep LLC

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) tax reform added an amazing limit on larger business losses that can attack you where it hurts—right in your cash flow.

And this new law works in some unusual ways that can tax you even when you have no real income for the year. When you know how this ugly new rule works, you have some planning opportunities to dodge the problem.

Over the years, lawmakers have implemented rules that limit your ability to use your business or rental losses against other income sources. The big three are:

The “at risk” limitation, which limits your losses to amounts that you have at risk in the activity
The partnership and S corporation basis limitations, which limit your losses to the extent of your basis in your partnership interest or S corporation stock
The passive loss limitation, which limits your passive losses to the extent of your passive income unless an exception applies

The TCJA tax reform added Section 461(l) to the tax code, and it applies to individuals (not corporations) for tax years 2018 through 2025.

The big picture under this new provision: You can’t use the portion of your business losses deemed by the new law to be an “excess business loss” in the current year. Instead, you’ll treat the excess business loss as if it were a net operating loss (NOL) carryover to the next taxable year.

To determine your excess business loss, follow these three steps:

Add the net income or loss from all your trade or business activities.
If step 1 is an overall loss, then compare it to the maximum allowed loss amount: $250,000 (or $500,000 on a joint return).
The amount by which your overall loss exceeds the maximum allowed loss amount is your new tax law–defined “excess business loss.”

Example. Paul invested $850,000 in a start-up business in 2018, and the business passed through a $750,000 loss to Paul. He has sufficient basis to use the entire loss, and it is not a passive activity. Paul’s wife had 2018 wages of $50,000, and they had other 2018 non-business income of $600,000.

Under prior law, Paul’s loss would offset all other income on the tax return and they’d owe no federal income tax. Under the TCJA tax reform that applies to years 2018 through 2025 (assuming the wages are trade or business income):

Their overall business loss is $700,000 ($750,000 – $50,000).
The excess business loss is $200,000 ($700,000 overall loss less $500,000).
$150,000 of income ($600,000 + $50,000 – $500,000) flows through the rest of their tax return.
They’ll have a $200,000 NOL to carry forward to 2019.

To avoid this ugly rule, you’ll need to keep your overall business loss to no more than $250,000 (or $500,000 joint). Your two big-picture strategies to make this happen are

accelerating business income, and
delaying business deductions.

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Family Taxes, General Information, General Tax Topics, Uncategorized

Tax Consequences of Paying Your Retired Parents To Watch Your Children

January 6, 2019January 6, 2019 Howard Tax Prep LLC

Author: Trudy M. Howard

QUESTION: Can I claim the money I pay my mom to watch my children after school? She is on S.S. and I would not want to impact her benefits as she is retired. I pay her $260 a week.

ANSWER: With the IRS most answers usually begin with “it depends” and this is one of those answers; it depends. There are several moving parts to this scenario that will determine the tax benefit/liability to you, and the tax benefit/liability to your mom. Tax liability is determined by figuring what location the child care is taking place in, your marital status, the age of the child, and your mom’s total income. It is unclear to me if you have a business, and you are wanting to “claim the money” as in deduct the total amounts paid from your taxable income as a business expense (which you cannot do), or if you want to “claim the money” for the dependent care credit. I’ll get into the dependent care credit later in the article, but for now, let’s start with is your mom an employee, or an independent contractor.

If your mom is doing the babysitting in your home, you may be considered a household employer, and you will NEED TO PAY EMPLOYER TAXES on the money that you paid to your mom. Employer taxes are Federal Unemployment taxes of 6% of the first $,7000 in wages, 6.2% for Social Security, and 1.45% for Medicare. However, as with everything concerning the IRS there is an exception to this rule. You do not have to count the wages paid for social security and Medicare taxes if:

The child is under 18 years of age, or has physical or mental condition that requires the personal care of an adult for at least 4 continuous weeks, AND

You’re divorced and haven’t remarried.
You’re a widow or widower.
You’re living with a spouse whose physical or mental condition prevents him or her from caring for your child for at least 4 continuous weeks in the calendar quarter services were performed.

If your mom is watching your child outside of your home, (say you are dropping your child off to your mom), then your mom would be considered a “self-employed person” which means that she will need to pay self-employment taxes on her income. The reason she will need to pay report and pay self-employment taxes is because she would have earned over $400 in self-employment income.

TAXES MOM WILL HAVE TO PAY.

Because your mom is self-employed, she would have to pay SELF EMPLOYMENT TAXES in the amount of $1,591.20 (calculated using the 20% qualified business income deduction only, not with any business expense deductions), and if she has over $25,000 in income (social security income plus self-employment income), she may also have to pay INCOME TAXES on the earnings.

TAX BENEFIT TO YOU:

By paying your mom to watch your child, you may be eligible to claim the nonrefundable child and dependent care tax credit. The Child and dependent care tax credit ranges from 20%-35% of either $3,000 or $6,000 depending on your adjusted gross income. A qualifying individual for the child and dependent care credit is:

Your dependent qualifying child who is under age 13 when the care is provided.
Your spouse who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care and lived with you for more than half of the year.
An individual who is physically or mentally incapable of self-care, lived with you for more than half of the year, and either: (i) is your dependent; or (ii) could have been your dependent except that he or she has gross income that equals or exceeds the exemption amount, or files a joint return, or you (or your spouse, if filing jointly) could have been claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer’s 2018 return.

Once your AGI (adjusted gross income) is over $43,000 the max tax credit you will receive is $600 for 1 child, and $1,200 for 2 children. Each child must be under the age of 13. This credit is nonrefundable, so if you have a $0 tax liability & you receive the $600 credit, you would not receive a tax refund check for the $600.

CAN YOU DEDUCT THE TOTAL $13,520 FROM YOUR TAXABLE INCOME?

Per IRS PUBLICATION 926 The deduction that can be taken on Schedules C and F (Form 1040) for wages and employment taxes applies only to wages and taxes paid for business and farm employees. You can’t deduct the wages and employment taxes paid for your household employees on your Schedule C or F.

WILL THIS MONEY HAVE AN IMPACT ON YOUR MOM’S RETIREMENT BENEFITS?

There are several types of retirement income. Pension, 401k, IRA, Annuities, Social Security, SSI, Social Security Disability, Disability Payments from a Privately Owned Insurance Plan, etc. For purposes of this article I will be focusing on government sponsored retirement plans.

SOCIAL SECURITY RETIREMENT INCOME: –If your mom’s is unmarried, and her base income (including social security and all other income) is $25,000 or less, she will not have to pay any INCOME tax (remember income tax and self-employment taxes are two different taxes).

Per the benefits planner retirement section on the social security website, if your mom is at full retirement age she can earn as much as she wants, and have unlimited resources and still receive her benefits. However, if your mom is younger than full retirement age and makes more than the yearly earnings limit, her earnings may reduce her benefit amount.

“(Full retirement age is 66 for people born between 1943 and 1954. Beginning with 1955, two months are added for every birth year until the full retirement age reaches 67 for people born in 1960 or later.) If you are under full retirement age for the entire year, we deduct $1 from your benefit payments for every $2 you earn above the annual limit. For 2018, that limit is $17,040.”

To find out whether any of your benefits shown on Forms SSA-1099 and RRB-1099 may be taxable, compare the base amount (explained later) for your filing status with

the total of:

One-half of your benefits, plus
All your other income, including tax-exempt interest

SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY: –This benefit is based on an inability to work, and work history. Per the disability section on the social security website: “Social Security Disability Insurance pays benefits to you and certain members of your family if you are “insured,” meaning that you worked long enough and paid Social Security taxes.” While there are limits on what a person can earn while on disability, they can receive help from outside sources and retain their benefits.

SSI–SOCIAL SECURITY SUPPLEMENTAL INCOME--The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program pays benefits to disabled adults and children who have financial need, and limited income/resources. This benefit pays a small amount to those that are disabled, but don’t qualify for regular social security disability. The basic monthly SSI payment for 2019 is the same nationwide. It is:

—$771 for one person; or

—$1,157 for a couple.

Not everyone gets the same amount. You may get more if you live in a state that adds money to the federal SSI payment. You may receive less if you or your family has other income. Where and with whom you live also makes a difference in the amount of your SSI payment. SSI eligibility is based on a person’s access to money & assistance, (aka means, aka support, income, total household income), and per the SSA “Income is any item an individual receives in cash or in-kind that can be used to meet his or her need for food or shelter. Income also includes (for the purposes of SSI), the receipt of any item which can be applied, either directly or by sale or conversion, to meet basic needs of food or shelter.” Resources are limited to $2,000 for single people.
Although we’ve given you the basics, this is not an all-inclusive article. Should you have questions, or need business tax preparation, business entity creation, business insurance, or business compliance assistance please contact us online, or call our office at 855-743-5765. Make sure to join our newsletter for more tips on reducing taxes, and increasing your wealth.

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General Tax Topics, Small Business, Tax Reduction, Uncategorized

5 last-minute strategies you can use to cut your 2018 tax bill!

December 26, 2018December 26, 2018 Howard Tax Prep LLC

Trudy Howard

In my South Loop Chicago Tax Preparation office, I often see clients looking for tax savings at years end. Although December 26th is cutting it close, your year-end tax planning doesn’t have to be hard. I have outlined below five strategies that will increase your tax deductions or reduce your taxable income so that Uncle Sam gets less of your 2018 cash.

1.) Prepaying your 2019 expenses right now reduces your taxes this year, without question. While it’s true you kicked the can down the road some, perhaps you have an offset with a big deduction planned for next year. And even if you don’t have such a plan at the moment, you have plenty of time to create one or to put more big deductions in place for 2019.

2.) The easiest year-end strategy of all is simply to stop billing your customers, clients, and patients. Once again, this kicks the can down the road some and makes your 2019 tax planning more important.

3.) Thanks to the new tax laws With 100 percent bonus depreciation and increased Section 179 expensing in 2018, you can make significant purchases of equipment, machinery, and furniture and write off 100 percent of the value. Make sure you place the assets in service on or before December 31, 2018, to get the deduction this year.

4.) Charges to your credit cards can create deductions on the day of the charge. This is absolutely true if you are a sole proprietor or you operate as a corporation and the credit card is in the name of the corporation. But if you operate as a corporation and the credit card is in your personal name, your corporation needs to reimburse you before December 31 to create the 2018 deduction at the corporate level.

5.) And finally, claim all your legitimate deductions. Don’t think you have too many, and don’t try to guess which of your too-many deductions could be a red flag. First, it’s unlikely you could have enough deductions to create a red flag. Second, no one knows what those red flags are. Third, if the deduction is legitimate, it doesn’t matter if the IRS audits it—you’ll win.

As you can see from the five strategies above, there’s much you can do to control your tax bite. 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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