New Form W-4 Issued by IRS for Use in 2020

The IRS has issued a new Form W-4 for 2020. All employers will be required to use this form for new employees hired as of January 1, 2020.

The 2019 Form W-4 underwent two previous updates, one in May and one in August, to incorporate the changes that came with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Those changes included suspension of personal exemptions and increasing the standard deduction, but previous versions of Form W-4 still included the withholding allowance based on the personal exemption amount. As such, some taxpayers were over-withheld and some under-withheld.

Current employees are permitted to submit a new Form W-4 after the first of the year, especially if they wish to adjust their withholding amounts. If current employees do not submit the new 2020 Form W-4, employers are required to base withholdings on the data provided on the 2019 version of the form so it would serve everyone best to make sure all employees complete a new Form W-4 in the New Year.

Learn more about the new Form W-4 in this FAQ guide provided by the IRS.

If you have questions about this topic or any of our other business service offerings, please don’t hesitate to call 215-723-4881 or contact us online.

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: Changes to Business Taxes

We continue our blog series recapping our recent presentation on the new tax laws to the Indian Valley Chamber of Commerce. This blog covers changes made to business tax laws.

One of the advantageous aspects of this new tax law is that the government has provided a clear definition of what constitutes a “small business.” A “small business” is defined as a company with average gross receipts for the past three years of $25 million or less.

This means that businesses meeting the definition of a small business can now avail themselves of these aspects of the tax law:

  • Expanded ability of cash method: This means that If you have been operating on the accrual method and consistently have higher receivables than payables, you can elect to switch to the cash method, allowing for potential consistent deferment of income.
  • Inventory tracking requirements: This allows you to elect to treat your inventory as non-incidental materials and supplies (items you expense when used or consumed). However, under the non-incidental materials and supplies category there is another election called the de minimis safe harbor election, which allows you to expense, safely and without fear of audit, anything under $2500 or less. So, if you have inventory that qualifies as non-incidental materials and supplies, and the unit cost of each item is $2500 or less, you can potentially write off your entire inventory for this year, presuming the inventory is under a year old. For example, if you are the owner of a junkyard business and have $400,000 in inventory, if you did not pay over $2500 per car, you can make these elections and have a $400,000 expense.
  • Section 263A threshold raised: This was a tax requiring that you had to capitalize indirect costs, just for tax. This is gone

Other changes include:

  • C-corporate rate is a flat 21%
  • Entertainment no longer deductible: Meals, however, are another story. Technically, right now, according to the law meals are not deductible, but in October 2018 the IRS put out a guidance that they are deductible because there was a mistake in the writing of the law. This is likely one of the technical directions that will eventually be passed by Congress. Until then, we can rely on the IRS guidance.
  • Interest deductions limited: If your gross receipts are over $25 million, your interest deductions are limited to 30% of your taxable income and any unused portion will get carried forward.
  •  Business losses, no carryback and limited to 80% of income
  • Like-Kind Exchanges now only qualify on real estate
  • Technical terminations of partnerships are eliminated

Business Change Highlights – Depreciation

Changes were also made on depreciation. Here are the highlights:

  • Additional first-year/bonus depreciation: 100% for property acquired after 9/27/17
  • Bonus now allowed for new and used property: it used to be allowed only for new property
  • Bonus on qualified improvement property no longer qualifies as written. This is another item needing correction, but the IRS has not provided any guidance to date.
  • Bonus phase-down schedule for years after 2022
  • Luxury auto limits (note that the additional $8k depreciation has been extended for 2017)
  • Increased to Sec. 179 ($1M and threshold $2.5M)
  • SUV limitation remains at $25,000
  • 179 limits are indexed for inflation
  • 179 expansion for certain real property (HVAC, roofs)
  • 179 allows for residential rental property improvements

New Employer Credit

There is a new employer credit for paid family and medical leave. This is a general business credit that employers can claim based on wages paid to qualified employees while on leave, subject to conditions.

Planning Opportunities

Please keep in mind, these tax changes are set to expire at the end of 2025. There are a number of potential savings opportunities within these tax law changes. We recommend that businesses evaluate their tax structure and engage in multi-year tax planning.

If you have any questions or concerns about these changes, please call us at 215-723-4881. You may also consult our free online 2018-19 Tax Planning, which can be found here.

To view the portions of his seminar that were broadcast via Facebook Live, please visit our Facebook page.

Should You Choose a Different Business Structure After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act?

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed by Congress in November of 2017 but did not take effect until the beginning of this tax year (2018). It brings enough significant change to the tax code to prompt the question, “Should I choose a different structure for my business to take full advantage of this new law?” Our answer: “Yes, No, Maybe.”

Fortunately, those are the only three choices. Unfortunately, these otherwise simple choices become more complicated when associated with the tax code. As you can probably imagine, one size does not fit all when it comes to tax planning.  It never did.  And, with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, one size doesn’t even fit one size anymore.

For instance, if you’re a business owner whose company is structured in any way other than a C-corporation, you might be aware of the new “Qualified Business Income Deduction.” With the Qualified Business Income Deduction, you get to deduct 20% of your flow-through business income on your personal tax return and pay tax on 80% of the business income. Sounds simple, right? This section of tax law has more restrictions and limitations – we’ll call them “weeds” – than Round-Up could ever hope to control, but we’ll keep the explanation that simple to gain a general understanding.

If your business is a Sole Proprietorship with no payroll and no assets that nets $200,000 – absent of any “weeds” – you get a whopping $40,000 deduction and pay tax on only $160,000 of your net income.  Since a sole proprietorship does not differentiate between the business and the owner, the owner is entitled to take the full $200,000 “out of the business” without any tax consequences.

Ah, but now here comes a “weed.”  Corporations are required to pay salaries to the owner for the money they take out of the business. Partnerships must classify the money the owner takes out for services as “guaranteed payments.” Both salaries and guaranteed payments do not qualify for the 20% deduction mentioned above.

Therefore, if the Corporation or Partnership has the same $200,000 net annual income, and they pay a salary (Corporation) or guaranteed payment (Partnership) of $80,000, then what remains eligible for the 20% deduction is the $120,000 bottom line business income. So, a business organized as a Corporation or Partnership, doing the same exchange for services as a Sole Proprietorship, netting the same annual income, will only qualify for a $24,000 deduction. The only difference between the three? Their business entity structure.  And so, one size – each one is a business — isn’t truly one size under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

By now you’re probably thinking, the best recommendation would be to structure your business as a Sole Proprietor if your business type allows for that to make sense. Yes, but, what happens when the business is even more profitable than $200,000 per year? Let’s say that in 2019, you net $500,000 (before salaries or guaranteed payments). That’s when the “weeds” really take over, and their explanation would require a dissertation, not a blog post. Take our word for it. With such an increase in income, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the Sole Proprietor, and Partnership businesses would not qualify for any deduction. And yet, an S-Corporation that is the same business, providing the same services, netting the same income, would qualify for a $62,500 deduction.

So, not only is “one size fits all” a thing of the past. “One size” isn’t even “one size” from year to year. What happens when your Sole Proprietorship profit is low one year and high the next? You can’t switch business entities each year based on projected income. So, based on the current realities of the tax code, what is the wisest move for a business owner? Absent any other information, the recommendation would be to do business as an S-Corp.

This new tax code will affect every business in the United States, regardless of size or entity structure, which is how we arrived at our initial answer to the question, “Should I change my business structure under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act?” is “Yes. No. Maybe.”

Let’s find out what entity will be right for you. Contact us online or call 215-723-4881 to schedule a consultation.

Personal Wealth Opportunities Under the New Tax Laws: A Canon Capital Wealth Management Financial Literacy Seminar

Many are wondering how the new tax laws will affect them in the short and long-term. Our Wealth Management unit dedicated the first Financial Literacy seminar of the year to the topic, with our managing director of Wealth Management, Dr. Peter Roland, providing an overview of what to expect and how best to prepare.

In addition to the overview we’ll present in this blog post, you may view the full webinar here. You may download the presentation to follow along, take notes, and note any questions.

The official name for the bill that passed in December 2017 is “An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018.” Not very catchy, Congress has dubbed it the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.” No matter the name, what this bill was designed to do is lower general tax rates, while also making changes to the deductions and exemptions many have grown accustomed to. With that, this bill creates “winners,” “losers,” and considerations and opportunities for both short and long-term wealth management.

Changes in Tax Rates and Deductions/Exemptions

With this new plan, individual tax rates have dropped, meaning many are seeing more money in their paychecks. At the same time, the standard deduction amounts have nearly doubled. However, this can lead to an issue at tax time for taxpayers with large itemized deductions and personal exemptions. Their tax liability may go up even though the rate at which they are being taxed is lower. To make sure you’re not headed for a surprise when your 2018 taxes are being prepared, do what we call a “Paycheck Check-up”. Use the withholding calculator provided by the IRS to make sure enough money is being withheld from your pay.

Among the changes in itemized deductions in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act:

  • Medical expenses for 2018 and 2019 are now deductible in excess of 7.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI). Before it was in excess of 10% of your AGI.
  • Deduction for State, Local, and Real Estate taxes (SALT) is limited to $10,000.
  • Deduction for Mortgage Interest Qualified Acquisition Debt reduced from $1,000,000 to $750,000 for first or one second home.
  • Home Equity Loans other than the amount used to acquire or improve the home are no longer deductible.
  • Charitable contributions can now offset 60% of AGI (was 50%).
  • Casualty losses eliminated except for federally-declared disaster areas.
  • Miscellaneous Itemized Deductions eliminated (unreimbursed employee business expenses, investment fees, tax prep fees).
  • Personal Exemptions have been eliminated (was $4,050 per Exemption in 2017).
  • Higher exemptions for Alternative Minimum Tax.
  • Alimony is not taxable by recipient (or deductible by payor) for new agreements after 12/31/2018.
  • Homeowners gain exclusion ($250,000/$500,000) now requires that the homeowner must live in the residence five of the prior eight years as opposed to two of the prior five years.

This new law has also affected credits and deductions related to child care and college savings:

  • Child Care Credit increased from $1,000 to $2,000.
  • Section 529 Education Plans allowed to distribute up to $10,000 for elementary, secondary, and certain home school expenses.
  • Investment income of child now taxed at higher trust tax rates vs. individual tax rates.

Estate & Gift Taxation as changed as follows:

  • Federal exemption of estate tax is now $11.2 million per person (to be adjusted for inflation).
  • Higher Annual Gift Tax exemption amount of $15,000 (raised from $14,000).

Business owners will see a reduction in tax rates as well:

  • Regular “C” Corporation: highest tax rate reduced from 35% to 21%
  • Higher Section 179 depreciation deduction limits
  • New deductions for 20% of qualified business net income from passthrough entities (S Corporations, Partnerships, LLC’s, Sole Proprietorships).
  • Income limits for 20% benefit – $157,500 and $315,000 taxpayer income.
  • 20% deduction of income from REIT dividends, Master Limited Partnership dividends, and Co-ops.
  • Real Estate now counts as a qualified business.

Truc Alert

A “Truc” is not some advanced financial term. It’s the word our local Pennsylvania Dutch use for “trick.” Under this new tax law, even though for many the tax rate will go down, the amount of tax owed will increase. In addition:

  • These reduced tax rates and standard deduction changes for individuals will sunset, aka disappear, in 2025.
  • Those beneficial provisions will be disappearing on a now-expanded income base.
  • The new IRS inflation factor calculation for brackets modified are now using “Chained CPI,” resulting in higher taxes over time as a result of “taxflation.”

Strategies

How can you make the best of the advantages and disadvantages of this new tax law? In addition to the “Paycheck Check-up” we recommended earlier, you might also consider:

  • Take advantage of “Tax Arbitrage” when possible.
  • Use donor-advised funds to “bunch” charitable contributions, using appreciated assets when possible.
  • Look at your “bucket list,” the funds you choose to be taxed now, taxed later, and never taxed (i.e., Roth IRA).
  • Review Roth IRA opportunities
  • Consider real estate investments to enjoy the 20% deduction of net income from investment real estate activity. This is especially key as many will opt to rent over buying a home with the loss of the itemized deduction benefit.
  • Evaluate your personal debt and consider paying off non-deductible home equity loans more quickly that are no longer subject to interest deductibility.
  • Plan for and use the 20% deduction against “Qualified Business Income” and evaluate your business structure for new rules.
  • Make optimal use of “portability” election in estates to maximize the exemption available to surviving spouse, not forgetting about step up in tax basis for assets flowing through estates. Also consider State inheritance taxes in your planning.

We’ve included a lot of information in this blog post. Take about 45 minutes of your time, watch the webinar, and please let us know if we can help with any questions you might have regarding this or any other financial services matter. Contact us online or call 215-723-4881.

IRS Clarifies Deductibility of Home Equity Loan Interest

For tax years 2018-2025, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) eliminated the deduction for interest on home equity debt and limited the mortgage interest deduction to qualified residence debt of up to $750,000 ($375,000 for married taxpayers filing separately).

In a recent news release, the IRS advised taxpayers that interest paid on home equity loans and lines of credit is still deductible if the funds are used to buy, build, or substantially improve the taxpayer’s home that secures the loan. For example, interest on a home equity loan used to build an addition to an existing home is generally deductible (subject to the new dollar limit on qualified residence debt). However, interest on a home equity loan used to pay personal living expenses, such as credit card debt, is not deductible. Also, interest on a home equity loan on a taxpayer’s main home to purchase a vacation home is not deductible.

If you have any questions regarding how the TCJA affects your specific situation, please contact us online or call 215-723-4881. We also invite you to join us at our Hatfield location on Thursday, March 15 for a Financial Literacy Seminar: Personal Wealth Opportunities under the New Tax Law, where we’ll identify personal wealth opportunities and discuss some recommended tax savings strategies resulting from the new tax law that may benefit you. Should you wish to join us, please RSVP by Monday, March 12, to Jen Norman via email, or by phone at 215-723-4881, ext. 207.