tax planning - Linkenheimer LLP CPAs & Advisors

The Home Office Deduction: Actual expenses vs. the simplified method

If you run your business from your home or perform certain functions at home that are related to your business, you might be able to claim a home office deduction against your business income on your 2018 income tax return. There are now two methods for claiming this deduction: the actual expenses method and the simplified method.

Basics of the deduction

In general, you’ll qualify for a home office deduction if part of your home is used “regularly and exclusively” as your principal place of business.

If your home isn’t your principal place of business, you may still be able to deduct home office expenses if 1) you physically meet with patients, clients or customers on your premises, or 2) you use a storage area in your home (or a separate free-standing structure, such as a garage) exclusively and regularly for your business.

Actual expenses

Traditionally, taxpayers have deducted actual expenses when they claim a home office deduction. Deductible home office expenses may include:

Direct expenses, such as the cost of painting and carpeting a room used exclusively for business,
A proportionate share of indirect expenses, such as mortgage interest, property taxes, utilities, repairs and insurance, and
A depreciation allowance.

But keeping […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:16+00:00February 19th, 2019|business, deduction, deductions, expensing, tax planning|0 Comments

3 Big TCJA Changes Affecting 2018 Individual Tax Returns and Beyond

When you file your 2018 income tax return, you’ll likely find that some big tax law changes affect you — besides the much-discussed tax rate cuts and reduced itemized deductions. For 2018 through 2025, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) makes significant changes to personal exemptions, standard deductions and the child credit. The degree to which these changes will affect you depends on whether you have dependents and, if so, how many. It also depends on whether you typically itemize deductions.

1. No more personal exemptions

For 2017, taxpayers could claim a personal exemption of $4,050 each for themselves, their spouses and any dependents. For families with children and/or other dependents, such as elderly parents, these exemptions could really add up.

For 2018 through 2025, the TCJA suspends personal exemptions. This will substantially increase taxable income for large families. However, enhancements to the standard deduction and child credit, combined with lower tax rates and other changes, might mitigate […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2020-09-03T20:04:17+00:00February 12th, 2019|New Tax Laws, tax planning|0 Comments

Many Tax-Related Limits Affecting Businesses Increase for 2019

A variety of tax-related limits affecting businesses are annually indexed for inflation, and many have gone up for 2019. Here’s a look at some that may affect you and your business.

Deductions

Section 179 expensing:
- Limit: $1.02 million (up from $1 million)
- Phaseout: $2.55 million (up from $2.5 million)
Income-based phase-ins for certain limits on the Sec. 199A qualified business income deduction:
- Married filing jointly: $321,400-$421,400 (up from $315,000-$415,000)
- Married filing separately: $160,725-$210,725 (up from $157,500-$207,500)
- Other filers: $160,700-$210,700 (up from $157,500-$207,500)

Retirement plans

Employee contributions to 401(k) plans: $19,000 (up from $18,500)
Catch-up contributions to 401(k) plans: $6,000 (no change)
Employee contributions to SIMPLEs: $13,000 (up from $12,500)
Catch-up contributions to SIMPLEs: $3,000 (no change)
Combined employer/employee contributions to defined contribution plans (not including catch-ups): $56,000 (up from $55,000)
Maximum compensation used to determine contributions: $280,000 (up from $275,000)
Annual benefit for defined benefit plans: $225,000 (up from $220,000)
Compensation defining “highly compensated employee”: $125,000 (up from $120,000)
Compensation defining “key employee”: $180,000 (up from $175,000)

Other employee benefits

Qualified transportation fringe-benefits employee income exclusion: $265 per month (up from $260)
Health Savings Account contributions:
- Individual coverage: $3,500 (up from $3,450)
- Family coverage: $7,000 (up from $6,900)
- Catch-up contribution: $1,000 (no change)
Flexible Spending Account contributions:
- Health care: $2,700 (up from $2,650)
- Dependent care: $5,000 (no change)

Additional rules apply to these […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2019-01-22T18:19:45+00:00January 22nd, 2019|business, deduction, deductions, retirement, tax planning|0 Comments

Business Owners: An Exit Strategy Should Be Part of Your Tax Planning

Tax planning is a juggling act for business owners. You have to keep your eye on your company’s income and expenses and applicable tax breaks (especially if you own a pass-through entity). But you also must look out for your own financial future.

For example, you need to develop an exit strategy so that taxes don’t trip you up when you retire or leave the business for some other reason. An exit strategy is a plan for passing on responsibility for running the company, transferring ownership and extracting your money from the business.

Buy-sell agreement

When a business has more than one owner, a buy-sell agreement can be a powerful tool. The agreement controls what happens to the business when a specified event occurs, such as an owner’s retirement, disability or death. Among other benefits, a well-drafted agreement:

Provides a ready market for the departing owner’s shares,
Prescribes a method for setting a price for the shares, and
Allows business continuity by preventing disagreements caused by new owners.

A key issue with any buy-sell agreement is providing the buyer(s) with a means of funding the purchase. Life or disability insurance often helps fulfill this need and can give rise to several […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2018-12-21T16:13:21+00:00December 21st, 2018|business, tax implications, tax planning, year-end|0 Comments

Act Soon to Save 2018 Taxes on Your Investments

Do you have investments outside of tax-advantaged retirement plans? If so, you might still have time to shrink your 2018 tax bill by selling some investments • you just need to carefully select which investments you sell.

Try balancing gains and losses

If you’ve sold investments at a gain this year, consider selling some losing investments to absorb the gains. This is commonly referred to as “harvesting” losses.

If, however, you’ve sold investments at a loss this year, consider selling other investments in your portfolio that have appreciated, to the extent the gains will be absorbed by the losses. If you believe those appreciated investments have peaked in value, essentially you’ll lock in the peak value and avoid tax on your gains.

Review your potential tax rates

At the federal level, long-term capital gains (on investments held more than one year) are taxed at lower rates than short-term capital gains (on investments held one year or less). The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) retains the 0%, 15% and 20% rates on long-term capital gains. But, for 2018 through 2025, these rates have their own brackets, instead of aligning with various ordinary-income brackets.

For example, these are the thresholds […]

By Linkenheimer LLP|2018-12-19T17:49:08+00:00December 19th, 2018|investment, retirement, tax planning, year-end|0 Comments