Steer clear of the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty

Steer clear of the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty

November 25, 2017

Chetan Dogra

Written by Chetan Dogra, CPA

If you own or manage a business with employees, you may be at risk for a severe tax penalty. It’s called the “Trust Fund Recovery Penalty” because it applies to the Social Security and income taxes required to be withheld by a business from its employees’ wages.

 

Because the taxes are considered property of the government, the employer holds them in “trust” on the government’s behalf until they’re paid over. The penalty is also sometimes called the “100% penalty” because the person liable and responsible for the taxes will be penalized 100% of the taxes due. Accordingly, the amounts IRS seeks when the penalty is applied are usually substantial, and IRS is very aggressive in enforcing the penalty.

Far-reaching penalty

The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty is one of the more dangerous tax penalties as it applies to a broad range of actions and to a wide range of people involved in a business.

This article lists a few answers to questions about the penalty so you can safely stay clear of it.

Which actions are penalized? The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty holds over any willful failure to collect, or truthfully account for, and pay over Social Security and income taxes required to be withheld from employees’ wages.

Who is at risk? The penalty can be imposed on anyone “responsible” for collection and payment of the tax. This has been broadly defined to include a corporation’s officers, directors and shareholders under a duty to collect and pay the tax as well as a partnership’s partners, or any employee of the business with such a duty. Even voluntary board members of tax-exempt organizations, who are generally exempt from responsibility, can be subject to this penalty under certain circumstances. In addition, in certain cases, responsibility has been extended to family members close to the business, and to attorneys and accountants.

IRS says responsibility is a matter of status, duty and authority. Those with the power to see that the taxes are, or aren’t, paid may be responsible. There’s often more than one responsible person in a business, but each is at risk for the entire penalty. Although a taxpayer held liable can proceed with civil action against other responsible people for contribution, this is an action he or she must take entirely on his or her own after he or she pays the penalty. It isn’t part of the IRS collection process.

Here’s how broadly the net can be cast: It is possible that you may not be directly involved with the payroll tax withholding process in your business; however if you learn of a failure to pay over withheld taxes and have the power to pay them but instead make payments to creditors and others, you become a responsible person.

What’s considered “willful?” For actions to be willful, they don’t have to include a patent intent to evade taxes. Merely bending to business pressures and paying bills or obtaining supplies instead of paying over withheld taxes that are due the government is willful behavior. Additionally, just because you delegate responsibilities to someone else doesn’t necessarily mean you’re off the hook. Your negligence regarding taking care of the job yourself can be treated as the willful element.

Avoiding the penalty

You should uniformly never allow any failure to withhold and any “borrowing” from withheld amounts — regardless of the circumstances. All funds withheld are required to also be paid over to the government. Feel free to contact us for information about the penalty and making tax payments.

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COVID-19-related leave donation programs now eligible for tax relief

COVID-19-related leave donation packs now eligible for tax relief

November 25, 2017

Chetan Dogra

Written by Chetan Dogra, CPA

The IRS recently announced special tax relief for leave-based donation programs set up by employers to aid those directly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under such programs, an employer can allow its employees to give up vacation, sick or personal leave in exchange for a cash contribution by the employer to a qualified charitable organization.


Two issues addressed:

 

Conventionally, leave-based charitable donations must be included within the donating employee’s income. Additionally, the opportunity to elect such contributions usually raises the concern that eligible employees may be taxed on income that could have been donated as the ability to donate triggers “constructive receipt.” Take a look at how 2020-46 addresses both tax issues.

Firstly, cash payments that employers make to qualified tax-exempt organizations to exchange for vacation, sick or personal leave that their employees elect to make do without won’t constitute income to the employees if the payments are:

1) Made before January 1, 2021, and

2) Purposed towards the relief of victims of the COVID-19 pandemic in the affected geographic areas.

These areas cover all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and four other U.S. territories. Said payments need not be included in Box 1, 3 or 5 of the employee’s Form W-2.

Secondly, the sheer opportunity to make a leave donation won’t result in constructive receipt of income for employees. However, electing employees may not deduct the value of the donated leave on their income tax returns. Deductions by electing employees would result in “double-dipping,” as the donated leave will already have been excluded from their income. Employers will be permitted to deduct the contributions either as charitable contributions or as trade or business expenses, should the applicable requirements be met.

A different kind of relief:

Tax relief for leave donations has generally become normalized. However, this version differs in its description of the employer’s deduction by expressly stating — rather than implying — that the employer may rely on either the deduction for charitable contributions or the business expense deduction (again, provided applicable requirements are met). Feel free to contact us for further information.

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What qualifies as a “coronavirus-related distribution” from a retirement plan?

As potentially heard, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act allows for “qualified” people to obtain certain “coronavirus-related distributions” from their retirement plans without the necessity of paying tax.

So how does someone qualify? Rather, what’s a coronavirus-related distribution?

Early distribution basics

Generally, withdrawing money from an IRA or eligible retirement plan before you reach age 59½, necessitates a 10% early withdrawal tax in addition to any tax you may owe on the income from the withdrawal. This rule, however, exists with several exceptions. For example, if you become totally and permanently disabled or if you use the money to pay qualified higher education costs or medical expenses, you don’t owe the additional 10% tax.

New exception

In virtue of the CARES Act, you are able to take up to $100,000 in coronavirus-related distributions made from an eligible retirement plan between January 1 and December 30, 2020. These coronavirus-related distributions are not subject to the 10% additional tax that otherwise would generally apply to distributions made before you reach age 59½.

More so, a coronavirus-related distribution can be included in income in installments over a period of three years, and you have an additional three years to repay it to an IRA or plan. If you recontribute the distribution back into your IRA or plan within three years of the withdrawal date, you are able to treat the withdrawal and later recontribution as a totally tax-free rollover.

In new guidance (Notice 2020-50) the IRS spells out who qualifies to take a coronavirus-related distribution. A qualified individual is someone who:

  • Is diagnosed (or whose spouse or dependent is diagnosed) with COVID-19 after taking a test approved for administration by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (including a test authorized under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act); or
  • Experiences adverse financial consequences or ramifications as a result of certain events. To qualify under this test, the individual (or his or her spouse or member of his or her household sharing his or her principal residence) must:
    • Be quarantined, be furloughed or laid off, or have work hours reduced due to COVID-19;
    • Be rendered unable to work due to a lack of childcare due to COVID-19;
    • Experience a business that he or she owns or operates due to COVID-19 shut down or have reduced hours;
    • Have pay or self-employment income reduced because of COVID-19; or
    • Have a job offer rescinded or start date for a job delayed due to COVID-19.

Favorable rules

As you can see, the rules allow many people — though not everybody — to take retirement plan distributions under the new exception. If you decide to take advantage of it, be sure to keep good records to show that you qualify. Be careful: You’ll be taxed on the coronavirus-related distribution amount that you don’t recontribute within the three-year window; however, you won’t have to worry about owing the 10% early withdrawal penalty if you’re under 59½. Other rules and restrictions may potentially apply. Contact us if you have questions or need assistance.

If you’re selling your home, don’t forget about taxes


Conventionally, spring and summer are popular times for selling a home. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 crisis has resulted in a slowdown in sales. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that existing home sales in April decreased year-over-year, 17.2% from a year ago. One bit of good news is that home prices are up. The median existing-home price in April was $286,800, up 7.4% from April 2019, by word of the NAR.

If you’re planning to sell your home this year, it’s a good time to review the tax considerations.

Some gain is excluded

If you’re selling your principal residence, and you meet certain requirements, you are able to exclude up to $250,000 ($500,000 for joint filers) of gain. Gain that is sufficient for the exclusion is also excluded from the 3.8% net investment income tax.

To be eligible for the exclusion, you must meet these tests:

  • The ownership test. You must have owned the property for at least two years during the five-year period ending on the sale date; or
  • The use test. You must have used the property as a principal residence for at least two years during the same five-year period. (Periods of ownership and use don’t need to overlap.)

In addition, you can’t use the exclusion more than once every two years.

Larger gains

What if you have more than $250,000/$500,000 of profit when selling your home? Any gain that isn’t sufficient for the exclusion generally will be taxed at your long-term capital gains rate, provided you have owned the home for at least a year. If you didn’t, the gain will be considered short term and subject to your ordinary-income rate, which could be more than double your long-term rate.

Here are two other tax considerations when selling a home:

  1. Keep track of your basis. To support an accurate and precise tax basis, be sure to maintain complete records, including information on your original cost and later on improvements, reduced by any casualty losses and depreciation claimed based on business use.
  2. Be aware that you can’t deduct a loss. If you sell your principal residence at a loss, it isn’t generally deductible. But if a portion of your home is rented out or used exclusively for your business, the loss that can be traced back to that part may be deductible.

If you’re selling a second home (for example, a beach house), it won’t be appropriate for the gain exclusion. However, if it qualifies as a rental property, it can be considered a business asset, and you may be able to defer tax on any gains through an installment sale or a Section 1031 like-kind exchange. In addition, you may be able to deduct a loss.

For many people, their homes are their most valuable asset. So before selling yours, make sure you are fully aware of the tax implications. We can help you plan ahead to lessen taxes and answer any questions you have about your home sale.

How to treat business start-up expenses on your tax return?

startupexpenses

While the COVID-19 crisis has devastated many existing businesses, the pandemic has also created opportunities for entrepreneurs to launch new businesses. For example, some businesses are being launched online to provide products and services to people staying at home.

Entrepreneurs often don’t know that many expenses incurred by start-ups can’t be currently deducted. You should be aware that the way you handle some of your initial expenses can make a large difference in your tax bill.

How expenses must be handled

If you’re starting or planning a new enterprise, keep these key points in mind:

  • Start-up costs include those incurred or paid while creating an active trade or business — or investigating the creation or acquisition of one.
  • Under the Internal Revenue Code, taxpayers can elect to deduct up to $5,000 of business start-up and $5,000 of organizational costs in the year the business begins. As you know, $5,000 doesn’t get you very far today! And the $5,000 deduction is reduced dollar-for-dollar by the amount by which your total start-up or organizational costs exceed $50,000. Any remaining costs must be amortized over 180 months on a straight-line basis.
  • No deductions or amortization deductions are allowed until the year when “active conduct” of your new business begins. Generally, that means the year when the business has all the pieces in place to begin earning revenue. To determine if a taxpayer meets this test, the IRS and courts generally ask questions such as: Did the taxpayer undertake the activity intending to earn a profit? Was the taxpayer regularly and actively involved? Did the activity actually begin?

Expenses that qualify

In general, start-up expenses include all amounts you spend to:

  • Investigate the creation or acquisition of a business,
  • Create a business, or
  • Engage in a for-profit activity in anticipation of that activity becoming an active business.

To be eligible for the election, an expense also must be one that would be deductible if it were incurred after a business began. One example is money you spend analyzing potential markets for a new product or service.

To qualify as an “organization expense,” the expenditure must be related to creating a corporation or partnership. Some examples of organization expenses are legal and accounting fees for services related to organizing a new business and filing fees paid to the state of incorporation.

Thinking ahead 

If you have start-up expenses that you’d like to deduct this year, you need to decide whether to take the elections described above. Recordkeeping is critical. Contact us about your start-up plans. We can help with the tax and other aspects of your new business.

Tax Alert: How to Avoid Taxpayer ID Theft and Tax Scams

Tax Scam

Tax Alert: How to Avoid Taxpayer ID Theft and Tax Scams

January 7, 2018

Chetan Dogra

Written by Chetan Dogra, CPA

The tax filing season is right around the corner, which means its prime-time for tax scammers. The IRS warns taxpayers to be aware of scams that could target your money or identity. The IRS says it has seen a surge in phone tax scams over the last few years. Since 2013 over 5000 victims have paid over 26 million dollars as a result of a tax scam. The phishing and malware scams are up by 400%.

Most scammers pretend to be from the IRS and demand immediate payment of tax debts under the threat of seizing everything under victim’s name including bank accounts, property, and travel access. The scammers further escalate the fear by threatening to arrest and action of criminal proceeding. The objective is to pressure the victim to pay over the phone immediately either by credit card or bank account.

Here is how to protect yourself from tax scams:

A phone call or an email would not be the first method of contact from the IRS about a tax collection problem. The IRS will never solicit personal information and hound you for money without sending you a written tax notice in the mail. So if you receive a call from someone who is pretending as IRS agent and asks you to verify your personal information and demands immediate payment against the tax debt, don’t trust the caller and disconnect the phone right-way. Hackers have been known to make a lookalike that they are calling from a government agency and use fake caller IDs.

Call the IRS directly if you receive a threatening email or phone call asking for personal information and money wire. Do not click on the links in emails from people you don’t know and never submit personal information through forms embedded in personal emails. 

Also be aware that the IRS never asks for credit or debit card numbers over the phone and sends unsolicited emails or calls to anyone threatening arrest, lawsuits or prison time.

Another pain-point for the taxpayers and the IRS is tax related identity theft.

According to the IRS, tax-related identity theft occurs when someone’s stolen Social Security number is used for filing a tax return claiming a fraudulent refund. Identity thieves are known for using stolen Social Security number to file a false return early in the year. The victims of identify theft are unaware that anything is wrong until they try filing a tax return and find out someone already filed a return with their Social Security number.

One way criminals steal Social Security number is by calling or emailing potential victims or, more recently by hacking into online systems of tax return preparers or other third parties.  

The takeaway

If anyone believes they’re the target of an ID theft scam, the IRS recommends reporting the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484 and contacting the Federal Trade Commission through the FTC Complaint Assistant link.  Forward emails you think come from scammers to phishing@irs.gov.

 Let’s talk

For a deeper discussion on how to avoid tax scams, please contact our office at 646.477.9369.

These tax tips have been prepared for informational purposes only and should not be relied on for tax, legal or accounting advice.

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Cut Your Tax Bill: 10 Things To Do Before Jan. 1

tax break

Cut Your Tax Bill: 10 Things To Do Before Jan. 1

December 27, 2017

Chetan Dogra

Written by Chetan Dogra, CPA

As the end of the year is approaching and the tax reform is finally done, 2017 will be the last year to take advantage of some key tax breaks before they get disappear. In present scenario, the phrase-use it or lose it-is indeed TRUE. Below are some smart tax moves to consider if you want a tax cut on your 2017 tax return.

State and local taxes

One of the casualties of the new tax reform, starting tax year 2018, is that individuals can only deduct up to $10,000 for any combination of state and local income taxes, property taxes, and sales taxes. The move is widely viewed as a HAMMER to states such as New York, New Jersey, and California. Although prepaying 2018 state and local income taxes cannot be taken as a deduction, prepaying fourth quarter 2017 state and local income taxes this December, including any tax you expect to owe when you file your tax return in April, may still be advisable.

If you have no state income tax deduction in 2017, consider claiming the sales tax deduction. Tracking sales tax paid throughout the year can be very tedious job though; therefore, the other option available is to use calculated formula provided by the IRS to deduct sales tax in 2017. 

Property taxes

Many jurisdictions charge property taxes in multiple installments, with payment due dates often spanning two calendar years. One tax saving strategy could be to prepay the first-half property tax payment of 2018 before the year-end, 2017. However, If you are trying to make property tax payments for the 2018 tax year that haven’t even been determined or billed yet, it’s likely not deductible. If you are one of them who pay property taxes out of escrow, you will have to coordinate with your bank or the mortgage company. Also be careful, if you prepay your 2018 property taxes, you might be giving up any right to contest your property valuation. 

Finally, before you pull the trigger to pay your state and local taxes, make sure you check with your accountant whether you owe the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) in 2017, then prepaying your property taxes probably won’t help you because the AMT requires you to add back all of your state and local taxes and recalculate your tax bill, so the benefit of prepaying goes away. 

Home equity loan interest

Prepaying home equity loan interest if possible may be advisable as that deduction will no longer be available next year. In some cases, paying off home equity debt and using the interest tracing rules to establish investment debt might be a more tax effective way to borrow. 

Charitable donations

Do you feel it’s about time to give a little more to your religious or a qualified institution. If so, get it done by year’s end. It helps reduce your income this year when tax rates are higher. Plus, you might not end up itemizing next year since the standard deduction is nearly doubling. 

Miscellaneous itemized deductions

Deductions for miscellaneous itemized deductions subject to the two percent floor (including tax preparation fees, investment expenses, and un-reimbursed business expenses) will all be gone in 2018.Taxpayers who have significant miscellaneous deductions may consider prepaying these expenses. 

Get rid of the losers in your portfolio

Losses on investments are deductible against gains, reducing the amount of tax you’ll pay on winning investments that you’ve sold during the year. To claim your loss, you need to sell the losing stock by December 31, and then make sure not to buy it back within 30 days. Even if you don’t have gains on other investments, up to $3,000 in capital losses is available for offsetting other types of income. 

Delay income until 2018 if possible           

If you are a small-business owner, there is an advantage to delay income until January 2018 when the tax rates are lower, especially. So if you are following some customers or clients to pay the bill sent a while ago, you might want to wait until January 2018. In addition to lower tax rates, small business owners get a generous benefit starting next year of being able to deduct 20 percent of their business income tax-free. How exactly to accomplish this depends on the accounting method that you use in your business and a host of other issues, so make sure to consult your accountant to decide exactly how to implement an income-deferral strategy.

Full fixed asset expensing

100% expensing is allowed for qualified property acquired and placed in service after September 27, 2017, and before January 1, 2023. The “new property” requirement is removed and replaced with a taxpayer’s first-use rule. It appears you can save significant taxes by closing deals before the end of the year, because this is one of the few provisions that is retroactive. 

Max-out your retirement

If you have a 401(k) or other employer-sponsored retirement plan, making sure you contribute maximum amount as possible into your account to cut your taxes. The general maximum you can set aside for most plans is up to $18,000 in wages, with those who are 50 or older getting to save an additional $6,000 if they choose. Unlike IRAs, 401(k) contributions must be completed by December. 31, 2017.

Make sure you’re not going to owe a tax penalty

Last but not least, it’s important to estimate your taxes and make sure that you’ve had enough money withheld to avoid any penalties. The general rule is that if you’ve had at least 100% of your prior-year tax liability withheld, or 90% of what you’ll end up owing this year, you won’t owe a penalty. But other requirements apply to high-income taxpayers. If you’re short, then boosting your income tax withholding from your paycheck can be the best way to remedy the situation. 

The takeaway

As the new law generally will take effect almost immediately (January 1, 2018),taxpayers should not delay in determining how the new tax provisions will affect them and what planning should be done to take advantage of the favorable provisions and to minimize the negative effect of the unfavorable ones.

 Let’s talk

For a deeper discussion on how tax reform may affect you, please contact our office at 646.477.9369.

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