If you’re hiring independent contractors, make sure they’re properly handled
Many businesses use independent contractors to help keep their costs down, especially in these times of staff shortages and inflationary pressures. If you’re among them, make sure workers are properly classified for federal tax purposes. If the IRS reclassifies them as employees, it can be a costly error. Determining whether a worker is a contractor or an employee for income and employment tax purposes can be complex. The IRS and courts have generally ruled that individuals are employees if the businesses they work for have the right to control and direct them in the jobs. Otherwise, they’re generally contractors. Contact us if you’d like to discuss how the rules apply to your business.
6 tried-and-true strategies for improving collections
Does your company have slow-paying customers? Here are six tried-and-true collections strategies: 1) Request payment up front from new customers or those with a history of payment issues. 2) Implement fees or finance charges for past due amounts. 3) Explore the feasibility of giving discounts to customers with strong or improved payment histories. 4) Communicate proactively with slow payers; as the business owner, you may need to step in at some point. 5) As a last resort, consider engaging a debt-collection attorney or collections agency. 6) Remember, if an outstanding debt is uncollectible, you may be able to claim a tax write-off as an ordinary business expense. Contact us for help.
4 ways corporate business owners can help ensure their compensation is “reasonable”
If you’re the owner of an incorporated business, you know there’s a tax advantage to taking money out of a C corporation as compensation rather than as dividends. The reason: A corporation can deduct the salaries and bonuses that it pays, but not dividends. So if funds are paid as dividends, they’re taxed twice, once to the corporation and once to the recipient. Money paid as compensation is only taxed once to the employee receiving it. But there are limits to how much money you can take this way. Compensation can be deducted only to the extent that it’s “reasonable.” Unreasonable portions aren’t deductible and may be deemed dividends. Need help determining a reasonable salary? Contact us.
Tax news for investors and users of cryptocurrency
Two developments for crypto users and investors: 1) Taxpayers must now check a box on their returns indicating whether they received digital assets as payment for property or services or whether they sold, exchanged or transferred digital assets that were held as capital assets. If “yes” is checked, taxpayers must report income related to the transactions. 2) A 2021 law extended reporting rules, similar to those required by stockbrokers, to crypto exchanges, custodians and platforms and to digital assets. The new rules were scheduled to be effective for 2023 transactions. But the IRS has postponed the effective date until it issues final regs that provide instructions.
Strengthen strategic planning with competitive intelligence
Every business should consider integrating “competitive intelligence” into its strategic planning. The term generally refers to the process of legally and ethically gathering and analyzing information about competitors to better anticipate market trends, analyze industry developments and compare business practices. There are many ways to go about it, including attending networking events and regularly scanning newspapers and trade publications. You can also use the internet to monitor major competitors’ websites, social media channels and financial info published on public databases. What you learn might strengthen your strategic planning or even inspire you to go in a new direction.
Businesses, be prepared to champion the advantages of an HSA
Many companies have lowered benefits costs by offering a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) paired with a Health Savings Account (HSA). Some employees, however, might react negatively to a plan that starts with the phrase “high-deductible.” So, if you decide to offer an HSA, be prepared to communicate the advantages. An HSA is a tax-advantaged savings account funded with pretax dollars. This lowers participants’ taxable income. Also, account funds grow tax-free, and withdrawals aren’t taxable as long as they’re used for eligible expenses. HSAs have retirement and estate planning features, too. Plus, HDHPs tend to have lower premiums than other plan types. Contact us for more information.
The IRS clarifies what counts as qualified medical expenses
If you itemize deductions on your tax return, you may wonder: What medical expenses can I include? The IRS recently issued some frequently asked questions addressing when certain costs are qualified medical expenses for federal income tax purposes. For example, the costs of over-the-counter (non-prescription) drugs generally don’t count as qualified medical expenses. However, the cost of insulin is eligible. The cost of a weight-loss program is a qualified medical expense only if it treats a specific disease diagnosed by a physician such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension or heart disease.
Education benefits help attract, retain and motivate your employees
One popular fringe benefit is an education assistance program that allows employees to continue learning and perhaps earn a degree with financial assistance from their employers. An employee can receive, on a tax-free basis, up to $5,250 each year from his or her employer under a “qualified educational assistance program.” For this purpose, education means instruction or training that improves or develops an individual’s capabilities. Different rules apply if the education is job-related. In addition to education assistance, some employers offer student loan repayment assistance. Contact us to learn more about setting up an education assistance or student loan repayment plan.
There’s a favorable “stepped-up basis” if you inherit property
Have you inherited assets or are you planning your estate? You may not understand how tax “basis” works. Under the tax code “step-up” rules, an heir receives a basis in inherited property equal to its date-of-death value. For example, if your grandfather paid $500 for shares of an oil stock in 1940 and it’s worth $5 million at his death, the basis is stepped up to $5 million for your grandfather’s heirs. That means all that gain escapes federal income tax! If your grandfather instead made a gift of the stock during his life (rather than passing it on at death), the “step-up” in basis (from $500 to $5 million) would be lost. Contact us for tax guidance with estate planning or inheritances.
Take advantage of the rehabilitation tax credit when altering or adding to business space
If your business occupies a large structure and you need to increase space or move, keep the rehabilitation tax credit in mind. The credit is equal to 20% of the qualified rehabilitation expenditures (QREs) for a qualified building that’s also a certified historic structure and meets other requirements. A QRE is any amount chargeable to capital and incurred in connection with the rehab (including reconstruction) of a qualified building. QREs can’t include building enlargement or acquisition costs. The 20% credit is allocated ratably to each year in the five-year period beginning in the year in which the qualified building is placed in service. Contact us to discuss this and other tax breaks.