By Erika Hoppe, CPA, JD  ehoppe@bvcocpas.com

Each year, the Statistics of Income Division of the IRS compiles data and produces a wide range of statistics measuring various components of the U.S. tax system. With the federal estate tax exemption increasing from $5,490,000 ($10,980,000 for married couples) in 2017 to $11,200,000 ($22,400,000 for married couples) in 2018 under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, fewer estate tax returns are expected to be filed in the future. While it is true that fewer taxpayers will be subject to the estate tax, there are many other reasons why estate planning remains important. One example is charitable giving.

The most recent statistics published by the IRS regarding charitable giving are from 2016. For tax purposes, there were 12,411 estates worth $192,218,976,000 gross across the country with 2,718 charitable bequests totaling $19,296,922,000 gross. California had the highest number of estates, specifically, 2,419 estates worth $38,300,167,000 gross with 454 charitable bequests totaling $4,599,647,000 gross. Florida came in second with 1,451 estates worth $32,881,907,000 gross with 334 charitable bequests totaling $1,662,045,000 gross. The state with the fewest number of estates was Alaska, which had 18 estates worth $236,663,000 gross. Since there were so few estates, the IRS did not release information on charitable bequests to protect individual taxpayer data. Vermont had the highest ratio of charitable bequests to gross estates with 17 charitable bequests totaling $92,387,000 gross and 41 gross estates worth $378,858,000.

To see these statistics as well as prior year statistics on charitable bequests by state of residence, click here. To find additional statistics relating to other areas of the tax system, visit the IRS website.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was approved by Congress and signed into law on December 22, 2017. It provides drastic changes to the Internal Revenue Code and affects taxpayers of all different types, including individuals, corporations, partnerships, estates, and trusts. Following are some of the key changes with regard to trusts and estates.

Prior to the TCJA, there were five tax brackets for trusts. The TCJA eliminated one tax bracket and decreased the overall tax rates for each bracket, reducing the top tax rate for trusts from 39.6% to 37%. Under the new law, if taxable income is:

Not over $2,550, the tax is 10% of taxable income;
Over $2,550 but not over $9,150, the tax is $255 plus 24% of the excess over $2,550;
Over $9,150 but not over $12,500, the tax is $1,839 plus 35% of the excess over $9,150;
Over $12,500, the tax is $3,011.50 plus 37% of the excess over $12,500.

While the overall tax rates are now reduced, the tax brackets are still very compressed with the top tax rate taking effect at $12,500.

The TCJA did not change the exemption amounts for trusts and estates. Estates, simple trusts, and complex trusts are still allowed a $600, $300, $100 exemption, respectively.

There are additional changes to trusts and estates under the TCJA, such as the deductibility of some expenses. For instance, trusts and estates are no longer able to deduct miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the 2% of AGI limitation, such as investment management fees. For additional changes under the TCJA, check the IRS website.

A few weeks ago, the Internal Revenue Service issued a notice stating they would be preparing regulations and guidance to clarify the treatment of income re-characterized for purposes of working around the new $10,000 cap on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. So far, several states including New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have passed legislation designed to enable high-income taxpayers to bypass the cap, with legislation pending elsewhere. In the notice, the IRS emphasized the “substance over form” doctrine, meaning they care about the actual substance of a payment, and not the name or form it may be given.

While the direct guidance remains to be seen, this is clearly bad news for the charitable contributions in lieu of taxes approach that California was looking into to, and will greatly reduce the itemized deductions of CA residents for 2018. The IRS has made clear in this notice that it is concerned with whether a payment is made in satisfaction of a tax liability, and not whether it is re-characterized in some other way. The impact on other workarounds, such as New York’s optional payroll tax swap or Connecticut’s entity-level tax swap, is not immediately clear, though both approaches could be at risk as well.
We should continue to practice skepticism of any SALT deduction cap avoidance schemes until we receive the IRS guidance. Most agree that existing statutes, case law, and regulations are fairly clear on this matter and states have just muddied the waters. Formal IRS guidance will help protect taxpayers, so hopefully they do not rely on state-endorsed strategies, which could result in penalties and increased liability.

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act – How does it affect non-corporate taxpayers with business income?

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act decreased the tax rate for corporations from graduated rates of up to 35% to a flat rate of 21% beginning after December 31, 2017. The Act also added a 20% deduction for non-corporate taxpayer with domestic qualified business income from sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC) and S corporations, effective for tax years after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026.

The 20% deduction is allowed as a deduction reducing taxable income and not allowed in computing adjusted gross income. The deduction is limited to the greater of:

1. 50% of the W-2 wages paid by the business, or
2. The sum of 25% of the W-2 wages paid by the business plus 2.5%% of the cost basis of the tangible depreciable property of the business at the close of the tax year.

The 20% deduction is also limited to qualified non-personal service businesses income. Qualified non-personal service income is defined as the net amount of domestic qualified items of income, deduction and loss from trade or business other than health, law, consulting, athletics, financial services, brokerage services or any business where the main asset of the business is the reputation or skill of one or more of its employees or owners.

The above limitations do not apply for taxpayers with taxable income below the “threshold amount” ($315,000 for couples filing jointly, $157,000 for other individuals). The 20% deduction is phased in for individuals with taxable income exceeding the threshold amount, over the next $100,000 of taxable income for married individuals filing jointly, $50,000 for other individuals.

Basically, non-corporate taxpayers with taxable income below the $157,000 or $315,000 threshold may generally claim the full 20% deduction. Non-corporate taxpayers with taxable income above the threshold with non-personal service business income may claim the deduction, but may be limited by the wage and capital limit exception or may be completely phased out.

On December 20, the House approved H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a sweeping tax reform measure. While much still needs to be determined for tax planning opportunities, we can look at the new income tax rates and how they compare to the pre-Act law.

• If Single Taxpayer A makes $250,000 of taxable income, the taxpayer will pay $65,899.25 in tax in 2017, and $63,189.50 in 2018.
• If Single Taxpayer A makes $300,000 of taxable income, the taxpayer will pay $82,399.25 in tax in 2017, and $80,689.50 in 2018.
• If Single Taxpayer A makes $350,000 of taxable income, the taxpayer will pay $98,899.25 in tax in 2017, and $98,189.50 in 2018, still a small tax reduction.

It isn’t until we get to $387,000 where we see the 2018 tax surpass that of the 2017 tax rates. From this point on there is a window of taxpayers (Single filers) who make between $387,000 and $417,000 who, with no other changes, will see their taxes go up for 2018. For the remaining filers, it appears that for the next 8 years you should see a tax rate decrease.

Having just lost my mother this year, there were many lessons I learned.

My mother did not have much in assets when she passed away but she did get a will prepared several years ago. I would strongly encourage that you make sure your parents have a will or trust in place and that you are informed as to their intentions. This can sometimes be a difficult conversation. My mother was 95 years old when she passed away and I was still struggling to get her to even bring up the subject of the eventuality of her death. Not until she was under the care of Hospice did she start informing me of what she wanted done with some of her personal effects.

My mother was a hoarder and had lived in her home for 46 years. One of the things she told me a few weeks before her death was that she felt bad for my husband who would have to deal with all of her things. As it turns out I am the one dealing with all of her things. Note to self – Do not do this to your kids. After this experience I am determined not to leave a mess for my children. My sister shared a Facebook post with me – ‘Death Cleaning’ is the newest way to declutter. Many are decluttering to save their loved ones stress down the road. Highly recommended.

In connection with my going through her things, I have found there is much that I wished we had talked about. Photos found that look precious and old that I don’t know anything about. I always wanted to make time to go through memories with her but never did. This is one of my deepest regrets. Find the time to spend with your parents to document these memories.

And finally, make sure you don’t make any tough decisions until you have had time to get through the grieving process. I was surprised at how hard her death hit me, even though as I said she was 95, and I knew it was eventually going to happen. Make sure you have a support team to help you through any immediate decisions you have to make. I was fortunate to have my daughter and husband with me that first week when I was making arrangements. It was difficult to make even what you would think are easy decisions.

When you lose a loved one, reach out to your Trusted Advisor when you are looking to make any financial decisions. This could be your attorney, financial advisor, or your CPA. I am now a firm believer that you should also have a family or friend support member of your team. Decisions are hard when you are grieving. Take the time to heal. And reach for support.

It may not be the first thing on everyone’s mind as we head in to the holiday season but for your local CPA, taxes are certainly on the mind. Year end tax planning is always a good idea for a proactive business owner or individual but this year it may be even more important than ever with tax reform coming down the pipeline.

You can’t open a newspaper lately without seeing talks about tax reform. The back and forth and uncertainties surrounding tax legislation is making for an entertaining situation for your local tax nerd. Both the House and Senate have their own plans that are changing by the second; odds are the analysis you read one day will completely change a week later and many details we are hearing about now may be totally different by the time legislation comes across the President’s desk (if that even happens). As your average everyday business owner and taxpayer, you care about the financial well being of you and your company, but chances are you don’t have the time or patience to keep up on the constant changes happening on Capitol Hill. While you may not think any legislation will affect you in the short term, you may be wrong and there may be moves you need to make by the end of 2017.

With uncertainty in the air and the year quickly coming to an end, right now is a great time to get in touch with your accountant. We can educate you about tax reform and its specific effects on you, and help you make sure you make the right moves by year end. Having a good CPA as part of your advisory team is an invaluable resource during times like this.

It’s only November but there’s still time to make the filing of your 2017 tax return less taxing in 2018.

Withholding and Estimated Taxes. Make sure enough taxes are withheld to avoid surprises at tax time. Generally taxes are withheld from wages and other income such as pensions, bonuses, commissions and gambling winnings. Taxpayers with interest, dividends, capital gains, rents and royalties will usually make additional tax payments by making estimated tax payments. Self-employed individuals who do not pay tax through withholding will also pay estimated taxes.

1. Employees starting a new job must fill out a Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Allowance Certificate. Use the IRS Withholding Calculator to figure out how much tax to withhold.
2. Taxpayers expecting to owe $1,000, or more than taxes that are withheld, will need to make estimated tax payments to avoid penalties.
3. Martial status changes, birth of a child or the purchase of a home may change the amount of taxes a taxpayer owes. Employees should submit a new Form W-4 to their employer when necessary.

Name changes. Taxpayers with name changes due to a marital status change should notify the Social Security Administration. SSA should also be notified if there’s a name change for a dependent. Notifying the SSA with name changes will ensure that the new name on the tax return matches the SSA records to avoid any delay in the processing.

Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers. Taxpayers who use Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers which have expired or are due to expire should apply to renew their ITIN to avoid processing delays next year. A Form W-7 must be completed as well as submission of original or certified copies of identity documents to renew an ITIN.

With the passing of another tax deadline, I thought it would be helpful to go over the consequences of not filing your tax return on time. If you have not filed your 2016 tax return, file it as soon as possible to minimize the penalties that you may owe.

There are three types of payments that could be assessed if you do not pay the tax owed on time. These are late filing penalties, late payment penalties, and interest.

If you owe taxes and don’t file your tax return or extension by the original due date, or if you filed an extension but fail to file your return by the extension due date you will be subject to late filing penalties.

The late filing penalty is 5% of the tax owed for every month your return is late, up to a maximum of 25%. If you fail to file your return for over 60 days after the due date or extended due date, the minimum penalty is the lesser of $205 (for 2016) or 100% of the unpaid tax due.

Late payment penalties could be assessed if you do not pay all of the taxes you owe. These apply if you do not pay all of the taxes owed by the original due date, regardless of whether or not you filed an extension. The late filing penalty is 0.5% of the tax owed for each month the tax remains unpaid, up to a maximum of 25%.

If both penalties apply to you the monthly penalty would be 5%, up to maximum penalty of 25%.

You will also be charged interest on any unpaid taxes starting the day after the return’s due date.

If you correctly expect to get a refund there is no penalty. You have three years to file from the due date or you will no longer be eligible for your refund.

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