TaxEsqBlog -by Ronald J. Cappuccio, J.D., LL.M.(Tax)

A review of significant TCJA provisions affecting small businesses Now that small businesses and their owners have filed their 2017 income tax returns (or filed for an extension), it’s a good time to review some of the provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that may significantly impact their taxes for 2018 and beyond. Generally, the changes apply to tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, and are permanent, unless otherwise noted. Corporate taxation Replacement of graduated corporate rates ranging from 15% to 35% with a flat corporate rate of 21% Replacement of the flat personal service corporation (PSC) rate of 35% with a flat rate of 21% Repeal of the 20% corporate alternative minimum tax (AMT) Pass-through taxation Drops of individual income tax rates ranging from 0 to 4 percentage points (depending on the bracket) to 10%, 12%, 22%, 24%, 32%, 35% and 37% — through 2025 New 20% qualified business income deduction for owners — through 2025 Changes to m...

Tax document retention guidelines for small businesses You may have breathed a sigh of relief after filing your 2017 income tax return (or requesting an extension). But if your office is strewn with reams of paper consisting of years’ worth of tax returns, receipts, canceled checks and other financial records (or your computer desktop is filled with a multitude of digital tax-related files), you probably want to get rid of what you can. Follow these retention guidelines as you clean up. General rules First, Scan everything!   If your documents are not already kept in electronic format, scan everything into PDF files Scanners are cheap and so is storage. It is better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it! Retain records that support items shown on your tax return at least until the statute of limitations runs out — generally three years from the due date of the return or the date you filed, whichever is later. That means you can now potentially throw out rec...

A net operating loss on your 2017 tax return isn’t all bad news When a company’s deductible expenses exceed its income, generally a net operating loss (NOL) occurs. If when filing your 2017 income tax return you found that your business had an NOL, there is an upside: tax benefits. But beware — the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) makes some significant changes to the tax treatment of NOLs. Pre-TCJA law - the old law Under pre-TCJA law, when a business incurs an NOL, the loss can be carried back up to two years, and then any remaining amount can be carried forward up to 20 years. The carryback can generate an immediate tax refund, boosting cash flow. The business can, however, elect instead to carry the entire loss forward. If cash flow is strong, this may be more beneficial, such as if the business’s income increases substantially, pushing it into a higher tax bracket — or if tax rates increase. In both scenarios, the carryforward can save more taxes than the carryback bec...

IRS on April 10 cautioned taxpayers to avoid the dangers of working with so-called "ghost" tax return preparers.  As described by the agency, a ghost preparer is retained to prepare a return for a fee but does not sign the document as the paid preparer . "These phantom preparers who won't put their name on the tax return are a warning sign for taxpayers of a potential scam ", IRS said. Ghost preparers follow several patterns. In one method, they will print the paper return and instruct their client to sign and mail it to IRS. The second method is to prepare an electronically-filed return but they will not digitally sign them as the paid preparer. "By doing so, the tax return appears to be self-prepared, with no indication that a paid tax preparer was used in completing the tax return - helping keep the return preparer under the radar", IRS said. The agency stressed that anyone who preparers or assists in preparing federal tax returns for compensat...

IRS Audits and Collections down for 2016 IRS has issued the 2017 IRS Data Book, its annual publication containing statistical tables and IRS organizational information. One key figure in the Data Book is the rate at which IRS audited returns in 2017 – it dropped to 0.6%, the lowest rate since 2002. Background. Each year, IRS issues the Data Book, which describes activities from the most-recently ended fiscal year and includes information about tax returns, refunds, examinations and appeals, illustrated with charts showing changes in IRS enforcement activities, taxpayer assistance levels, tax-exempt activities, legal support workload, and IRS budget and workforce levels compared to the previous fiscal year. Interesting statistics in the 2017 book. Some of the interesting statistics from the 2017 book, which covers IRS activities conducted during the period from Oct. 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 2017, include: There were fewer audits during fiscal year 2017, as compared to fisca...

2018 Q2 tax calendar: Key deadlines for businesses and other employers Here are some of the key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the second quarter of 2018. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so there may be additional deadlines that apply to you. Contact us to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines and to learn more about the filing requirements. April 2 Electronically file 2017 Form 1096, Form 1098, Form 1099 (except if an earlier deadline applies) and Form W-2G. April 17 If a calendar-year C corporation, file a 2017 income tax return (Form 1120) or file for an automatic six-month extension (Form 7004), and pay any tax due. If the return isn’t extended, this is also the last day to make 2017 contributions to pension and profit-sharing plans. If a calendar-year C corporation, pay the first installment of 2018 estimated income taxes. April 30 Report income tax withholding and FICA taxes for first quarter 2018 ...

Defer tax with a Section 1031 exchange, but new limits apply this year Normally when appreciated business assets such as real estate are sold, tax is owed on the appreciation. But there’s a way to defer this tax: a Section 1031 “like kind” exchange. However, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) reduces the types of property eligible for this favorable tax treatment. What is a like-kind exchange? Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code allows you to defer gains on real or personal property used in a business or held for investment if, instead of selling it, you exchange it solely for property of a “like kind.” Thus, the tax benefit of an exchange is that you defer tax and, thereby, have use of the tax savings until you sell the replacement property. This technique is especially flexible for real estate, because virtually any type of real estate will be considered to be of a like kind, as long as it’s business or investment property . For example, you can exchange a warehou...