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There’s Still Time for Small Business Owners to Set Up a SEP Retirement Plan for Last Year

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If you own a business and don’t have a tax-advantaged retirement plan, it’s not too late to establish one and reduce your 2018 tax bill. A Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) can still be set up for 2018, and you can make contributions to it that you can deduct on your 2018 income tax return.

Contribution deadlines

A SEP can be set up as late as the due date (including extensions) of your income tax return for the tax year for which the SEP is to first apply. That means you can establish a SEP for 2018 in 2019 as long as you do it before your 2018 return filing deadline. You have until the same deadline to make 2018 contributions and still claim a potentially substantial deduction on your 2018 return.

Generally, other types of retirement plans would have to have been established by December 31, 2018, in order for 2018 contributions to be made (though many of these plans do allow 2018 contributions to be made in 2019).

Discretionary contributions

With a SEP, you can decide how much to contribute each year. You aren’t obligated to make any certain minimum contributions annually.

But, if your business […]

By |March 11th, 2019|business, contributions, investment, ira, tax planning, year-end|0 Comments
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Catch-Up Retirement Plan Contributions Can be Particularly Advantageous Post-TCJA

Will you be age 50 or older on December 31? Are you still working? Are you already contributing to your 401(k) plan or Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) up to the regular annual limit? Then you may want to make “catch-up” contributions by the end of the year. Increasing your retirement plan contributions can be particularly advantageous if your itemized deductions for 2018 will be smaller than in the past because of changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

Catching up

Catch-up contributions are additional contributions beyond the regular annual limits that can be made to certain retirement accounts. They were designed to help taxpayers who didn’t save much for retirement earlier in their careers to “catch up.” But there’s no rule that limits catch-up contributions to such taxpayers.

So catch-up contributions can be a great option for anyone who is old enough to be eligible, has been maxing out their regular contribution limit and has sufficient earned income […]

By |November 27th, 2018|contributions, New Tax Laws, retirement, tax planning, year-end|0 Comments
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The TCJA Prohibits Undoing 2018 Roth IRA Conversions, but 2017 Conversions are Still Eligible

Converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA can provide tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals in retirement. But what if you convert your traditional IRA — subject to income taxes on all earnings and deductible contributions — and then discover you would have been better off if you hadn’t converted it?

Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), you could undo a Roth IRA conversion using a “re-characterization.” Effective with 2018 conversions, the TCJA prohibits re-characterizations — permanently. But if you executed a conversion in 2017, you may still be able to undo it.

Reasons to recharacterize

Generally, if you converted to a Roth IRA in 2017, you have until October 15, 2018, to undo it and avoid the tax hit.

Here are some reasons you might want to recharacterize a 2017 Roth IRA conversion:

  • The conversion combined with your other income pushed you into a higher tax bracket in 2017.
  • Your marginal income tax rate will be lower in 2018 than it was in 2017.
  • The value of your account has declined since the conversion, so you owe taxes partially on money you no longer have.

If you re-characterize your 2017 conversion but would still like to convert your traditional IRA […]

By |August 14th, 2018|contributions, New Tax Laws, roth ira|0 Comments
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Charitable Contribution Deduction Limitation Increased

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The deduction for an individual’s charitable contribution is limited to prescribed percentages of the taxpayer’s “contribution base.” Under pre-Act law, the applicable percentages were 50%, 30%, or 20%, and depended on the type of organization to which the contribution was made, whether the contribution was made “to” or merely “for the use of” the donee organization, and whether the contribution consisted of capital gain property. The 50% limitation applied to public charities and certain private foundations.

No charitable deduction is allowed for contributions of $250 or more unless the donor substantiates the contribution by a contemporaneous written acknowledgment (CWA) from the donee organization. Under Code Sec. 170(f)(8)(D), IRS is authorized to issue regs that exempt donors from this substantiation requirement if the donee organization files a return that contains the same required information; however, IRS has decided not to issue such donee reporting regs.

New law. For contributions made in tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2017 and before Jan. 1, 2026, the 50% limitation under Code Sec. 170(b) for cash contributions to public charities and certain private foundations is increased to 60%. (Code Sec. 170(b)(1)(G), as added by Act Sec. 11023) Contributions exceeding the 60% limitation are generally allowed to be carried forward and […]

By |January 12th, 2018|charity, Community, contributions, deduction, deductions, New Tax Laws|0 Comments
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Noncash Charitable Contributions: Documentation

To Our Clients and Friends:

As we approach the end of the year, a recent Tax Court case is a good reminder of what it takes to support a deduction for noncash charitable contributions that perhaps you’ve already given this year or plan to donate in the coming weeks.

The taxpayer in the case claimed a deduction of almost $28,000 for three separate noncash donations to a charitable organization. The donated items consisted of clothes, household goods and furniture, and various electronics, including computers and a printer. Because of the size of the donations, he was subject to several documentation requirements related to substantiating his donations. These included:

  • A need to obtain a written acknowledgment from the charity (required any time cash or noncash donations are $250 or more) describing what was donated and when, and stating either that no goods or services were rendered in return for the donation or describing and valuing what the charity provided in return. The acknowledgment must be obtained by the time the tax return for the year of the donation is filed or due, whichever comes first.
  • A requirement to maintain documentation for noncash donations of the same or similar items […]
By |December 2nd, 2014|charity, contributions|0 Comments
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