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Why a Business Appraisal is Your Best Friend

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For many business owners, business appraisals can provide vital planning information and help mitigate risk. Consider what it may be able to do for you:

  • Establish a verifiable value for your business. This can show whether assets have appreciated at a reasonable rate. If not, you may need to adjust your firm’s strategy.
  • Create documentation to support new financing. Lenders need strong evidence that their loans are properly secured. A business appraisal can supply that evidence. An independent evaluation of business assets may also encourage lenders to offer favorable interest rates.
  • Set a reasonable selling price. Without a detailed and defensible appraisal, owners selling their businesses sometimes entertain unreasonably low offers. On the other hand, an appraisal can keep owners from overpricing the firm and thus discouraging potential buyers.
  • Avoid litigation after a death. What happens if one owner dies or otherwise leaves his or her share of the business to others? In some cases, litigation follows. To ensure that the remaining owners’ interests are protected, the business needs to be appraised beforehand.
  • Support proper estate planning. If your estate is audited, the IRS is more likely to accept valuations that include a clear and reasoned appraisal. In fact, if discounts are adequately supported by an appraisal, estate taxes may be reduced.
  • Figure out capital gains. For example, if you inherit a business from your father and decide to sell it, the business can be valued as of the date of your father’s death. A good appraisal can help establish a supportable value for the business and may result in lower capital gains taxes.

Contact our office if you have questions about selling your business.

Here’s a Roundup of Your Nontaxable Income

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Good news – there are a lot of revenue sources that aren’t taxed. Do you know what they are? Here are the most common sources of money that are generally not taxed on your federal income tax return:

  • Borrowed money, such as from banks or personal loans
  • Money received as a gift or inheritance from family or friends
  • Money paid on your behalf directly to a school or medical facility
  • Most life insurance proceeds
  • Child support payments
  • Money you receive for sustaining an injury
  • Scholarships for tuition and books
  • Disability insurance benefits from a policy purchased with after-tax dollars
  • Interest received on municipal bonds

If you would like assistance in determining what to include on your income tax return, please contact us. We are here to help you.

What the Tax Reform Act Means for You

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Revised: 12/28/2017

Congress has passed a tax reform act that will take effect in 2018, ushering in some of the most significant tax changes in three decades. There are a lot of changes in the new act, which was signed into law on Dec. 22, 2017.

You can use this memo as a high-level overview of some of the most significant items in the new act. Because major tax reform like this happens so seldom, it may be worthwhile for you to schedule a tax-planning consultation early in the year to ensure you reap the most tax savings possible during 2018.

Key changes for individuals:

Here are some of the key items in the tax reform act that affect individuals:

  • Reduces income tax brackets: The act retains seven brackets, but at reduced rates, with the highest tax bracket dropping to 37 percent from 39.6 percent. The individual income brackets are also expanded to expose more income to lower rates (see charts below).
  • Doubles standard deductions: The standard deduction nearly doubles to $12,000 for single filers and $24,000 for married filing jointly. To help cover the cost, personal exemptions and most additional standard deductions are suspended.
  • Limits itemized deductions: Many itemized deductions are no longer available, or are now limited. Here are some of the major examples:
    • Caps state and local tax deductions: State and local tax deductions are limited to $10,000 total for all property, income and sales taxes.
    • Caps mortgage interest deductions: For new acquisition indebtedness, mortgage interest will be deductible on indebtedness of no more than $750,000. Existing mortgages are unaffected by the new cap as the new limits go into place for acquisition indebtedness after Dec. 14, 2017. The act also suspends the deductibility of interest on home equity debt.
    • Limit of theft and casualty losses: Deductions are now available only for federally declared disaster areas.
    • No more 2 percent miscellaneous deductions: Most miscellaneous deductions subject to the 2 percent of adjusted gross income threshold are now gone.
  • Cuts some above-the-line deductions: Moving expense deductions get eliminated except for active-duty military personnel, along with alimony deductions beginning in 2019.
  • Weakens the alternative minimum tax (AMT): The act retains the alternative minimum tax but changes the exemption to $109,400 for joint filers and increases the phaseout threshold to $1 million. The changes mean the AMT will affect far fewer people than before.
  • Bumps up child tax credit, adds family tax credit: The child tax credit increases to $2,000 from $1,000, with $1,400 of it being refundable even if no tax is owed. The phaseout threshold increases sharply to $400,000 from $110,000 for joint filers, making it available to more taxpayers. Also, dependents ineligible for the child tax credit can qualify for a new $500-per-person family tax credit.
  • Expands use of 529 education savings plans: Qualified distributions from 529 education savings plans, which are not subject to tax, now include tuition payments for students in K-12 private schools.
  • Doubles estate tax exemption: Estate taxes will apply to even fewer people, with the exemption doubled to $11.2 million ($22.4 million for married couples).
  • Kiddie tax: Effective 2018, the “kiddie tax” on children’s unearned income will use the estates and trusts tax rate structure, meaning it will be taxed anywhere from 10 percent to 37 percent.

What stays the same for individuals:

  • Itemized charitable deductions: Remain largely the same.
  • Itemized medical expense deductions: Remain largely the same. The deduction threshold drops back to 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income for 2017 and 2018, but reverts to 10 percent in the following years.
  • Some above-the-line deductions: Remain the same, including $250 of educator expenses and $2,500 of qualified student loan interest.
  • Gift tax deduction: Remains and increases to $15,000 from $14,000 for 2018.

Farewell to the healthcare individual mandate penalty

One of the changes in the tax act is the suspension of the individual mandate penalty in the Affordable Care Act (also known as “Obamacare”). The penalty is set to zero starting in 2019, but remains in place for 2018 and prior years.

Tip: Retain your Form 1095s, which will provide evidence of your healthcare coverage. Without it, you may have to pay the individual mandate penalty, which is the higher of $695 or 2.5 percent of income. Beginning in 2019, this penalty is set to zero.

NOTICE: The IRS recently granted employers and health care providers a 30-day filing extension for Forms 1095-B and 1095-C, to March 2, 2018. The IRS clarified that taxpayers are not required to wait until receipt of these forms to file their taxes.

New 2018 tax bracket structures for individuals
Single taxpayer

Taxable income over But not over Is taxed at
$0 $9,525 10%
$9,525 $38,700 12%
$38,700 $82,500 22%
$82,500 $157,500 24%
$157,500 $200,000 32%
$200,000 $500,000 35%
$500,000   37%

Head of household

Taxable income over But not over Is taxed at
$0 $13,600 10%
$13,600 $51,800 12%
$51,800 $82,500 22%
$82,500 $157,500 24%
$157,500 $200,000 32%
$200,000 $500,000 35%
$500,000   37%


Married filing jointly

Taxable income over But not over Is taxed at
$0 $19,050 10%
$19,050 $77,400 12%
$77,400 $165,000 22%
$165,000 $315,000 24%
$315,000 $400,000 32%
$400,000 $600,000 35%
$600,000   37%


Married filing separately

Taxable income over But not over Is taxed at
$0 $9,525 10%
$9,525 $38,700 12%
$38,700 $82,500 22%
$82,500 $157,500 24%
$157,500 $200,000 32%
$200,000 $300,000 35%
$300,000   37%

 Estates and trusts

Taxable income over But not over Is taxed at
$0 $2,550 10%
$2,550 $9,150 24%
$9,150 $12,500 35%
$12,500   37%

Key changes for small businesses:

Here are some of these key items in the tax reform act that affect businesses:

  • Cuts the corporate tax rate: Corporate tax gets cut and simplified to a flat 21 percent rate, changed from a multi-bracket structure with a 35 percent top rate.
  • Reduces pass-through taxes: Most owners of pass-through entities such as S corporations, partnerships and sole proprietorships will see their income tax lowered with a new 20 percent income reduction calculation.
  • Beefs up capital expensing: Through 2022, short-lived capital investments in such items as machinery and equipment may be fully expensed as soon as they are placed in service, using bonus depreciation. This now also applies to used items instead of only new ones; they just need to be placed in service for the first time in your business. After 2022, allowable bonus depreciation is then lowered incrementally over the next four years.
  • Strengthens Section 179 deduction: Section 179 deduction limits get raised to enable expensing of up to $1 million, and the phaseout threshold increases to $2.5 million. Section 179 may now also be used on expenses related to improvements to nonresidential real estate.
  • Nixes the corporate alternative minimum tax (AMT): The 20 percent corporate AMT applied to businesses goes away entirely.
  • Expands use of cash-method accounting: Businesses with less than $25 million in gross receipts over the last three years may adopt the cash method of accounting.
  • Reforms international taxation: Treatment of international income moves to the territorial system standard, in which foreign investments are generally only taxed in the place in which they operate. The new laws allow tax deductions for certain foreign-sourced dividends, reduced tax rates for foreign intangible income and reduced tax rates for repatriation of deferred foreign income.
  • Repeals business entertainment deduction: Businesses will no longer be able to deduct 50 percent of the cost of entertainment, amusement or recreation directly related to their trade or business. The 50 percent deduction for business-related meals remains in place, however.
  • Modifies several business credits: Several business credits are maintained but modified, including the orphan drug credit, the rehabilitation credit, the employer credit for paid family or medical leave and the research and experimentation credit.
  • Boosts luxury automobile depreciation: Luxury automobiles placed in service after 2017 will have allowable depreciation of $10,000 for the first year, $16,000 the second, $9,600 the third and $5,760 for subsequent years.

This brief summary of the tax reform act is provided for your information. Any major financial decisions or tax-planning activities in light of this new legislation should be considered with the advice of a tax professional. Call if you have questions regarding your particular situation. Feel free to share this memo with those you think may benefit from it.

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Five Financial Lessons to Teach Your Children

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“Dad, I need some extra money to go to the movies with my friends.” If you are a parent, you’ve probably heard countless requests like this.

At some point your kids will discover they can no longer rely on you for all their financial needs. Because recent studies have found that teaching financial literacy is lacking in many schools, it’s up to parents to provide the fundamentals of finance to their children. Here are some concepts you can use to begin introducing your kids to the lessons of personal finance.

  • Spend a little, save a little. Whether receiving a birthday gift or allowance money, teach your kids to get into the habit of saving a portion of what they receive. Help them create savings goals like the purchase of a bike or creation of a college fund.
  • Don’t worry about what others have. Teach your children to avoid spending money to follow the crowd. Take a look at the unused toy bin to demonstrate the point. Chasing the need to own $200-$500 sneakers can lead poor financial habits in the future.
  • Be money mindful. Remind your child to think before they spend money. Help them understand that wanting something doesn’t always mean that they need to have it. You can also help them to prioritize their spending. For example, saving for the running shoes your child might need for track may be more important than the money he or she would spend on a night at the movies with friends.
  • Learning about finances is fun. Set aside some time each week to learn about a new personal finance topic together. You can help your child learn about checking accounts, setting up a budget, getting a small loan, or simple ways to start saving. Getting them interested in financial topics at a young age will help them throughout their lives.
  • Tax talk. If your child is old enough to earn a paycheck, teach them tax basics. Walk them through their paycheck. Social security, Medicare, and withholdings are new concepts for them. Help them understand how the money is used. Don’t overlook other taxes as well. They also need to know that sales tax should be factored into the cost of items they choose to purchase.

It’s important to keep the conversation going. Encourage your children to ask questions, and get them involved with your household spending. There are many ways you can help them develop a healthy understanding of personal finance.

Don’t Assume It’s Correct Just Because It’s the IRS

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You may receive correspondence from the IRS that contains an error. What should you do?

Here are some quotes from actual IRS correspondence received by clients:

“Our records show we received a 1040X…for the tax year listed above. We’re sorry but we cannot find it.”

“Our records show you owe a balance due of $0.00. If we do not receive it within 30 days, appropriate collection steps will be taken.”

“Payment is due on your account. Please submit payments on or before June 31 to avoid late payment penalties and interest.”

It’s pretty tough to pay a balance due of $0.00 or submit a payment on June 31 when June has only 30 days. The message should be clear. If you receive a notice from the IRS, don’t automatically assume it is correct and then submit a payment to make it go away. The same is true for errors in any state tax agency notices. They are often in error. So what should you do?

Stay calm. Try not to overreact to the correspondence. This is easier said than done, but remember, the IRS sends out millions of notices each year. The vast majority of these notices attempt to correct simple oversights or common filing errors.

Open the envelope. You’d be surprised how often clients are so stressed by receiving a letter from the IRS that they cannot bear to open the envelope. If you fall into this category, try to remember that the first step in making the problem go away is to open the correspondence.

Review the letter. Make sure you understand exactly what the IRS thinks needs to be changed and determine whether or not you agree with their findings. Unfortunately, the IRS rarely sends correspondence to correct an oversight in your favor, but it sometimes happens.

Respond in a timely manner. The correspondence received should be very clear about what action the IRS believes you should take and within what timeframe. Ignore this information at your own risk. Delays in responses could generate penalties and additional interest payments.

Get help. You are not alone. Getting assistance from someone who deals with this all the time makes going through the process much smoother.

Correct the IRS error. Once the problem is understood, a clearly written response with copies of documentation will cure most IRS correspondence errors. Often the error is due to the inability of the IRS computers to conduct a simple reporting match. Pointing the information out on your tax return might be all it takes to solve the problem.

Certified mail is your friend. Send any response to the IRS via certified mail. This will provide proof of your timely correspondence. Lost mail can lead to delays, penalties, and additional interest on your tax bill.

Don’t assume it will go away. Until you receive definitive confirmation that the problem has been resolved, assume the IRS still thinks you owe the money. If you don’t receive correspondence confirming the correction, send a written follow-up.

Do You Live or Work in Kansas?

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If so, the recent changes WILL AFFECT YOU!

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

  • These changes are retroactive and apply starting January 1, 2017.
  • Business and rental income (Sole Proprietors, S Corporation and Partnership owners) which was previously exempt from Kansas tax is once again taxable.
  • Increase in tax rates for 2017.  The highest rate will be 5.2% for those with Kansas income in excess of $60,000.  These rates will increase again in 2018 to a high of 5.7%.
  • No taxpayer penalties or interest will be charged for underpayment of taxes due to this change in law as long as the underpayment is paid by April 17, 2018.
  • Limitations on itemized deductions will ease but not in 2017.  Starting in 2018 a portion of medical expense will be allowed and mortgage interest and property tax deductions will phase back in.
  • For W-2 employees, Kansas withholding tax rates were updated on July 1, 2017.  These rates have been updated for the remainder of 2017 at the higher 2018 rates to compensate for the first 6 months of withholding at lower rates.   However, some employees may still not have enough tax withheld for the year.

WHAT STEPS TO TAKE:

  • Consider making higher KS estimated tax payments to avoid a large Kansas tax bill at April 17, 2018.
  • Consider having extra Kansas tax withheld from your paycheck.
  • Contact us to prepare a projection of the Kansas tax you may owe for 2017.

Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns about these changes!

IRS file

What You Should Do When the IRS Contacts You

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Has the IRS questioned something on your tax return? Ignoring it is not the proper course of action.

After you file your tax return, the last thing you want to see is a notice from the IRS questioning your return. Some IRS notices involve very minor changes, like a correction to a Social Security number. Some are for serious changes that could involve a lot of money, such as a billing for more taxes, interest, or penalties due for an adjustment to your total tax liability.

So, what should you do if you get a letter from the IRS?

Here is a list of do’s and don’ts concerning contact from the IRS.

  • Don’t ignore the notice; the problem will not go away.
  • Act promptly. A quick response to the IRS may eliminate further, more complicated correspondence.
  • If you agree with the IRS adjustment, you do not need to do anything unless a payment is due.
  • If the IRS is requesting more money or a significant amount of new information, be sure to contact your tax preparer immediately.
  • Always provide your tax preparer with a copy of any IRS notice, regardless of how minor it appears to be.
  • Keep a copy of all the IRS correspondence with your tax return copy for the year in question.

Often taxpayers experience anxiety when they receive correspondence from the IRS. Don’t worry. The most important thing to remember is not to ignore the IRS. Bring any notice you receive to our office and let us assist you in resolving the problem quickly.

June 15 Tax Filing Date for US Citizens Abroad

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U.S. citizens and resident aliens living overseas or serving in the military outside the U.S. receive an automatic two-month extension of the regular tax filing deadline. If this extension applies to your living situation, you have until June 15, 2017 to file your 2016 tax return. To use this automatic two-month extension, you must attach a statement to your return explaining that you live overseas or you are serving in the military outside the U.S.

How Social Security Benefits Are Taxed

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Are you wondering if your social security retirement, survivor, and disability benefits will be subject to federal income tax on your 2016 return? Generally, when these benefits are taxed is determined by your “provisional income.”

Provisional income (PI) is the product of a formula used for no other purpose than figuring out the taxable percentage of social security benefits. To compute your provisional income, total your adjusted gross income, any tax-exempt interest or similar nontaxable revenue, and one-half of your social security retirement benefits for the year. How much of your benefits are taxed depends on this “base amount.”

– Joint filers with PI below $32,000 ($25,000 for single filers) owe no tax on benefits.

– Joint filers with PI between $32,000 and $44,000 ($25,000 and $34,000 for single filers) are taxed on a sliding scale that tops out at 50% of benefits received.

– Joint filers with PI over $44,000 ($34,000 for single filers) are taxed on more than 50% and up to 85% of benefits.

Note that supplemental security income payments (SSI) are not taxable. For answers to questions about your benefits, contact us.

Update Your W-4 to Adjust Your Withholding

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Did you receive a big tax refund or owe the IRS a lot of money for 2015? Then it’s time to update the form that tells your employer how to calculate your federal income tax withholding. That’s Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate, and here’s what you need to know.

Filing a new Form W-4 with your employer allows you to adjust your income tax withholding to avoid overpaying or underpaying tax for 2016. The form comes with a worksheet to figure out how many allowances you should claim. These allowances are similar to dependency exemptions on your income tax return. However, the total allowances on your W-4 don’t have to agree with the exemptions you claim on your return. For example, say you’re single and you want to have the maximum amount withheld from your paycheck. You can claim zero allowances on Form W-4. You’ll still claim your personal exemption on the federal income tax return you file next April.

One caution: You should not claim more exemptions than you’re entitled to on Form W-4.

Updating Form W-4 can help adjust your withholding to match the tax you expect to owe. If you need assistance completing the form, give us a call at 913-338-3500.