Can taxpayers who manage their own investment portfolios deduct related expenses? It depends
Do you have significant investment-related expenses, including the cost of subscriptions to financial services, home office expenses, and clerical costs? Under current tax law, these expenses aren’t deductible through 2025 if they’re considered investment expenses for the production of income. But they’re deductible if they’re considered trade or business expenses.
For years before 2018, production-of-income expenses were deductible, but they were included in miscellaneous itemized deductions, subject to a 2%-of-adjusted-gross-income floor. (These rules are scheduled to return after 2025.) If you do a significant amount of trading, you should know which category your investment expenses fall into because qualifying for trade or business expense treatment is more advantageous now.
To deduct your investment-related expenses as business expenses, you must be engaged in a trade or business. The U.S. Supreme Court held many years ago that an individual taxpayer isn’t engaged in a trade or business merely because the individual manages their own securities investments — regardless of the amount or the extent of the work required.
A trader vs. an investor
However, if you can show that your investment activities rise to the level of carrying on a trade or business, you may be considered a trader, who is engaged in a trade or business, rather than an investor who isn’t. As a trader, you’re entitled to deduct your investment-related expenses as business expenses. A trader is also entitled to deduct home office expenses if the home office is used exclusively regularly as the trader’s principal place of business. On the other hand, an investor isn’t entitled to home office deductions since the investment activities aren’t traded or business.
Since the Supreme Court decision, there has been extensive litigation on whether a taxpayer is a trader or investor. The U.S. Tax Court has developed a two-part test that must satisfy a taxpayer to be a trader. Under this test, a taxpayer’s investment activities are considered a trade or business only where both of the following are true:
- The taxpayer’s trading is substantial (in other words, sporadic trading isn’t considered a trade or business), and
- The taxpayer seeks to profit from short-term market swings rather than from long-term holding of investments.
Profit in the short term
So, the fact that a taxpayer’s investment activities are regular, extensive, and continuous isn’t in itself sufficient for determining that a taxpayer is a trader. To be considered a trader, you must show that you buy and sell securities with reasonable frequency to profit on a short-term basis. In one case, a taxpayer who made more than 1,000 trades a year with trading activities averaging about $16 million annually was held to be an investor rather than a trader because the holding periods for stocks sold averaged about one year.
Contact us if you have questions or would like to figure out whether you’re an investor or a trader for tax purposes.
© 2021
Don’t assume your profitable company has strong cash flow
Most of us are taught from a young age never to assume anything. Why? Well, when you assume you make an … you probably know how the rest of the expression goes.
Many business owners make a dangerous assumption that if their companies are profitable, their cash flow must also be strong. But this isn’t always the case. Taking a closer look at the accounting involved can explain.
Investing in the business
What are profits, really? In accounting terms, they’re closely related to taxable income. Reported at the bottom of your company’s income statement, profits are essentially the result of revenue less the cost of goods sold and other operating expenses incurred in the accounting period.
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) require companies to “match” costs and expenses to the period in which revenue is recognized. Under accrual-basis accounting, it doesn’t necessarily matter when you receive payments from customers or pay expenses.
For example, inventory sitting in a warehouse or retail store can’t be deducted — even though it may have been long paid for (or financed). The expense hits your income statement only when an item is sold or used. Your inventory account contains many cash outflows that are waiting to be expensed.
Other working capital accounts — such as accounts receivable, accrued expenses, and trade payables — also represent a difference between the timing of cash flows. As your business grows and strives to increase future sales, you invest more in working capital, which temporarily depletes cash.
However, the reverse also may be true. That is, a mature business may be a “cash cow” that generates ample dollars, despite reporting lackluster profits.
Accounting for expenses
The difference between profits and cash flow doesn’t begin and end with working capital. Your income statement also includes depreciation and amortization, which are non-cash expenses. And it excludes changes in fixed assets, bank financing, and owners’ capital accounts, which affect cash on hand.
Suppose your company uses tax depreciation schedules for book purposes. Let say, in 2020; you bought new equipment to take advantage of the expanded Section 179 and bonus depreciation allowances. Then you deducted the purchase price of these items from profits in 2020. However, because these purchases were financed with debt, the actual cash outflows from the investments in 2020 were minimal.
In 2021, your business will make loan payments to reduce the amount of cash in your checking account. But your profits will be hit with only the interest expense (not the amount of principal that’s being repaid). Plus, there will be no “basis” left in the 2020 purchases to depreciate in 2021. These circumstances will artificially boost profits in 2021 without a proportionate increase in cash.
Keeping your eye on the ball
It’s dangerous to assume that your cash position is strong—cash flow warrants careful monitoring just because you're turning a profit. Our firm can help you generate accurate financial statements and glean the most important insights from them.
© 2021
Tax-favored ways to build up a college fund
If you’re a parent with a college-bound child, you may be concerned about being able to fund future tuition and other higher education costs. You want to take maximum advantage of tax benefits to minimize your expenses. Here are some possible options.
Savings bonds
Series EE U.S. savings bonds offer two tax-saving opportunities for eligible families when used to finance college:
- You don’t have to report the interest on the bonds for federal tax purposes until the bonds are cashed in, and
- Interest on “qualified” Series EE (and Series I) bonds may be exempt from federal tax if the bond proceeds are used for qualified education expenses.
To qualify for the tax exemption for college use, you must purchase the bonds in your name (not the child’s) or jointly with your spouse. The proceeds must be used for tuition, fees, and certain other expenses — not room and board. If only part of the proceeds is used for qualified expenses, only that part of the interest is exempt.
The exemption is phased out if your adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds certain amounts.
529 plans
A qualified tuition program (also known as a 529 plan) allows you to buy tuition credits for a child or make contributions to an account set up to meet a child’s future higher education expenses. State governments or private education institutions establish qualified tuition programs.
Contributions aren’t deductible. The contributions are treated as taxable gifts to the child, but they’re eligible for the annual gift tax exclusion ($15,000 for 2021). A donor who contributes more than the annual exclusion limit for the year can elect to treat the gift as if it were spread out over a five-year period.
The earnings on the contributions accumulate tax-free until college costs are paid from the funds. Distributions from 529 plans are tax-free to the extent the funds are used to pay “qualified higher education expenses.” Distributions of earnings that aren’t used for qualified expenses will be subject to income tax plus a 10% penalty tax.
Coverdell education savings accounts (ESAs)
You can establish a Coverdell ESA and contribute up to $2,000 annually for each child under age 18.
The right to make contributions begins to phase out once your AGI is over a certain amount. If the income limitation is a problem, a child can contribute to his or her own account.
Although the contributions aren’t deductible, income in the account isn’t taxed, and distributions are tax-free if used on qualified education expenses. If the child doesn’t attend college, the money must be withdrawn when he or she turns 30, and any earnings will be subject to tax and penalty. But unused funds can be transferred tax-free to a Coverdell ESA of another member of the child’s family who hasn’t reached age 30. (Some ESA requirements don’t apply to individuals with special needs.)
Plan ahead
These are just some of the tax-favored ways to build up a college fund for your children. Once your child is in college, you may qualify for tax breaks such as the American Opportunity Tax Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit. Contact us if you’d like to discuss any of the options.
© 2021
2021 Q3 tax calendar: Key deadlines for businesses and other employers
Here are some key tax-related deadlines affecting businesses and other employers during the third quarter of 2021. Keep in mind that this list isn’t all-inclusive, so that additional deadlines may apply to you. Contact us to ensure you’re meeting all applicable deadlines and to learn more about the filing requirements.
Monday, August 2
- Employers report income tax withholding and FICA taxes for the second quarter of 2021 (Form 941) and pay any tax due.
- Employers file a 2020 calendar-year retirement plan report (Form 5500 or Form 5500-EZ) or request an extension.
Tuesday, August 10
- Employers report income tax withholding and FICA taxes for the second quarter of 2021 (Form 941) if you deposited all associated taxes that were due in full and on time.
Wednesday, September 15
- Individuals pay the third installment of 2021 estimated taxes if not paying income tax through withholding (Form 1040-ES).
- If a calendar-year corporation, pay the third installment of 2021 estimated income taxes.
- If a calendar-year S corporation or partnership that filed an automatic extension:
- File a 2020 income tax return (Form the 1120S, Form 1065, or Form 1065-B) and pay any tax, interest, and penalties due.
- Make contributions for 2020 to certain employer-sponsored retirement plans.
© 2021
Still have questions after you file your tax return?
Still have questions after you file your tax return?
Even after your 2020 tax return has been successfully filed with the IRS, you may still have some questions about the return. Here are brief answers to three questions that we’re frequently asked at this time of year.
Are you wondering when you will receive your refund?
The IRS has an online tool that can tell you the status of your refund. Go to irs.gov and click on “Get Your Refund Status.” You’ll need your Social Security number, filing status and the exact refund amount.
Which tax records can you throw away now?
At a minimum, keep tax records related to your return for as long as the IRS can audit your return or assess additional taxes. In general, the statute of limitations is three years after you file your return. So you can generally get rid of most records related to tax returns for 2017 and earlier years. (If you filed an extension for your 2017 return, hold on to your records until at least three years from when you filed the extended return.)
However, the statute of limitations extends to six years for taxpayers who understate their gross income by more than 25%.
You should hang on to certain tax-related records longer. For example, keep the actual tax returns indefinitely, so you can prove to the IRS that you filed legitimate returns. (There’s no statute of limitations for an audit if you didn’t file a return or you filed a fraudulent one.)
When it comes to retirement accounts, keep records associated with them until you’ve depleted the account and reported the last withdrawal on your tax return, plus three (or six) years. And retain records related to real estate or investments for as long as you own the asset, plus at least three years after you sell it and report the sale on your tax return. (You can keep these records for six years if you want to be extra safe.)
If you overlooked claiming a tax break, can you still collect a refund for it?
In general, you can file an amended tax return and claim a refund within three years after the date you filed your original return or within two years of the date you paid the tax, whichever is later.
However, there are a few opportunities when you have longer to file an amended return. For example, the statute of limitations for bad debts is longer than the usual three-year time limit for most items on your tax return. In general, you can amend your tax return to claim a bad debt for seven years from the due date of the tax return for the year that the debt became worthless.
Year-round tax help
Contact us if you have questions about retaining tax records, receiving your refund or filing an amended return. We’re not just here at tax filing time. We’re available all year long.
© 2021
Launching a small business? Here are some tax considerations
While many businesses have been forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some entrepreneurs have started new small businesses. Many of these people start out operating as sole proprietors. Here are some tax rules and considerations involved in operating with that entity.
The pass-through deduction
To the extent your business generates qualified business income (QBI), you’re eligible to claim the pass-through or QBI deduction, subject to limitations. For tax years through 2025, the deduction can be up to 20% of a pass-through entity owner’s QBI. You can take the deduction even if you don’t itemize deductions on your tax return and instead claim the standard deduction.
Reporting responsibilities
As a sole proprietor, you’ll file Schedule C with your Form 1040. Your business expenses are deductible against gross income. If you have losses, they’ll generally be deductible against your other income, subject to special rules related to hobby losses, passive activity losses and losses in activities in which you weren’t “at risk.”
If you hire employees, you need to get a taxpayer identification number and withhold and pay employment taxes.
Self-employment taxes
For 2021, you pay Social Security on your net self-employment earnings up to $142,800, and Medicare tax on all earnings. An additional 0.9% Medicare tax is imposed on self-employment income in excess of $250,000 on joint returns; $125,000 for married taxpayers filing separate returns; and $200,000 in all other cases. Self-employment tax is imposed in addition to income tax, but you can deduct half of your self-employment tax as an adjustment to income.
Quarterly estimated payments
As a sole proprietor, you generally have to make estimated tax payments. For 2021, these are due on April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 17, 2022.
Home office deductions
If you work from a home office, perform management or administrative tasks there, or store product samples or inventory at home, you may be entitled to deduct an allocable portion of some costs of maintaining your home.
Health insurance expenses
You can deduct 100% of your health insurance costs as a business expense. This means your deduction for medical care insurance won’t be subject to the rule that limits medical expense deductions.
Keeping records
Retain complete records of your income and expenses so you can claim all the tax breaks to which you’re entitled. Certain expenses, such as automobile, travel, meals, and office-at-home expenses, require special attention because they’re subject to special recordkeeping rules or deductibility limits.
Saving for retirement
Consider establishing a qualified retirement plan. The advantage is that amounts contributed to the plan are deductible at the time of the contribution and aren’t taken into income until they’re withdrawn. A SEP plan requires less paperwork than many qualified plans. A SIMPLE plan is also available to sole proprietors and offers tax advantages with fewer restrictions and administrative requirements. If you don’t establish a retirement plan, you may still be able to contribute to an IRA.
We can help
Contact us if you want additional information about the tax aspects of your new business, or if you have questions about reporting or recordkeeping requirements
Your taxpayer filing status: You may be eligible to use more than one
When it comes to taxes, December 31 is more than just New Year’s Eve. That date will affect the filing status box that will be checked on your 2020 tax return. When filing a return, you do so with one of five tax filing statuses. In part, they depend on whether you’re married or unmarried on December 31.
More than one filing status may apply, and you can use the one that saves the most tax. It’s also possible that your status could change during the year.
Here are the filing statuses and who can claim them:
- Single. This is generally used if you’re unmarried, divorced or legally separated under a divorce or separate maintenance decree governed by state law.
- Married filing jointly. If you’re married, you can file a joint tax return with your spouse. If your spouse passes away, you can generally file a joint return for that year.
- Married filing separately. As an alternative to filing jointly, married couples can choose to file separate tax returns. In some cases, this may result in less tax owed.
- Head of household. Certain unmarried taxpayers may qualify to use this status and potentially pay less tax. Special requirements are described below.
- Qualifying widow(er) with a dependent child. This may be used if your spouse died during one of the previous two years and you have a dependent child. Other conditions also apply.
How to qualify as “head of household”
In general, head of household status is more favorable than filing as a single taxpayer. To qualify, you must “maintain a household” that, for more than half the year, is the principal home of a “qualifying child” or other relative that you can claim as your dependent.
A “qualifying child” is defined as one who:
- Lives in your home for more than half the year,
- Is your child, stepchild, foster child, sibling, stepsibling or a descendant of any of these,
- Is under 19 years old or under age 24 if enrolled as a student, and
- Doesn’t provide over half of his or her own support for the year.
If a child’s parents are divorced, different rules may apply. Also, a child isn’t eligible to be a “qualifying child” if he or she is married and files a joint tax return or isn’t a U.S. citizen or resident.
There are other head of household requirements. You’re considered to maintain a household if you live in it for the tax year and pay more than half the cost. This includes property taxes, mortgage interest, rent, utilities, property insurance, repairs, upkeep, and food consumed in the home. Don’t include medical care, clothing, education, life insurance or transportation.
Under a special rule, you can qualify as head of household if you maintain a home for a parent even if you don’t live with him or her. To qualify, you must claim the parent as your dependent.
Determining marital status
You must generally be unmarried to claim head of household status. If you’re married, you must generally file as either married filing jointly or married filing separately — not as head of household. However, if you’ve lived apart from your spouse for the last six months of the year, a qualifying child lives with you and you “maintain” the household, you’re treated as unmarried. In this case, you may qualify as head of household.
Contact Dukhon Tax if you have questions about your filing status. Or ask us when we prepare your return.
© 2020
Can you deduct charitable gifts on your tax return?
Many taxpayers make charitable gifts — because they’re generous
and they want to save money on their federal tax bills. But with the tax law
changes that went into effect a couple years ago and the many rules that apply
to charitable deductions, you may no longer get a tax break for your generosity.
Are you going to itemize?
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), signed into law in 2017,
didn’t put new limits on or suspend the charitable deduction, like it did with
many other itemized deductions. Nevertheless, it reduces or eliminates the tax
benefits of charitable giving for many taxpayers.
Itemizing saves tax only if itemized deductions exceed the
standard deduction. Through 2025, the TCJA significantly increases the standard
deduction. For 2020, it is $24,800 for married couples filing jointly (up from
$24,400 for 2019), $18,650 for heads of households (up from $18,350 for 2019),
and $12,400 for singles and married couples filing separately (up from $12,200
for 2019).
Back in 2017, these amounts were $12,700, $9,350, $6,350
respectively. The much higher standard deduction combined with limits or
suspensions on some common itemized deductions means you may no longer have
enough itemized deductions to exceed the standard deduction. And if that’s the
case, your charitable donations won’t save you tax.
To find out if you get a tax break for your generosity, add up
potential itemized deductions for the year. If the total is less than your
standard deduction, your charitable donations won’t provide a tax benefit.
You might, however, be able to preserve your charitable
deduction by “bunching” donations into alternating years. This can allow you to
exceed the standard deduction and claim a charitable deduction (and other
itemized deductions) every other year.
What is the donation deadline?
To be deductible on your 2019 return, a charitable gift must
have been made by December 31, 2019. According to the IRS, a donation generally
is “made” at the time of its “unconditional delivery.” The delivery date
depends in part on what you donate and how you donate it. For example, for a
check, the delivery date is the date you mailed it. For a credit card donation,
it’s the date you make the charge.
Are there other requirements?
If you do meet the rules for itemizing, there are still other
requirements. To be deductible, a donation must be made to a “qualified
charity” — one that’s eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions.
And there are substantiation rules to prove you made a
charitable gift. For a contribution of cash, check, or other monetary gift,
regardless of amount, you must maintain a bank record or a written
communication from the organization you donated to that shows its name, plus
the date and amount of the contribution. If you make a charitable contribution
by text message, a bill from your cell provider containing the required
information is an acceptable substantiation. Any other type of written record,
such as a log of contributions, isn’t sufficient.
Do you have questions?
We can answer any questions you may have about the deductibility
of charitable gifts or changes to the standard deduction and itemized
deductions.
© 2020
Help protect your personal information by filing your 2019 tax return early
The IRS announced it is opening the 2019 individual income tax
return filing season on January 27. Even if you typically don’t file until much
closer to the April 15 deadline (or you file for an extension), consider filing
as soon as you can this year. The reason: You can potentially protect yourself
from tax identity theft — and you may obtain other benefits, too.
Tax identity theft explained
In a tax identity theft scam, a thief uses another individual’s
personal information to file a fraudulent tax return early in the filing season
and claim a bogus refund.
The legitimate taxpayer discovers the fraud when he or she files
a return and is informed by the IRS that the return has been rejected because
one with the same Social Security number has already been filed for the tax
year. While the taxpayer should ultimately be able to prove that his or her
return is the valid one, tax identity theft can cause major headaches to
straighten out and significantly delay a refund.
Filing early may be your best defense: If you file first, it
will be the tax return filed by a would-be thief that will be rejected, rather
than yours.
Note: You can get your individual tax return prepared by us before January
27 if you have all the required documents. It’s just that processing of the
return will begin after IRS systems open on that date.
Your W-2s and 1099s
To file your tax return, you must have received all of your W-2s
and 1099s. January 31 is the deadline for employers to issue 2019 Form W-2 to
employees and, generally, for businesses to issue Form 1099 to recipients of
any 2019 interest, dividend or reportable miscellaneous income payments
(including those made to independent contractors).
If you haven’t received a W-2 or 1099 by February 1, first
contact the entity that should have issued it. If that doesn’t work, you can
contact the IRS for help.
Other advantages of filing early
Besides protecting yourself from tax identity theft, another
benefit of early filing is that, if you’re getting a refund, you’ll get it
faster. The IRS expects most refunds to be issued within 21 days. The time is
typically shorter if you file electronically and receive a refund by direct
deposit into a bank account.
Direct deposit also avoids the possibility that a refund check
could be lost or stolen or returned to the IRS as undeliverable. And by using
direct deposit, you can split your refund into up to three financial accounts,
including a bank account or IRA. Part of the refund can also be used to buy up
to $5,000 in U.S. Series I Savings Bonds.
What if you owe tax? Filing early may still be beneficial. You
won’t need to pay your tax bill until April 15, but you’ll know sooner how much
you owe and can plan accordingly.
Be an early-bird filer
If you have questions about tax identity theft or would like
help filing your 2019 return early, please contact us. We can help you ensure
you file an accurate return that takes advantage of all of the breaks available
to you.
© 2020