April 28, 2020

RE: Paycheck Protection Program — Legal and Regulatory Considerations

President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (“Enhancement Act”) on April 24th.

President Trump signed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (“Enhancement Act”) on April 24th.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”) provided a $2.2 trillion stimulus package that allocated funding to small businesses through new and enhanced loan programs administered by the Small Business Administration (“SBA”). The PPP was one such program designed specifically to provide eligible small businesses immediate relief if they believe that “current economic uncertainty” of the COVID-19 pandemic makes such a loan for their business “necessary to support their ongoing operations,” and were willing to certify to the lender to that affect. Unfortunately, the initial guidance promulgated by the SBA did not provide any definition regarding the nature or extent of the required impact to operations or the “current economic uncertainty” that would make the loan request “necessary to support ongoing operations.”

On April 23rd, the SBA updated its Frequently Asked Questions Document to add FAQ 31. The new FAQ provides much-needed clarity regarding program qualifications specific to businesses with access to other sources of liquidity to support their ongoing operations. Any business that received a PPP loan prior to the issuance of this new guidance and who now believes that they do NOT demonstrate the necessity for the loan, can repay the loan in full by May 7, 2020. Any business that does so will be deemed by the SBA to have made the required good faith certification on their PPP loan application.

Recent news articles about recipients of these loans point out potential risks of receiving these funds loans as they will be subject to regulatory and public scrutiny. Loan recipients will not remain anonymous as EINs will be made public. We anticipate heightened government scrutiny will be forthcoming to investigate potential fraud and abuse. Businesses who have received PPP loans and are later found to have not qualified under the eligibility rules and/or businesses who do not use the funding in accordance with the terms of the program, could be subject to significant legal or regulatory consequences. Further, businesses may experience reputational damage for having pursued these loans. 

Given the revised guidance issued by the SBA and the pending May 7, 2020 deadline for returning loan proceeds, you are well advised to carefully review your company’s financial situation and reconsider the relief you may have already received with a PPP loan. Specifically, consider whether your circumstances fall within the spirit and intent of this economic relief program. If you do receive and keep PPP funding, it is critical that you maintain complete and accurate documentation to support your eligibility for such funding, the specific use of these funds, as well as your qualifications for forgiveness under the terms of the program. This documentation will be crucial were your business to be audited and/or investigated. The idea is that this defensive documentation will greatly minimize your potential exposure to fraud and abuse allegations related to your participation in this loan program.

These are challenging times. If you would like our assistance with evaluating whether the PPP or other small business loan programs and/or economic relief measures are appropriate for you, please contact us. 

April 21, 2020

The Senate has passed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, which will add an additional $320 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program. This is in addition to the $349 billion that was previously authorized under the CARES Act.

It has been reported that Bill summaries of this legislation will also add an additional $60 billion for loans and grants under the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster loan program.

Whether this latest legislation will provide any additional clarity regarding loan elibility or loan forgiveness is uncertain at this time. Eligible persons may continue to apply for these PPP loans now that this funding has been approved.

The bill is now being sent to the House( where it is expected to be passed), and then to the President, who is expected to sign.

The Senate has passed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, which will add an additional $320 billion to the Paycheck Protection Program. This is in addition to the $349 billion that was previously authorized under the CARES Act.

It has been reported that Bill summaries of this legislation will also add an additional $60 billion for loans and grants under the Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster loan program.

Whether this latest legislation will provide any additional clarity regarding loan elibility or loan forgiveness is uncertain at this time. Eligible persons may continue to apply for these PPP loans now that this funding has been approved.

The bill is now being sent to the House( where it is expected to be passed), and then to the President, who is expected to sign.

The 2017 tax act signed into law on December 22, 2017 imposes a broad limit on the deductibility of business interest expense for tax years beginning in 2018 and later, which may result in increased tax liability for corporations and investors in pass-through businesses that finance acquisitions with debt.

Date: 12/22/2019 (PDF)

The 2017 tax act signed into law on December 22, 2017 imposes a broad limit on the deductibility of business interest expense for tax years beginning in 2018 and later, which may result in increased tax liability for corporations and investors in pass-through businesses that finance acquisitions with debt.

For purposes of the limitation on the deduction of business interest expense, “interest” also includes substitute interest payments, debt issuance costs, loan commitment fees, certain amounts that affect the economic cost of funds or yield of a borrowing or an interest-generating asset, and certain amounts predominantly associated with the time value of money.

If the business interest limitation applies to any of your businesses, then the amount of business interest expense that you may deduct is limited to the sum of: (1) 30% of adjusted taxable income; plus (2) 100% of business interest income; plus (3) 100% of floor plan financing interest.

For tax years beginning in 2018 through 2021, adjusted taxable income (ATI) is computed by starting with your taxable income for the tax year (disregarding the business interest limitation), and then adding to it and subtracting from it the following amounts:

Add to Taxable Income:

• business interest expense;
• net operating loss deduction;
• deduction for qualified business income;
• depreciation, amortization, or depletion deduction;
• capital loss carrybacks or carryovers; and
• any deduction or loss not properly allocable to a non-excepted trade or business.

Subtract from Taxable Income:

• business interest income;
• floor plan financing interest expense;
• the lesser of (i) gain realized on sale or disposition of property or (ii) deductions for depreciation, amortization or depletion taken for such property during a tax year beginning after 2017 (and similar adjustments for sales or dispositions of property held by a partnership or member of a consolidated group upon the sale or other disposition of the partnership interest or stock of the member); and
• any income or gain that is not properly allocable to a non-excepted trade or business.

For tax years beginning in 2022 and later, deductions for depreciation, amortization, or depletion are not taken into account in computing ATI.

Special rules and other adjustments apply to certain types of taxpayers when computing ATI.

Business interest expense does not include investment interest expense. However, all interest income and all interest expense of a C corporation (including, in certain cases, members of a consolidated group of corporations, REITs, and RICs) is treated as business interest income and business interest expense, unless the interest income or interest expense is allocable to an “excepted trade or business” (defined below). For example, investment interest expense that is passed through by a partnership to a C corporation partner generally would be considered business interest expense.

The business interest limitation generally applies to all taxpayers that have business interest expense. However, a small business taxpayer that meets the “gross receipts test” is exempt from the limitation. A business meets the gross receipts test if it is not a tax shelter and it has average annual gross receipts of $25 million or less for the three previous tax years. The $25 million amount is adjusted for inflation. Please note that “tax shelter” is defined broadly for this purpose, and includes any partnership or S corporation that allocates more than 35% of its losses for the year to limited partners or limited entrepreneurs.

The business interest limitation generally applies at the entity level to all business debt incurred, including debt incurred before 2018.

Interest that is allocable to an “excepted trade or business” is not treated as business interest.

Excepted trades and businesses are those in the trade or business of providing services as an employee, certain regulated utility trades or businesses, certain real property trades or businesses that make an irrevocable election to be excepted from the business interest limitation, and certain farming businesses that make an irrevocable election to be excepted from the business interest limitation.

For those businesses electing to be excepted from the business interest expense limitation, making the election involves a tradeoff: a real property business or farming business that makes the election must use the Alternative Depreciation System to depreciate certain types of property, which requires straight-line depreciation over a longer depreciable recovery period compared to depreciation under the General Depreciation System.

If you are engaged in both an excepted trade or business and a non-excepted trade or business, interest expense that is allocable to an excepted trade or business is not subject to the business interest limitation, and the amount of your items of income, gain, deduction, or loss, including interest income that is allocable to an excepted trade or business, is excluded in determining the business interest limitation. Therefore, you must allocate your tax items between excepted and non-excepted trades and businesses to determine the limitation.

Business interest expense not allowed as a deduction for a tax year is treated as a business expense paid or accrued in the next tax year, and can be carried forward indefinitely. Disallowed business interest expense carryforwards are subject to limitation in change-of-ownership situations.

Special rules regarding the carryover of disallowed business interest apply to partnerships and S corporations. For partnerships, any business interest expense that is not allowed as a deduction is passed through to the partners, and can be deducted by the partners only to the extent that there is excess taxable income from that specific partnership to absorb the deduction. For S corporations, disallowed business interest expense is carried over to the next tax year of the S corporation and is treated as interest expense paid or accrued by the S corporation in that year.

The business interest limitation applies at the consolidated return level, and a consolidated group has a single limitation. In calculating the limitation, a consolidated group's business interest expense and business interest income is, respectively, the sum of its members’ business interest expense and business interest income.

The business interest limitation applies to a foreign corporation that is a controlled foreign corporation (CFC), generally in the same manner as it applies apply to a domestic C corporation. If a CFC is a partner in a partnership, the limitation applies to the partnership in the same manner as if the CFC were a domestic C corporation.

The business interest limitation rules are complex and can significantly impact your tax liability. We suggest that you meet with us as soon as possible to discuss strategies to minimize the impact of the limitation, including determining whether your business qualifies to make an election to be excepted from the limitation, whether making the election is advisable in your situation, and if so, what steps we need to take to make the election.

This article contains general information only.  It is not tax advice and it should not be used as a basis for any business or tax decision. You should consult with a qualified professional before taking any action that may affect your business or you personally.

This article will give you a better understanding of the first-year expensing (also referred to as §179 expensing) and additional first-year depreciation (also referred to as bonus depreciation). Businesses that purchase capital assets are allowed to deduct the decline in value of the assets over their useful lives. This depreciation deduction is intended to help businesses to eventually recover the costs of capital assets.

Date: 12/20/2019 (PDF)

Certain provisions in the tax code enable you to accelerate recovery of your cost of certain plants, machinery, equipment, computer software, and other qualified property that you acquire for business use, rather than having to depreciate those costs over several tax years. Expensing (immediate write-off) is the primary cost recovery vehicle for capital assets (acquired for business use) placed in service from 2018 through 2022. The two mechanisms for deducting the cost of assets in the year they are placed in service are first-year expensing under Internal Revenue Code §179 and bonus depreciation under Internal Revenue Code §168(k).

Individuals and business entities that have taxable income greater than or equal to the amount of qualified first-year expensing property placed in service during the tax year, can elect to claim a first-year expensing deduction for up to $1 million of the cost such property. Most machinery and equipment, certain commercial building improvements, property used to furnish lodging, and certain computer software that businesses purchase (or lease under a capital lease) are qualified first-year expensing property, but rental real estate is not. First-year expensing is available for both new and used assets, and for both purchased and leased (under a capital lease) assets. To be eligible for the first-year expensing deduction, the assets must be used in the United States.

The $1 million annual limit on the first-year expensing deduction is reduced if you place in service more than $2.5 million in qualified first-year expensing property during the year. No first-year expensing deduction is allowed if you place in service $3.5 million or more in qualified first-year expensing property during the year. Because of this property cost limit, larger businesses generally claim bonus depreciation rather than first-year expensing.

In contrast to the first-year expensing deduction, there is no annual dollar limit on the bonus depreciation deduction amount, and bonus depreciation may be deducted even in a loss year. And unlike the first-year expensing deduction, the bonus depreciation deduction is not elective (except in the case of qualifying fruit- and nut-bearing plants). However, you may elect not to deduct bonus depreciation for any class of qualified property.

The bonus depreciation deduction is available to individuals, estates, trusts, and business entities that invest in new or used capital assets that have a depreciation recovery period of 20 years or less, as well as depreciable computer software, certain water utility property, qualified film, television, and live theater productions, and for farmers, specified fruit- and nut-bearing plants. Bonus depreciation is available for both purchased and leased (under a capital lease) assets. To be eligible for bonus depreciation, the assets must be used in the United States.

The percentage of the adjusted basis of qualified property that is deducted as bonus depreciation is 100% for most qualified property placed in service before 2023, but it is scheduled to be reduced by 20% per year from 2023 through 2026, and fully phased out by 2027.

Qualified improvement property — which before 2018 could qualify for both first-year expensing and bonus depreciation — now qualifies for first-year expensing only (subject to the annual dollar limit and the taxable income limit), but does not qualify for bonus depreciation. Qualified improvement property is an improvement to an interior portion of a commercial building if the improvement is placed in service after the date the building was first placed in service. However, qualified improvement property does not include building enlargements, elevators and escalators, and the internal structural framework of a building.

Both first-year expensing and bonus depreciation are highly technical in nature and subject to limits and exceptions. To fully leverage these deductions, it is important to understand their specific requirements. It is also advisable to monitor these provisions for further legislative amendment.

This article contains general information only.  It is not tax advice and it should not be used as a basis for any business or tax decision. You should consult with a qualified professional before taking any action that may affect your business or you personally.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), 816 enacted March 23, 2010, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA), 817 enacted March 30, 2010, ushered in a series of changes to the rules for obtaining and providing health care. The laws, as amended, are commonly referred to as the Affordable Care Act (or “ACA”). These rules are administered by the Departments of Treasury (and the IRS), Labor (DOL) and Health and Human Services (HHS), jointly or separately, as appropriate. 818

Date: 12/10/2019 (PDF)

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), 816 enacted March 23, 2010, and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA), 817 enacted March 30, 2010, ushered in a series of changes to the rules for obtaining and providing health care. The laws, as amended, are commonly referred to as the Affordable Care Act (or “ACA”). These rules are administered by the Departments of Treasury (and the IRS), Labor (DOL) and Health and Human Services (HHS), jointly or separately, as appropriate. 818

816 Pub. L. No. 111-148.

817 Pub. L. No. 111-152.

Note however that White House Executive Order 13765 dated January 20, 2017, directs governmental departments and agencies with authority and responsibility under the Affordable Care Act to “exercise all authority and discretion available to them to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision or requirement of the [ACA] that would impose a fiscal burden on any State or a cost, fee, tax, penalty or regulatory burden on individuals, families, healthcare providers, health insurers, patients, recipients of healthcare services, purchasers of health insurance, or makers of medical devices, products or medications.” These directives are to be carried out “[t]o the maximum extent permitted by law,” indicating that compliance with ACA is required until other regulations or guidance is issued. Also, White House Executive Order 13813 dated October 12, 2017, directs the IRS, DOL, and HHS to consider proposing regulations and revising guidance to: expand small businesses’ access to association health plans (AHPs) (see ¶5920.11.C.4.); make available short-term, limited-duration insurance that lasts longer than three months and is renewable (see ¶5920.11.B.21.); and increase the availability of health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) to workers and allow their use with nongroup coverage (see ¶5920.09.D.3.). In addition, White House Executive Order 13877, dated June 24, 2019, contains several directives, including but not limited to, that: (1) the IRS, DOL, and HHS to solicit comment on a proposal to require providers, issuers, and self-insured group health plans to provide or facilitate access to information about expected out-of-pocket costs before patients receive care; (2) the IRS issue guidance to expand patients' ability to select high-deductible health plans that can be used alongside an HSA, and that cover low-cost preventive care, before the deductible, for medical care that helps maintain health status for individuals with chronic conditions (see ¶5920.08.C.2.b.); (3) the Treasury propose regulations to treat expenses related to certain types of arrangements, potentially including direct primary care arrangements and healthcare sharing ministries, as eligible medical expenses; and (4) the Treasury issue guidance to increase the amount of FSA carryover funds.

(1) Individuals —   TPS 5920.16.A.1.

U.S. citizens and legal residents, unless exempted, must maintain minimum essential health care coverage or face penalties (which are reduced to zero for months beginning after 2018). Individuals may qualify for a health care premium tax credit or cost-sharing reductions to assist them in paying for coverage. 819

819 These requirements took effect starting in 2014. The 2017 tax act (Pub. L. No. 115-97) reduced to penalty amount to zero after 2018, as discussed in ¶5920.16.B.1. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Pub. L. No. 111-148, §10108, would have allowed qualifying low-income employees whose employer offers a free choice voucher to obtain health care coverage on their own using funds from the voucher, and would have provided tax benefits to employers offering the vouchers. Pub. L. No. 112-10, §1858, removed the voucher provisions of Pub. L. No. 111-148, §10108.

Group health plans generally are prohibited from imposing any preexisting condition exclusions on individuals. 820

820 This requirement also took effect starting in 2014. From 2010 through 2013, eligible individuals with a preexisting condition may have been able to obtain coverage under a temporary high risk health insurance pool program to provide health insurance coverage that does not impose any preexisting condition exclusion.

(2) Employers —   TPS 5920.16.A.2.

Employers are not required to offer health care coverage to their employees. However, as of 2015, 821 large employers—with 50 or more full-time-equivalent employees in the prior year—who do not offer health care coverage, or who offer coverage that does not meet minimum standards or is unaffordable to their employees, generally are subject to excise taxes (sometimes referred to as “play or pay” penalties) if any of their full-time employees obtain subsidized health insurance coverage through an Exchange.

821 Notice 2013-45 (transition relief provided for one year).

Also, large employers must report information about the health coverage that they offer, and all employers must report information about the health coverage that they provide.

Businesses with fewer than 25 employees may be eligible for tax credits to assist them in setting up or maintaining health plans. Small businesses also may offer plans to their employees through state health exchanges.

In addition, beginning in 2022, employers with self-insured plans and health insurance issuers that offer coverage beyond the required coverage (sometimes called “Cadillac” plan coverage) may have to pay an excise tax.

(3) Group Health Plans and Health Insurance Issuers —   TPS 5920.16.A.3.

Group health plans and health insurance issuers are faced with a variety of plan design and reporting and disclosure changes under the 2010 health care reform legislation. For example, for plan years beginning on or after September 23, 2010, insured group health plans cannot discriminate in favor of highly compensated individuals; plans that offer dependent child coverage must extend the coverage to children under the age of 26; plans cannot impose lifetime or annual limits (with restricted limits allowed during a phase-in period) or rescind coverage; plans must cover preventive health services; plans cannot contain preexisting condition exclusions for enrollees under age 19; and plans must develop and use uniform explanation of coverage documents and standardized definitions. See ¶5920.11.B., above.

Among the many requirements imposed for plan years beginning in and after 2014, plans cannot contain preexisting condition exclusions for adult enrollees or otherwise discriminate against any enrollees based on health status; and plans cannot impose excessive waiting periods. Health plans and health insurance coverage in existence on March 23, 2010, must comply with many new requirements, but are excluded from some requirements to the extent they retain “grandfathered” status. See ¶5920.11.B., above, for discussion of these plan requirements. See ¶5920.16.D.4., below, for discussion of the criteria a plan must satisfy to have grandfathered status.

Some requirements that apply to health plan insurers, but not funded group health plans, also apply to self-funded group health plans. Examples include the requirement to provide a summary of benefits and coverage explanation (see ¶5910.03.D.6.) and the payment of health insurance fees based on the average number of lives covered for each plan year ending after September 30, 2012, through plan years ending after September 30, 2019. 822

822 §4375, added by Pub. L. No. 111-148, §6301(e)(2) (health insurance issuers), discussed at ¶5920.16.E.3, below; §4376, added by Pub. L. No. 111-148, §6301(e)(2) (self-insured plans), discussed at ¶5920.16.D.5., below.

(4) Public Health Insurance Exchanges (Health Insurance Marketplaces) —   TPS 5920.16.A.4.

Each state can elect to establish an American Health Benefit Exchange (health exchange) — a governmental agency or nonprofit entity established to offer qualified health plans to qualified individuals and to provide for the establishment of a Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP Exchange) to assist qualified employers in enrolling their employees in qualified health plans offered in the small group market. 823 If a state does not set up a health exchange, the Secretary of HHS must establish and operate a health exchange within the state to offer qualified health plans. 824 This may be set up as a federally-facilitated exchange (with minimal state involvement) or a state partnership exchange. See ¶5920.11.B.19.b. Most exchanges fall within these last two categories.

823 Pub. L. No. 111-148, §1311(b) and 1311(d), as amended by Pub. L. No. 111-148, §10104(e). See ¶5920.16.C.6. Exchanges under the Affordable Care Act first became available in 2014.

824 Pub. L. No. 111-148, §1321(c); Pub. L. No. 111-148, §1322, as amended by Pub. L. No. 111-148, §10104(l).

This article contains general information only.  It is not tax advice and it should not be used as a basis for any business or tax decision. You should consult with a qualified professional before taking any action that may affect your business or you personally

This article will explain under what circumstances you may be eligible for the §199A deduction for qualified business income (QBI). 

Date: 01/15/2020 (PDF)

Editor's Note: The preamble to the final regulations indicates that for tax years ending in 2018 only, taxpayers may rely on the final regulations (T.D. 9847, 84 Fed. Reg. 2952 (Feb. 8, 2019)) in their entirety, or on the proposed regulations (REG-107892-18, 83 Fed. Reg. 40,884 (Aug. 16 2018)) in their entirety. The final regulations are effective for tax years ending after February 8, 2019. Anti-abuse rules are effective retroactively to the date of enactment of the 2017 tax act (December 22, 2017).

This article will explain under what circumstances you may be eligible for the §199A deduction for qualified business income (QBI).  

If you have income from a pass-through entity (or sole proprietorship) you may be entitled to a deduction equal to the lesser of the deductible amount of your QBI (generally 20% subject to the W-2 wage limitation) or 20% of your taxable income. You may also be able to deduct 20% of your qualified REIT dividends and qualified publicly traded partnership (PTP) income. Special rules apply for these additional items. The deduction applies to reduce your taxable income and is available whether or not you itemize. The deduction does not impact your calculation of self-employment tax.

QBI is your net amount of qualified items of income, gain, deduction, and loss with respect to each of your “qualified trades or businesses.” Qualified items are items that are allowed in the determination of your taxable income for the tax year, and are effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the United States or Puerto Rico. Many items of income, gain, deduction, and loss are not qualified items. These items generally include capital gains and loss, dividends, interest, etc. In the case of a partnership or S corporation, your net amount of qualified items is the net amount of your allocable share of each qualified item. QBI does not include any amount paid by an S corporation to its shareholders that is treated as reasonable compensation; any guaranteed payment by a partnership to a partner for services rendered with respect to the trade or business; or any amount paid by a partnership to a partner who is not acting in his or her capacity as a partner for services rendered to the partnership. While the former three payment items are not QBI, they may serve to reduce QBI if the entity takes a deduction for these payments.

Your QBI must be earned through a trade or business. Trade or business has the same general meaning as it does for other purposes of tax law, with a few exceptions. First, if you rent or license tangible or intangible property to a trade or business which is commonly controlled, your rental activity may be a trade or business for purposes of the QBI deduction. Second, the IRS has proposed a safe harbor under which certain real estate enterprises may qualify as a trade or business if owners, employees, agents, or independent contractors perform 250 or more hours of rental services and other requirements are met. The trade or business of being an employee, is not a trade or business for purposes of the deduction. Additional rules may apply if your trade or business is a specified service trade or business.

If your deduction results from ownership of a pass-through entity, the Schedule K-1 you receive from the entity should report the net amount of QBI attributable to each trade or business or the aggregated trade or business of the entity. If the Schedule K-1 is blank in this regard, QBI is presumed to be zero, and we may need to contact the entity to issue amended schedules.

If the net amount of qualified items from your trade or business is a loss, you will have negative QBI and must proportionally offset your positive QBI from any other trades or businesses. If the net amount of QBI from all your trades or businesses is negative, you must carryover this amount to next year where it will proportionally offset positive QBI from other trades or businesses.

You must determine whether you have one trade or business or multiple trades or businesses. If you have multiple trades or businesses, it is possible that they can be aggregated together as one under special rules. In some cases, due to the W-2 wage limitation discussed below, aggregation may increase the amount of your deduction. You may have also received documentation from a pass-through entity in which you own an interest. If the entity aggregated any of its trades or businesses, you may not treat these trades or businesses as separate trades or businesses. You may, however, aggregate additional trades or businesses with the entity's aggregated group.

Calculation of the deduction is a fact intensive inquiry. If you claim the deduction and you understate the amount of tax required to be shown on your return by 5% or more, you could be subject to the substantial understatement of tax penalty.

If your taxable income does not exceed a threshold of $315,000 (joint filers), or $157,500 (all other taxpayers), your deduction is generally the lesser of: (1) 20% of your net QBI from all of your trades, plus 20% of your qualified REIT dividends and qualified PTP income; or (2) 20% of your taxable income.

Is your pass-through income from a “qualified trade or business”?

A qualified trade or business is defined as any trade or business other than a specified service trade or business or the trade or business of being an employee. A specified service trade or business cannot be aggregated with another trade or business. While no deduction is allowed for your income from the trade or business of being an employee, a deduction is allowed for your income from a specified service trade or business to the extent that your taxable income does not exceed the threshold amount. However, as your taxable income exceeds the threshold amount, your specified service trade or business income is partially or fully excluded from the deduction. The exclusion phases in based on the ratio of your table income in excess of the threshold amount to $100,000 (joint filers) and $50,000 (all other taxpayers). Thus, no deduction is allowed for your income from a specified service trade or business if your taxable income is more than $415,000 (joint filers) or $207,500 (all other taxpayers).

If your trade or business is operated as a pass-through entity, the entity should report to you whether the trade or business is a specified service trade or business. If your trade or business is operated as a sole proprietorship, you will need to determine whether you are engaged in a specified service trade or business. A specified service trade or business generally involves the performance of services in the fields of health, law, accounting, actuarial science, performing arts, consulting, athletics, financial services, brokerage services, or any trade or business where the principal asset of such trade or business is the reputation or skill of one or more of its employees or owners (generally, a trade or business where a person receives fees, compensation, or other income, for endorsing a product, use of their likeness or other associated symbols, or appearances on television or other media), or which involves the performance of services that consist of investing and investment management, trading, or dealing in securities, partnership interests, or commodities. If only a small portion of the gross receipts of your trade or business are attributable to one of the listed fields, a de minimis rule may permit you to treat your trade or business as a qualified trade or business.

Application of the W-2 wage limitation

If your taxable income exceeds the threshold amount, the deductible amount of your QBI is equal to the lesser of 20% of your QBI with respect to the trade or business or the W-2 wage limitation. As your taxable income exceeds the threshold above, the W-2 wage limitation phases in and you will reduce the excess amount of your deduction based on the ratio of your table income in excess of the threshold amount to $100,000 (joint filers) and $50,000 (all other taxpayers).

The W-2 wage limitation is equal to the greater of: (1) 50% of the business's W-2 wages; or (2) the sum of (a) 25% of the business's W-2 wages, plus (b) 2.5% of the unadjusted basis (immediately after acquisition) of all qualified property.

In the case of a partnership or S corporation, you take into account your allocable share of W-2 wages and unadjusted basis (immediately after acquisition) of qualified property for the tax year. These items should be reported to you by the partnership or S corporation on Schedule K-1. If these items are blank they will be presumed to be zero, and we may need to contact the entity to amend the schedule.

W-2 wages are the total wages subject to wage withholding, elective deferrals, and deferred compensation paid by the qualified trade or business with respect to employment of its employees during the calendar year ending during the tax year of the taxpayer. W-2 wages do not include: (1) any amount that is not properly allocable to the QBI as a qualified item of deduction; and (2) any amount that was not properly included in a return filed with the Social Security Administration on or before the 60th day after the due date (including extensions). Amounts paid to independent contractors are not W-2 wages. If your business uses a third party such as a certified professional employer organization to pay your employees’ wages, you may still be able to include these wages in your W-2 wage calculation subject to certain additional rules.

Qualified property is tangible property of a character subject to depreciation: (1) that is held by, and available for use in, the qualified trade or business at the end of the tax year; (2) that is used in the production of QBI; and (3) for which the depreciable period has not ended before the end of the tax year. The depreciable period with respect to qualified property is the period beginning on the date the property is first placed in service by the taxpayer and ending on the later of: (1) the date 10 years after that date; or (2) the last day of the last full year in the applicable recovery period that applies to the property. The unadjusted basis (immediately after acquisition) of qualified property is determined on the date the qualified property is placed in service.

Do you have any qualified REIT dividends or qualified PTP income?

If you have dividends from a REIT that are taxed as ordinary income, you have qualified REIT dividends. Income from a REIT that is taxed as capital gain, such as qualified dividend income and capital gains dividends, is not eligible for the deduction.

If you have income from a publicly traded partnership that is not taxed as a corporation, you may deduct up to 20% of the qualified PTP income from that publicly traded partnership. Qualified PTP income is the QBI, as described above, earned through a publicly traded partnership. If your taxable income is above the threshold amount, and your income from the publicly traded partnership is attributable to a specified service trade or business, your deduction may be partially or fully excluded based on ratio of your taxable income in excess of the threshold amount to $100,000 (joint filers) and $50,000 (all other taxpayers).

If you received either of these items from a pass-through entity, they should be reported to you on Schedule K-1.

This article contains general information only.  It is not tax advice and it should not be used as a basis for any business or tax decision. You should consult with a qualified professional before taking any action that may affect your business or you personally.

As a fundamental rule, taxpayers are entitled to take deductions only where specifically authorized by the Internal Revenue Code. Thus, because deductions are a matter of “legislative grace,” courts closely scrutinize taxpayers’ claims and reject those that do not clearly respect the letter of the law. Each taxpayer bears the burden of proving his or her entitlement to a deduction, and ambiguities are often resolved in favor of the government. Accordingly, taxpayers should carefully review their maintenance and reconditioning expenditures on property used in a trade or business to determine whether such amounts are deductible or capitalizable. Further, they should retain full and adequate records to substantiate all such costs.

Date: 01/16/2020 (PDF)

As a fundamental rule, taxpayers are entitled to take deductions only where specifically authorized by the Internal Revenue Code. Thus, because deductions are a matter of “legislative grace,” courts closely scrutinize taxpayers’ claims and reject those that do not clearly respect the letter of the law. Each taxpayer bears the burden of proving his or her entitlement to a deduction, and ambiguities are often resolved in favor of the government. Accordingly, taxpayers should carefully review their maintenance and reconditioning expenditures on property used in a trade or business to determine whether such amounts are deductible or capitalizable. Further, they should retain full and adequate records to substantiate all such costs.

A business expense deduction is generally allowed for all of the ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred by a taxpayer during the tax year in carrying on any trade or business. “Incidental repairs” are deductible business expenses for these purposes. However, expenditures that might be similar to repairs, for example, an expenditure that is for a betterment to the property, restores the unit of property, or adapts the property to a new or different use, must be capitalized or charged to the taxpayer's depreciation reserve rather than deducted. The line between a deductible repair expense and a nondeductible capital expenditure is indistinct; the difference between the two depends upon the factual context surrounding the expenditure. The same outlay that may be treated as a deductible repair in one set of circumstances may be a nondeductible capital expenditure in other situations.

An expenditure is generally deductible as an incidental repair if it is limited to keeping the affected property in its ordinarily efficient operating condition, whereas an amount paid to return a unit of property to its ordinarily efficient operating condition, if the property has deteriorated to a state of disrepair and is no longer functional for its intended use, is a capital expenditure. An expenditure is considered to be a betterment — and thus a capital expenditure — if it ameliorates a material condition or defect that existed before the taxpayer acquired the property (or arose during the production of the property); if it is for a material addition to the property (including a physical enlargement, expansion, extension, or addition of a major component, or a material increase in capacity); or if it is reasonably expected to materially increase the productivity, efficiency, strength, quality, or output of the unit of property.

Repairs incidental to an improvement must be capitalized only if they directly benefit or are incurred by reason of the improvement(s). Expenditures for work performed on depreciable assets that do not qualify as deductible repairs may nonetheless qualify for a bonus depreciation deduction or under the rule that allows you to elect to treat the cost of certain depreciable business assets as a current-year expense. The deductibility of environmental cleanup costs is governed by a special set of detailed rules.

Maintenance expenditures that do not improve the property (i.e., are not paid for a betterment or restoration of the property and do not adapt the property to a new or different use) generally may be deducted. Thus, taxpayers can deduct the costs of various expenditures that alleviate damage or deterioration, so long as the property is not improved. However, taxpayers cannot deduct indirect expenditures (e.g., otherwise deductible repairs) that directly benefit or are incurred by reason of an improvement.

A taxpayer ordinarily can deduct as a repair regularly recurring routine maintenance expenditures that a taxpayer expects to perform to keep the unit of property in its ordinarily efficient operating condition. When such activities happen regularly, an abnormally large expenditure resulting from the same cause is still deductible. On the other hand, a taxpayer must capitalize the cost to replace a major component or a substantial structural part of the unit of property.

There are a host of other factors or considerations that are relevant to the determination of whether a particular expenditure is deductible as a repair:

• Any properly-performed repair adds some value to the property repaired, but that does not necessarily mean its cost cannot be deducted.
• A common rule of thumb is that the cost of property having a useful life greater than one year must be capitalized. However, the test of deductibility considers whether the expenditure simply kept the property in, or restored it to, an efficient operating condition.
• The size of the expenditure does not control whether it is a deductible repair. Taxpayers have been permitted to deduct expenditures of significant magnitude in comparison to the value of the asset being repaired. Courts have also permitted taxpayers to deduct expenditures that were large in absolute terms if the criteria for a repair expense were satisfied. In addition, expenditures for repairs will not be disallowed merely because they significantly exceed the taxpayer's average annual repair expenditures. On the other hand, a taxpayer cannot deduct his cost to replace an asset on the ground that repairing the asset would be roughly comparable in cost.
• Case law suggests that extensive repairs to an asset shortly after its acquisition have materially altered the asset and are not deductible. Regulations state that taxpayers must capitalize expenditures that ameliorate a material condition or defect that existed before the taxpayer's acquisition of the unit of property. Thus, taxpayers should carefully consider the deductibility of repair and restoration expenditures incurred shortly after the acquisition of an asset.
• Taxpayers cannot deduct involuntary expenditures caused by regulatory requirements or some other governmental action if the expenditures do not fit the criteria for a repair deduction.
• Taxpayers can deduct the cost of materials and labor to conduct repairs, but a self-employed taxpayer may not deduct the value of his own labor to perform repairs.

Special rules apply to repair expenses that are incurred due to a casualty and to leased property. If a taxpayer consistently capitalizes a particular type of expenditure or treats it as a repair, any change to that treatment is generally a change in accounting method that may require IRS permission. Some changes are made by an election and are not considered a change in method of accounting.

Many of the rules in this area are complex and also may be affected by other tax laws. For this reason, the facts of your situation should be carefully reviewed.

This article contains general information only.  It is not tax advice and it should not be used as a basis for any business or tax decision. You should consult with a qualified professional before taking any action that may affect your business or you personally

The IRS has provided guidance regarding whether taxpayers receiving loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) may deduct otherwise deductible expenses. Act Sec. 1106(i) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act ( P.L. 116-136) did not address whether generally allowable deductions such as those under Code Secs. 162 and 163 would still be permitted if the loan was later forgiven pursuant to Act Sec. 1106(b). The IRS has found that such deductions are not permissible.

The IRS has provided guidance regarding whether taxpayers receiving loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) may deduct otherwise deductible expenses. Act Sec. 1106(i) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act ( P.L. 116-136) did not address whether generally allowable deductions such as those under Code Secs. 162 and 163 would still be permitted if the loan was later forgiven pursuant to Act Sec. 1106(b). The IRS has found that such deductions are not permissible.

PPP Loans
The CARES Act expanded the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) existing Section 7(a) loan program to include certain PPP loans. The PPP is made available from the SBA to provide small businesses with loans to help pay payroll costs, mortgages, rent, and utilities during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis. All payments of principal, interest, and fees under the loans are deferred for at least 6 months. The loans are also forgiven for amounts payroll costs, mortgage or rent obligations, and certain utility payments incurred between February 15 and June 30. The loans are 100 percent guaranteed by the SBA.

Deductions Prohibited
If the SBA forgives a taxpayer’s PPP loan pursuant to Act. Sec. 1106(b) of the CARES Act, the amount of the loan is excluded from gross income. Under Reg. §1.265-1 taxpayers cannot deduct expenses that are allocable to income that is either wholly excluded from gross income or wholly exempt from the taxes. This rule exists in order to prevent double tax benefits. Thus, the IRS has determined that taxpayers who have their PPP loans forgiven may not deduct any business or interest expenses related to the income associated with the loan.

Treasury and the Small Business Administration (SBA) have worked together to release the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application. According to Treasury’s May 15 press release, the application and correlating instructions inform borrowers how to apply for forgiveness of PPP loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act ( P.L. 116-136). The PPP was enacted under the CARES Act to provide eligible small businesses with loans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Treasury and the Small Business Administration (SBA) have worked together to release the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan Forgiveness Application. According to Treasury’s May 15 press release, the application and correlating instructions inform borrowers how to apply for forgiveness of PPP loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act ( P.L. 116-136). The PPP was enacted under the CARES Act to provide eligible small businesses with loans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, SBA is expected to issue regulations and guidance to assist borrowers as they complete their applications, and to provide lenders with guidance on their responsibilities, according to Treasury.

Measures included in the application and instructions intended to reduce compliance burdens and simplify the process for borrowers include:

• options to calculate payroll costs using an "alternative payroll covered period" that aligns with borrowers’ regular payroll cycles;
• flexibility to include eligible payroll and non-payroll expenses paid or incurred during the eight-week period after receiving their PPP loan;
• step-by-step instructions on how to perform the calculations required by the CARES Act to confirm eligibility for loan forgiveness;
• borrower-friendly implementation of statutory exemptions from loan forgiveness reduction based on rehiring by June 30; and
• the addition of a new exemption from the loan forgiveness reduction for borrowers who have made a good-faith, written offer to rehire workers that was declined.

Eligible individuals who are not otherwise required to file federal income tax returns for 2019 may use a new simplified return filing procedure to make sure they receive the Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act ( P.L. 116-136).

Eligible individuals who are not otherwise required to file federal income tax returns for 2019 may use a new simplified return filing procedure to make sure they receive the Economic Impact Payments (EIPs) provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act ( P.L. 116-136).

Alternatively, these eligible individuals may use the "Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here" tool, available at www.irs.gov/coronavirus to submit the information the IRS needs to issue their payments.

EIPs and Recovery Rebate Credit
The CARES Act provides a fully refundable Recovery Rebate Credit for the 2020 tax year. However, the IRS is making EIPs during 2020 to refund the credit in advance, based on 2019 or 2018 information. Most individuals are eligible for the credit, except for nonresident aliens and individuals who qualify as another taxpayer’s dependent.

The maximum credit is $1,200 for each eligible individual, plus $500 for each qualifying child. There is no minimum income requirement, but the credit is phased out for higher-income individuals. Eligible individuals and qualifying children generally must have valid Social Security numbers.

Taxpayers who filed 2019 or 2018 returns automatically receive their Economic Payments. If the taxpayer identified an account for direct deposit of a refund, the Economic Impact Payment is direct deposited into the same account. Otherwise, the IRS mails a paper check to the taxpayer’s last known address.

Nonfilers who received Social Security and railroad retirement, survivor or disability benefits before 2020 also receive EIPs based on their Forms SSA-1099 or Form RRB-1099 via direct deposit or paper checks, in the same way they receive their benefits. Recipients of supplemental security income (SSI) or Veterans Administration Compensation and Pension (C&P) benefits also automatically receive EIPs in the same way they receive their benefits. These nonfilers may use the "Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here" tool to provide information about their qualifying children so that they also receive the $500 additional credit.

Other nonfilers who are not required to file returns, such as people with income below the filing threshold, may use the "Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here" tool to provide basic information that allows the IRS to calculate and issue their EIPs.

Simplified Filing Procedures
Rather than using the "Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Here" tool, a simplified return filer may use a simplified procedure to file a paper or electronic return for 2019 on Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, or Form 1040-SR, U.S. Tax Return for Seniors. A simplified return filer is an eligible individual who:

• has not filed a federal income tax return for 2019;
• is not required to file a return for 2019, and
• has the required identification number.

Simplified returns are due by October 15, 2020. The IRS urges these individuals to file electronically to speed receipt of their payments.

Simplified Return Information
The simplified return should include only the following information:

• "EIP2020" written on the form;
• the individual’s filing status as of the end of tax year 2019;
• required identification information, including name, mailing address, and SSN for the individual (and spouse on a joint return);
• information regarding each dependent who was under the age of 17 at the end of tax year 2019; and
• the filer’s signature, using an IP PIN if applicable.

Generally lines 1 through 24 of the return are left blank, even if the values for these lines are in fact not zero, except as values are required for electronic returns.

The IRS will compute the Economic Impact Payment based on this information. The IRS will not challenge the accuracy of the items of income that are properly reported under these procedures.

To encourage businesses that have experienced an economic hardship due to COVID-19 to keep employees on their payroll, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act ( P.L. 116-136) has provided several new credits for employers, including a new employee retention credit. The IRS has issued a fact sheet summarizing a few key points about the new credit.

To encourage businesses that have experienced an economic hardship due to COVID-19 to keep employees on their payroll, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act ( P.L. 116-136) has provided several new credits for employers, including a new employee retention credit. The IRS has issued a fact sheet summarizing a few key points about the new credit.

Certain employers can claim the credit for wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021. This includes tax-exempt organizations, employers with suspended operations due to a government order related to COVID-19, and those that have experienced a significant decline in gross receipts. The credit amount is 50 percent of up to $10,000 in qualified wages paid to an employee. This means that an employer’s maximum credit for qualified wages paid to any employee is $5,000.

Qualified wages include the cost of employer-provided health care, but not the amount of qualified sick leave wages or family leave wages for which the employer received tax credits under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ( P.L. 116-127). Qualified wages vary based on the average number of the employer’s full-time employees in 2019:

• If the employer had 100 or fewer employees on average in 2019, the credit is based on wages paid to all employees, regardless if they worked or not.
• If the employer had more than 100 employees on average in 2019, the credit is allowed only for wages paid to employees for time they did not work.

In each case, the wages that qualify are those paid for a calendar quarter in which the employer experiences an economic hardship.

To claim the credit, employers must report their total qualified wages and the related health insurance costs for each quarter on their quarterly employment tax returns, usually Form 941, Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return, beginning with the second quarter of 2020. If an employer does not have enough federal employment taxes to cover the amount of the credit (after they have deferred deposits of employer Social Security taxes), it may request an advance payment of the credit by submitting Form 7200, Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due to COVID-19, to the IRS.

The IRS has more information on the credit at https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/faqs-employee-retention-credit-under-the-cares-act and https://www.irs.gov/coronavirus-tax-relief-and-economic-impact-payments.

The Treasury Department and the IRS have provided tax relief to certain individuals and businesses affected by travel disruptions arising from the coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency.

The Treasury Department and the IRS have provided tax relief to certain individuals and businesses affected by travel disruptions arising from the coronavirus (COVID-19) emergency. Under the guidance:

• up to 60 consecutive calendar days of U.S. presence that are presumed to arise from COVID-19 travel disruptions will not be counted for determining U.S. tax residency under Code Sec. 7701(b), or determining whether an individual qualifies for tax treaty benefits for income from personal services performed in the United States;
• for certain U.S. citizens and residents, qualification for gross income exclusion of foreign earned income under Code Sec. 911 will not be impacted by days spent away from a foreign country due to the COVID-19 emergency; and
• certain U.S. business activities by a nonresident alien or foreign corporation will not be counted for determining whether the individual or entity is engaged in a U.S. trade or business or has a U.S. permanent establishment.

COVID-19 Medical Condition Travel Exception
Travel and related disruptions resulting from the COVID-19 emergency may cause foreign individuals who did not anticipate meeting the “substantial presence test” under Code Sec. 7701(b)(3) to become U.S. residents for federal tax purposes during 2020, and may impact an individual’s qualifications for certain treaty benefits. To address this, Rev. Proc. 2020-20 allows certain foreign individuals to claim a COVID-19 Medical Condition Travel Exception to becoming U.S. residents, and provides similar relief for determining whether an individual (whether or not an eligible for the medical travel exception) qualifies for U.S. income tax treaty benefits for income from dependent personal services performed in the United States.

An individual can claim a COVID-19 Medical Condition Travel Exception if he or she:

• was not a U.S. resident at the close of the 2019 tax year;
• is not a lawful permanent resident at any point in 2020;
• is present in the United States on each day of his or her COVID-19 Emergency Period; and
• does not become a U.S. resident in 2020 due to days of presence in the United States outside of the individual’s COVID-19 Emergency Period.

The COVID-19 Emergency Period is a period of up to 60 consecutive calendar days selected by an individual, starting on or after February 1, 2020, and on or before April 1, 2020, during which he or she is physically present in the United States on each day.

An eligible individual who intended to leave the United States during his or her COVID-19 Emergency Period but could not leave due to COVID-19 emergency travel disruptions can exclude up to 60 calendar days of presence in the United States for the substantial presence test. The COVID-19 emergency will be considered a medical condition that kept the individual from leaving the United States on each day during his or her COVID-19 Emergency Period, and will not be treated as a pre-existing medical condition.

Further, any days of presence during an individual’s COVID-19 Emergency Period on which he or she was unable to leave the United States due to COVID-19 emergency travel disruptions will not be counted in determining his or her eligibility for treaty benefits for income from employment or performing other dependent personal services within the United States.

The guidance provides details on claiming a COVID-19 Medical Condition Travel Exception and an exemption from income withholding under a U.S. income tax treaty.

Foreign Earned Income Exclusion Relief
Rev. Proc. 2020-27 provides a waiver for certain individuals who failed to meet the eligibility requirements of Code Sec. 911(d)(1) for the foreign earned income exclusion because adverse conditions in a foreign country kept the individual from meeting the requirements during 2019 and 2020. The COVID-19 emergency is an adverse condition that precluded the normal conduct of business in:

• the People’s Republic of China (excluding the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau (China)) as of December 1, 2019; and
• any other foreign country, as of February 1, 2020.

The covered period ends on July 15, 2020, unless the Treasury Department and IRS announce an extension.

Under this relief, an individual who left the particular foreign country on or after the dates stated above, but on or before July 15, 2020, will be treated as a qualified individual under the foreign earned income exclusion rules for the period when he or she was present in, or was a bona fide resident of, that foreign country if the individual establishes a reasonable expectation that he or she would have met the requirements of Code Sec. 911(d)(1) but for the COVID-19 Emergency. An individual who was first physically present or established residency in China after December 1, 2020, or another foreign country after February 1, 2020, is not eligible.

Individuals seeking to qualify for the foreign earned income exclusion because they could reasonably have been expected to have been present in a foreign country for 330 days but for the COVID-19 Emergency, and have met the other requirements to qualify, may use any 12-month period to meet the qualified individual requirement.

Previously issued revenue procedures under Code Sec. 911(d)(4) remain in full force and effect. Rev. Proc. 2020-14, 2020-16 I.R.B. 661, is supplemented.

U.S. Business Activities
Nonresident aliens who perform services or other activities in the United States, and foreign corporations that employ individuals to perform services or other activities in the United States, and are engaged in a U.S. trade or business are subject to federal tax on their business income from that trade or business. If the individuals performing those services or activities are temporarily in the United States solely due to COVID-19 emergency travel disruptions, the nonresident alien or foreign corporation might be treated as engaged in a U.S. trade or business even though it would not be if the individuals performing the services were not present in the United States.

IRS frequently asked questions (FAQs)—at https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/information-for-nonresident-aliens-and-foreign-businesses-impacted-by-covid-19-travel-disruptions—provide that certain U.S. business activities conducted by a nonresident alien or foreign corporation will not be counted for up to 60 consecutive calendar days in determining whether the individual or entity is engaged in a U.S. trade or business or has a U.S. permanent establishment, if those activities would not have been conducted in the United States but for the COVID-19 travel disruptions.

The IRS and the Employee Benefits Security Administration are extending certain timeframes during the Outbreak Period for group health plans, disability and other welfare plans, pension plans, and participants and beneficiaries of these plans during the COVID-19 National Emergency. The beginning of the Outbreak Period is March 1, 2020. The end date is yet to be determined.

The IRS and the Employee Benefits Security Administration are extending certain timeframes during the Outbreak Period for group health plans, disability and other welfare plans, pension plans, and participants and beneficiaries of these plans during the COVID-19 National Emergency. The beginning of the Outbreak Period is March 1, 2020. The end date is yet to be determined.

Outbreak Period
Under the relief, all group health plans, disability and other employee welfare benefit plans, and employee pension benefit plans subject to ERISA or the IRC must disregard the period from March 1, 2020, until sixty days after the announced end of the National Emergency.

Affected Deadlines for Plan Participants
The following periods and dates for all plan participants, beneficiaries, qualified beneficiaries, or claimants:

• The 30-day period (or 60-day period, if applicable) to request special enrollment into any group plan under Code Sec. 9801(f) and ERISA Sec. 701(f);
• The 60-day election period for COBRA continuation coverage under Code Sec. 4980B(f)(5) and ERISA Sec. 605;
• The date for making COBRA premium payments under Code Sec. 4980B(f)(2)(B)(iii) and (C), and ERISA Sec. 602(2)(C) and (3);
• The date for individuals to notify the plan of a qualifying event or determination of disability under Code Sec. 4980B(f)(6)(C) and ERISA Sec. 606(a)(3);
• The date within which claimants may file a request for an external review after receipt of an adverse benefit determination or final internal adverse benefit determination pursuant to 26 Reg. §54.9815–2719(d)(2)(i) and 29 CFR 2590.715–2719(d)(2)(i), and
• The date within which individuals may file a benefit claim under the plan’s claims procedure pursuant to 29 CFR 2560.503–1, and the date within which claimants may file an appeal of an adverse benefit determination under the plan’s claims procedure pursuant to 29 CFR 2560.503–1(h).

Affected Dates for Group Health Plans
With respect to group health plans, and their sponsors and administrators, the Outbreak Period shall be disregarded when determining the date for providing a COBRA election notice under Code Sec. 4980B(f)(6)(D) and ERISA section 606(c).

Due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19), the IRS has provided increased flexibility with respect to:

• 2020 mid-year elections under a Code Sec. 125 cafeteria plan related to employer-sponsored health coverage, health Flexible Spending Arrangements (health FSAs), and dependent care assistance programs; and
• grace periods to apply unused amounts in health FSAs to medical care expenses incurred through December 31, 2020, and unused amounts in dependent care assistance programs to dependent care expenses incurred through December 31, 2020.

Due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19), the IRS has provided increased flexibility with respect to:

• 2020 mid-year elections under a Code Sec. 125 cafeteria plan related to employer-sponsored health coverage, health Flexible Spending Arrangements (health FSAs), and dependent care assistance programs; and
• grace periods to apply unused amounts in health FSAs to medical care expenses incurred through December 31, 2020, and unused amounts in dependent care assistance programs to dependent care expenses incurred through December 31, 2020.

This relief is retroactive to January 1, 2020.

An employer that decides to amend one or more of its Code Sec. 125 cafeteria plans to provide for mid-year election changes for employer-sponsored health coverage, health FSAs, or dependent care assistance programs, or to provide for an extended period to apply unused amounts remaining in a health FSA or a dependent care assistance program to pay or reimburse medical care expenses or dependent care expenses in a manner consistent with this relief, must adopt a plan amendment on or before December 31, 2021, which may be effective retroactively to January 1, 2020.

Cafeteria Plan Elections
Qualified benefits provided under a cafeteria plan include employer-provided accident and health plans excludable under Code Secs. 105(b) and 106, health FSAs excludable under Code Secs. 105(b) and 106, and dependent care assistance programs excludable under Code Sec. 129. Elections regarding these benefits are generally irrevocable, and must be made prior to the first day of the plan year. However, a cafeteria plan may permit an employee to revoke an election during a period of coverage and make a new election under certain circumstances, such as if the employee experiences a change in status or there are significant changes in the cost of coverage.

During 2020, a cafeteria plan may also permit eligible employees to:

• with respect to employer-sponsored health coverage: (a) make a new election on a prospective basis, if the employee initially declined to elect employer-sponsored health coverage; (b) revoke an existing election and make a new election to enroll in different health coverage sponsored by the same employer on a prospective basis; and (c) revoke an existing election on a prospective basis, provided that the employee attests in writing that the employee is enrolled, or immediately will enroll, in other health coverage not sponsored by the employer;
• revoke an election, make a new election, or decrease or increase an existing election applicable to a health FSA on a prospective basis; and
• revoke an election, make a new election, or decrease or increase an existing election regarding a dependent care assistance program on a prospective basis.

To accept an employee’s revocation of an existing election for employer-sponsored health coverage, the employer must receive from the employee an attestation in writing that the employee is enrolled, or immediately will enroll, in other comprehensive health coverage not sponsored by the employer. The employer may rely on the written attestation provided by the employee, unless the employer has actual knowledge that the employee is not, or will not be, enrolled in other comprehensive health coverage not sponsored by the employer.

This relief may be applied retroactively to periods on or after January 1, 2020.

Health FSAs, Dependent Care Assistance
A cafeteria plan may permit the carryover of unused amounts remaining in a health FSA at the end of a plan year, subject to the carryover limit (currently $550). Additionally, cafeteria plan may permit a grace period to apply unused amounts (including amounts remaining in a health FSA or dependent care assistance program) at the end of a plan year to pay expenses incurred for those same qualified benefits during the period of up to two months and 15 days immediately following the end of the plan year. For a health FSA, a cafeteria plan may adopt a carryover or a grace period (or neither), but may not adopt both.

For unused amounts remaining in a health FSA or a dependent care assistance program at the end of a grace period or plan year ending in 2020, a cafeteria plan may permit employees to apply those unused amounts to pay or reimburse medical care expenses or dependent care expenses incurred through December 31, 2020. For example, if an employer sponsors cafeteria plan with a health FSA that has a calendar year plan year and provides for a grace period ending on March 15 immediately following the end of each plan year, the employer may amend the plan to permit employees to apply unused amounts remaining in an employee’s health FSA as of March 15, 2020, to reimburse the employee for medical care expenses incurred through December 31, 2020.

This relief may be applied on or after January 1, 2020 and on or before December 31, 2020.

Impact of Health FSA Reimbursements
Code Sec. 223 permits eligible individuals to establish and contribute to health savings accounts (HSAs). With respect to any month, an eligible individual is any individual who:

• is covered under a high deductible health plan (HDHP) as of the first day of such month; and
• is not, while covered under an HDHP, covered under any health plan (a) which is not an HDHP, and (b) which provides coverage for any benefit which is covered under the HDHP.

An HDHP is a health plan that satisfies the minimum annual deductible requirement and maximum out-of-pocket expenses requirement under Code Sec. 223(c)(2)(A).

Coverage by a general purpose health FSA is coverage by a health plan that disqualifies an otherwise eligible individual from contributing to an HSA. Similarly, a telemedicine arrangement would generally disqualify an otherwise eligible individual from contributing to an HSA.

The government has previously provided relief for these issues. Notice 2020-15, I.R.B. 2020-14, 559, provides that a health plan that otherwise satisfies the requirements to be an HDHP will not fail to be an HDHP merely because the health plan provides medical care services and items purchased related to testing for and treatment of COVID-19. Likewise, Section 3701 of the CARES Act amends Code Sec. 223(c) to provide a temporary safe harbor for providing coverage for telehealth and other remote care services.

The new relief clarifies that Notice 2020-15 may be applied retroactively to January 1, 2020. For example, an otherwise eligible individual with coverage under an HDHP who also received coverage beginning February 15, 2020, for telehealth and other remote care services under an arrangement that is not an HDHP will not be disqualified from contributing to an HSA during 2020.

The IRS has released proposed regulations that address changes made to Code Sec. 162(f) by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) ( P.L. 115-97). The proposed regulations provide operational and definitional guidance on the deductibility of fines and penalties paid to governmental entities.

The IRS has released proposed regulations that address changes made to Code Sec. 162(f) by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) ( P.L. 115-97). The proposed regulations provide operational and definitional guidance on the deductibility of fines and penalties paid to governmental entities.

TCJA Changes
Under amended Code Sec. 162(f), businesses may not deduct fines and penalties that are paid or incurred after December 21, 2017, due to the violation of a law or the investigation of a violation of law, if a government or similar entity is a complainant or investigator. Exceptions are available in certain cases where the payment was made for restitution, remediation, taxes due, or to come into compliance with a law.

In order for the exceptions to apply, the taxpayer must identify the payment as restitution or compliance in a court order or settlement agreement. In addition, Code Sec. 6050X requires that the officer or employee that has control over the suit or agreement, or the individual designated by the government or entity, must file a return with the IRS.

Establishing Restitution or Remediation
Under the proposed regulations, a taxpayer can establish that a payment was made for restitution or remediation by providing documentary evidence showing:

• the taxpayer was legally obligated to pay the amount of the order or agreement identified as restitution, remediation, or to come into compliance with a law;
• the amount paid or incurred; and
• the date on which the amount was paid or incurred.

The proposed regulations provide a list of documents that taxpayers can use to satisfy the establishment requirement. The regulations also clarify that reporting of the amount by a government or governmental entity under Code Sec. 6050X alone does not satisfy the establishment requirement.

Identification Requirement
According to Code Sec. 162(f)(2)(A), an order or agreement must identify the amount paid or incurred as restitution, remediation, or to come into compliance with a law. The proposed regulations state that an order or agreement should identify a payment by stating both (1) the nature of, or purpose for, each payment, and (2) the amount of each payment identified. Reporting of the amount by a government or governmental entity under Code Sec. 6050X does not satisfy the identification requirement.

Taxes and Interest
Under Code Sec. 162(f)(4), taxpayers may still deduct any taxes due, including any related interest on the taxes. However, the proposed regulations clarify that taxpayers may not deduct interest related to penalties.

Reporting Requirements
The proposed regulations provide appropriate officials with operational, administrative, and definitional rules for complying with statutory information reporting requirements with respect to Code Sec. 162(f). If the aggregate amount a payor is required to pay equals or exceeds the threshold amount under Proposed Reg. §1.6050X-1(g)(5), the appropriate official must file an information return with the IRS with respect to the amounts or incurred paid and any additional information required.

According to the proposed regulations, they must provide this information by filing Form 1098-F, Fines, Penalties, and Other Amounts, with Form 1096, Annual Summary and Transmittal of U.S. Information Returns, on or before the annual due date. However, the proposed regulations do not require an appropriate official to file information returns for each tax year in which a payor makes a payment pursuant to a single order or agreement. Instead, the appropriate official must file only one information return for the aggregate amount identified in the order or agreement.

The proposed regulations also require that the appropriate official furnish a written statement to each payor with respect to which it is required to file an information return. The written statement must include the information that was reported on the information return, and a legend that identifies the statement as important tax information that is being furnished to the IRS. They can satisfy this requirement by providing a copy of Form 1098-F to the payor.

Material Change
According to the TCJA, the amendments to Code Sec. 162(f) apply to agreements entered into on or after December 22, 2017. The proposed regulations clarify that if the parties to an agreement that was binding prior to December 22, 2017, make a material change to that agreement on or after the date that the proposed regulations become final, the regulations will apply to the agreement.

If there is a material change to the agreement, the proposed regulations require the appropriate official to update the IRS by filing a corrected Form 1098-F on or before January 31 of the year following the calendar year. The proposed rules also require the appropriate official to furnish an amended written statement to the payor.

Definitions
The proposed regulations also define key terms and phrases for purposes of Code Sec. 162(f) and Code Sec. 6050X. These include "government," "governmental entity," "nongovernmental entity treated as a governmental entity," "restitution," "remediation of property," "amounts paid to come into compliance with a law," "appropriate official," "payor," and "threshold amount."

Effective Date
Proposed Reg. §1.162-21 is proposed to apply to tax years beginning on or after the date the proposed regulations are published as final regulations, but those rules do not apply to amounts paid or incurred under any order or agreement which became binding under applicable law before such date. Prior to the effective date, taxpayers may rely on Proposed Reg. §1.162-21, but only if they apply the rules in their entirety and in a consistent manner.

Proposed Reg. §1.6050X-1 is proposed to apply to orders and agreements that become binding under applicable law on or after January 1, 2022.

Comments
Taxpayers may submit comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov by following the online instructions for submitting comments and indicating IRS and REG-104591-18. Once submitted to the Federal eRulemaking Portal, comments cannot be edited or withdrawn. Hard copy submissions must be addressed to: CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG-104591-18), Room 5203, Internal Revenue Service, P.O. Box 7604, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, DC 20044. Until further notice, any comments submitted on paper will be considered only to the extent practicable.

A partnership was denied a charitable contribution deduction because it had entered in an conservation easement that violated the perpetuity requirement of Code Sec. 170(h)(5) and its regulations. The Tax Court held that if there is a judicial extinguishment of an easement the donee receives a proportionate value of any proceeds.

A partnership was denied a charitable contribution deduction because it had entered in an conservation easement that violated the perpetuity requirement of Code Sec. 170(h)(5) and its regulations. The Tax Court held that if there is a judicial extinguishment of an easement the donee receives a proportionate value of any proceeds.

Easement Deed
The taxpayer had donated a conservation easement to a land trust and claimed a charitable contribution deduction. The easement deed provided that if the conservation restriction were extinguished at some future date, the donee would receive a share of the proceeds equal to the fair market value (FMV) of the easement on the date the contribution was made. The deed further provided that the donee’s share as thus determined would be reduced by the value of any improvements made by the donor after granting the easement.

The taxpayer argued that Reg. §1.170A-14(g)(6) does not say that the donee is entitled to a proportionate "share" of any proceeds upon extinguishment of the easement but proportionate "value." It argued this means fixed value, and because the regulation requires that the value be fixed as of the donation date, the donee was not entitled to any proceeds attributable to the value of post-donation improvements.

Windfall for Donees?
The IRS disallowed the deduction, contending that the extinguishment clause violated the requirements of Reg. §1.170A-14(g)(6). The Tax Court concurred with the IRS’s reasoning and held that the easement deed violated the "protected in perpetuity" requirement of Code Sec. 170(h)(5), as interpreted in Reg. §1.170A-14(g)(6).

The court held that the donee’s share of the "proportionate value" as used in the regulation means a fraction of the proceeds from a judicial extinguishment, and not a fixed value.

The taxpayer argued that it was unfair for a donee to receive extinguishment proceeds attributable to the value of improvements made solely by the donor, because it would amount to an unintended charitable contribution for which it received no deduction. However, the Tax Court found that the purpose of the regulation is to avoid any windfalls to donors, not donees, if an easement was extinguished. The easement deed violated the regulation because the donee must be entitled to any proceeds from extinguishment or condemnation that were at least equal to the total proceeds multiplied by a fraction defined by the ratio of the FMV of the easement to the FMV of the unencumbered property determined as of the date of the easement deed.

The taxpayer was not liable for accuracy-related penalties, because it acted reasonably and in good faith. The partner was unfamiliar with the nuances of setting up a conservation easement and had relied on private letter rulings.

Regulation Valid
The taxpayer challenged the validity of Reg. §1.170A-14(g)(6), which the Tax Court addressed in a concurrent opinion. The taxpayer contended the "proportionate value" approach to division of proceeds from a judicial extinguishment of the easement does not take into account the possibility of donor improvements. The Tax Court held that the regulation was properly promulgated, as it substantially revised the text regarding the proportionate value in response to comments and had only received one comment on the possibility of improvements. The court therefore found that the regulation was valid under the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. Section 553.

The Tax Court further relied on the two-part test given in Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 (1984), and held that the construction of Code Sec. 170(h)(5) as set forth in Reg. §1.170A-14(g)(6) was valid. The Treasury exercised reasoned judgment by adhering to a simple rule that split sale proceeds in a direct proportional manner on the basis of a fraction determined as of the date the gift was made. Because the regulation as drafted ensures satisfaction of the statutory mandate that the conservation purpose be "protected in perpetuity," the regulation was not arbitrary, capricious, or manifestly contrary to the Code.

The IRS has released proposed regulations clarifying that the following deductions allowed to an estate or non-grantor trust are not miscellaneous itemized deductions:

The IRS has released proposed regulations clarifying that the following deductions allowed to an estate or non-grantor trust are not miscellaneous itemized deductions:

• costs paid or incurred in connection with the administration of an estate or non-grantor trust that would not have been incurred if the property were not held in the estate or trust;
• the personal exemption of an estate or non-grantor trust;
• the distribution deduction for trusts distributing current income; and
• the distribution deduction for estates and trusts accumulating income.

These deductions are not affected by the suspension of the deductibility of miscellaneous itemized deductions for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2026. The proposed regulations also provide guidance on determining the character, amount, and allocation of deductions in excess of gross income succeeded to by a beneficiary on the termination of an estate or non-grantor trust. Specifically, the proposed regulations clarify that the character of the deductions does not change when succeeded to by a beneficiary on termination of the estate or trust, and require the fiduciary to separately identify deductions that may be limited when claimed by the beneficiary. The proposed regulations affect estates, non-grantor trusts (including the S portion of an electing small business trust), and their beneficiaries.

Section 67(g)
Code Sec. 67(g), as added by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ( P.L. 115-97) (TCJA), prohibits individual taxpayers from claiming miscellaneous itemized deductions for any tax year beginning after December 31, 2017, and before January 1, 2026. The Treasury Department and the IRS had issued Notice 2018-61, 2018-31 I.R.B. 278, announcing that proposed regulations would address the effect of Code Sec. 67(g) on the deductibility of certain expenses described in Code Sec. 67(b) and (e) incurred by estates and non-grantor trusts. The notice states that regulations would clarify that expenses described in Code Sec. 67(e) remain deductible in determining the adjusted gross income of an estate or non-grantor trust during the tax years in which Code Sec. 67(g) applies.

Notice 2018-61 requested comments regarding the effect of Code Sec. 67(g) on the ability of the beneficiary to deduct amounts comprising the Code Sec. 642(h)(2) excess deduction on the termination of an estate or trust considering Code Sec. 642(h) and Reg. §1.642(h)-2(a), and expressed the intent to address this issue in regulations. The Treasury Department and IRS also requested comments on whether the separate deductions comprising the Code Sec. 642(h)(2) excess deduction (such as Code Sec. 67(e) deductions) should be analyzed separately when applying Code Sec. 67.

The IRS has issued final regulations that amend the rules relating to hardship distributions from Code Sec. 401(k) plans. The final regulations are substantially similar to the proposed regulations. Further, plans that complied with the proposed regulations satisfy the final regulations as well. The regulations are effective on September 23, 2019.

The IRS has issued final regulations that amend the rules relating to hardship distributions from Code Sec. 401(k) plans. The final regulations are substantially similar to the proposed regulations. Further, plans that complied with the proposed regulations satisfy the final regulations as well. The regulations are effective on September 23, 2019.

The final regulations:

• reflect statutory changes affecting Code Sec. 401(k) plans, including changes made by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 ( P.L. 115-123); and
• affect participants in, beneficiaries of, employers maintaining, and administrators of plans that include cash or deferred arrangements or provide for employee or matching contributions.

Deemed Immediate and Heavy Financial Need
The final regulations modify the safe harbor list of expenses for which distributions are deemed to be made on account of an immediate and heavy financial need. The final regulations:

• add "primary beneficiary under the plan" as an individual for whom qualifying medical, educational, and funeral expenses may be incurred;
• modify the expense listed in existing Reg. §1.401(k)-1(d)(3)(iii)(B)(6) to provide that the limitations in Code Sec. 165(h)(5) do not apply for this purpose; and
• add to the list a new type of expense, relating to expenses incurred as a result of certain disasters.

Distribution Necessary to Satisfy Financial Need
The final regulations modify the rules for determining whether a distribution is necessary to satisfy an immediate and heavy financial need, by:

• eliminating any requirement that an employee be prohibited from making elective contributions and employee contributions after receipt of a hardship distribution; and
• eliminating any requirement to take plan loans prior to obtaining a hardship distribution.

In particular, the final regulations, like the proposed regulations, eliminate the safe harbor in existing Reg. §1.401(k)-1(d)(3)(iv)(E), under which a distribution is deemed necessary to satisfy the financial need only if elective contributions and employee contributions are suspended for at least six months after a hardship distribution is made and, if available, nontaxable plan loans are taken before the hardship distribution is made.

Expanded Sources for Hardship Distributions
The final regulations modify existing Reg. §1.401(k)-1(d)(3) to permit hardship distributions from Code Sec. 401(k) plans of elective contributions, qualified nonelective contributions (QNECs), qualified matching contributions (QMACs), and earnings on these amounts, regardless of when contributed or earned.

Section 403(b) Plans
A hardship distribution of Code Sec. 403(b) elective deferrals is subject to the rules and restrictions set forth in Reg. §1.401(k)-1(d)(3). Accordingly, the preamble to the proposed regulations had stated that the new rules relating to a hardship distribution of elective contributions from a Code Sec. 401(k) plan generally apply to Code Sec. 403(b) plans. Because this requirement is retained in the final regulations, at Reg. §1.401(k)-1(d)(3)(iii)(B), it applies to Code Sec. 403(b) plans.

Applicability Dates
The changes to the hardship distribution rules made by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 are effective for plan years beginning after December 31, 2018.

Plan Amendments
The Treasury Department and IRS expect that plan sponsors will need to amend their plans’ hardship distribution provisions to reflect the final regulations, and any such amendment must be effective for distributions beginning no later than January 1, 2020. The deadline for amending a disqualifying provision is set forth in Rev. Proc. 2016-37, I.R.B. 2016-29,136.

In order to be tax deductible, compensation must be a reasonable payment for services. Smaller companies, whose employees frequently hold significant ownership interests, are particularly vulnerable to IRS attack on their compensation deductions.

In order to be tax deductible, compensation must be a reasonable payment for services. Smaller companies, whose employees frequently hold significant ownership interests, are particularly vulnerable to IRS attack on their compensation deductions.

Reasonable compensation is generally defined as the amount that would ordinarily be paid for like services by like enterprises under like circumstances. This broad definition is supplemented, for purposes of determining whether compensation is deductible as an ordinary and necessary expense, by a number of more specific factors expressed in varying forms by the IRS, the Tax Court and the Circuit Courts of Appeal, and generally relating to the type and extent of services provided, the financial concerns of the company, and the nature of the relationship between the employee and the employer.

Why IRS Is Interested

A chief concern behind the IRS's keen interest in what a company calls "compensation" is the possibility that what is being labeled compensation is in fact a constructive dividend. If employees with ownership interests are being paid excessive amounts by the company, the IRS may challenge compensation deductions on the grounds that what is being called deductible compensation is, in fact, a nondeductible dividend.

Another area of concern for the IRS is the payment of personal expenses of an employee that are disguised as businesses expenses. There, the business is trying to obtain a business expense deduction without the offsetting tax paid by the employee in recognizing income. In such cases, a business and its owners can end up with a triple loss after an IRS audit: taxable income to the individual, no deduction to the business and a tax penalty due from both parties.

Factors Examined

The factors most often examined by the IRS in deciding whether payments are reasonable compensation for services or are, instead, disguised dividend payments, include:

1. The salary history of the individual employee
2. Compensation paid by comparable employers to comparable employees
3. The salary history of other employees of the company
4. Special employee expertise or efforts
5. Year-end payments
6. Independent inactive investor analysis
7. Deferred compensation plan contributions
8. Independence of the board of directors
9. Viewpoint of a hypothetical investor contemplating purchase of the company as to whether such potential investor would be willing to pay the compensation.

Failure to pass the reasonable compensation test will result in the company's loss of all or part of its deduction. Analysis and examination of a company's compensation deductions in light of the relevant listed factors can provide the company with the assurance that the compensation it pays will be treated as reasonable -- and may in the process prevent the loss of its deductions.

Note: In the case of publicly held corporations, a separate $1 million dollar per person cap is also placed on deductible compensation paid to the CEO and each of the four other highest-paid officers identified for SEC purposes. (Certain types of compensation, including performance-based compensation approved by outside directors, are not included in the $1 million limitation.)

The S Corp Enigma

The opposite side of the reasonable compensation coin is present in the case of some S corporations. By characterizing compensation payments as dividends, the owners of these corporations seek to reduce employment taxes due on amounts paid to them by their companies. In these cases, the IRS attempts to recharacterize dividends as salary if the amounts were, in fact, paid to the shareholders for services rendered to the corporation.

Caution. In the course of performing the compensation-dividend analysis, watch out for contingent compensation arrangements and for compensation that is proportional to stock ownership. While not always indicators that payments are distributions of dividends instead of compensation for services, their presence does suggest the possibility. Compensation plans should not be keyed to ownership interests. Contingent and incentive arrangements are also scrutinized by the IRS. The courts have frequently ruled that a shareholder has a built-in interest in seeing that the company is successful and rewarding him for increasing the value of his own property is inappropriate. Similar to the reasonable compensation test, however, this rule is not hard and fast. Accordingly, the rules followed in each jurisdiction will control there.

Conclusions

Determining whether a shareholder-employee's compensation is reasonable depends upon many variables, such as the contributions that employee makes to your business, the compensation levels within your industry, and whether an independent investor in your company would accept the employee's compensation as reasonable.

Please call our office for a more customized analysis of how your particular compensation package fits into the various rules and guidelines. Further examination of your practices not only may help your business better sustain its compensation deductions; it may also help you take advantage of other compensation arrangements and opportunities.

'Tax risk management" is a fairly recent term first used by large accounting firms to underscore to businesses the opportunities and pitfalls inherent within the particular tax positions taken by a business at any point in time. The collapse of Enron and WorldCom, and Congress's response through Sarbanes/Oxley legislation, have elevated corporate tax departments from what were once sleepy backroom operations to key participants in corporate bottom-line performance. Tax reserves and other tax forecasts now take a more prominent role in SEC-required disclosure and their resulting impact on shareholder value. Corporate boards and top executives are now held directly responsible for tax-related mistakes.

In tandem with tighter legislative rules, the corporate tax world itself has become more complicated. From state and local tax considerations and a growing federal tax code to aggressive audit positions by the IRS on tax-shelter type transactions to the growing body of international tax rules that a global business must follow, the tax world for many businesses has become considerably more dangerous. Like a juggler trying to keep too many balls in the air at once, businesses are feeling more pressure on the tax side of their operations. The greater the number of balls (or tax risk situations) in the air, the greater the need is for preventive management of them.

Tax risk management, however, is no longer confined to large public companies listed on a major stock exchange. The "trickle down" of tax problems from public corporations to private businesses, run as corporations, partnerships or LLCs, to small businesses is evident. Lenders, take-over prospects, and co-owners are all acutely concerned with the financial health of a business. Tax considerations now play an increasingly vital role in determining whether any particular business can receive a clean bill of health. Past positions taken on open-year tax returns, the likelihood of the success of any ongoing tax strategy, stepped up IRS audits, changing tax accounting rules and the growing complexity of the tax code itself, not to mention state and local tax law considerations and the increasingly large penalties that taxing authorities are free to assess if a tax position turns out to be incorrect, make tax risk management essential for the smaller business as well.

How much tax risk is your business carrying? The first step to finding a solution to a problem is determining the extent of the problem. Do you know how many "dropped balls" on the tax-side of your business it would take to bankrupt your operations or set them back several years? If you have neglected this side of managing your business, or if you want some reassurance that you are prepared for "worst case" tax scenarios, please feel free to give this office a call.

For partnerships and entities taxed like partnerships (e.g., limited liability companies), each partner must compute the basis of his/her partnership interest separately from the basis of each asset owned by the partnership. Because the basis of this interest is critical to determining the tax consequences resulting from any number of transactions (e.g., distributions, sale of your interest, etc..), if your business is taxed as a partnership, it is important that you understand the concept of tax basis as well as how to keep track of that basis for tax purposes.

For partnerships and entities taxed like partnerships (e.g., limited liability companies), each partner must compute the basis of his/her partnership interest separately from the basis of each asset owned by the partnership. Because the basis of this interest is critical to determining the tax consequences resulting from any number of transactions (e.g., distributions, sale of your interest, etc..), if your business is taxed as a partnership, it is important that you understand the concept of tax basis as well as how to keep track of that basis for tax purposes.

Note: The term "partnership interest" generally refers to an interest in any type of entity taxed as a partnership. The term "partnership" usually means any entity that is taxed as a partnership, and the term "partner" refers to any owner of an entity taxed as a partnership.

The initial basis in your partnership interest depends on how you acquired your interest. The basis of a partnership interest that you obtained in exchange for a contribution of cash or property to the partnership is equal to the amount of money you invested plus the adjusted basis of any property that you contributed. If you purchased your partnership interest, your initial basis will be the amount of cash you paid plus the fair market value of any property that you provided as part of the purchase price.

Generally, if you receive your partnership interest as a gift, your basis will be the same basis that the donor had in the partnership interest before he or she gave it to you. On the other hand, if you inherit your partnership interest, your initial basis in the partnership interest generally will be the fair market value of the partnership interest on the date of the partner's death.

Each year, various adjustments must be made to the tax basis in your partnership interest to reflect certain partnership transactions that have occurred during the year. The basis in your partnership interest is increased to reflect your proportional share of partnership income (both taxable and tax-exempt income). This increase protects you as a partner from being taxed again when (1) the partnership distributes cash to you or (2) when you dispose of your partnership interest. The basis in your partnership interest also increases if you make additional contributions of cash or other property to the partnership.

The basis in your partnership interest is likewise decreased each year to reflect your share as a partner of any partnership losses and your share of any nondeductible expenses. This adjustment is made to prevent you from obtaining a tax benefit when the partnership makes a distribution to you or when you dispose of your partnership interest. Your basis in the partnership also must be decreased by any actual or deemed distributions you received from the partnership. However, the basis in your partnership interest may never be reduced below zero.

Adjustments to a partner's basis also must be made to reflect any increases or decreases in a partner's share of the partnership's liabilities

It is important that a partnership keep proper records of all transactions that occur during the year and take the time to make the basis adjustments using these basis computation rules as close in time to the occurrence of the transaction as possible.

The general guidelines detailed above will give you a good foundation of knowledge for computing the basis of your partnership interest. For more information about how to track your basis in your partnership interest, please contact the office.

If you are considering selling business property that has substantially appreciated in value, you owe it to your business to explore the possibility of a like-kind exchange. Done properly, a like-kind exchange will allow you to transfer your appreciated business property without incurring a current tax liability. However, since the related tax rules can be complex, careful planning is needed to properly structure the transaction.

If you are considering selling business property that has substantially appreciated in value, you owe it to your business to explore the possibility of a like-kind exchange. Done properly, a like-kind exchange will allow you to transfer your appreciated business property without incurring a current tax liability. However, since the related tax rules can be complex, careful planning is needed to properly structure the transaction.

Like-kind exchanges: The basics

The tax law permits you to exchange property that you use in your business or property that you hold for investment purposes with the same type of property held by another business or investor. These transactions are referred to as "like-kind" exchanges and, if done properly, can save your business from paying the taxes that normally would be due in the year of sale of the appreciated property.

Instead of an immediate tax on any appreciation in the year of sale, a like-kind exchange allows the appreciated value of the property you're transferring to be rolled into the working asset that you'll be receiving in the exchange. Mixed cash and property sales, multi-party exchanges, and time-delayed exchanges are all possible under this tax break.

What property qualifies?

In order to qualify as a tax-free like-kind exchange, the following conditions must be met:

• The property must be business or investment property. You must hold both the property you trade and the property you receive for productive use in your trade or business or for investment. Neither property may be property used for personal purposes, such as your home or family car.
• The property must not be held primarily for sale. The property you trade and the property you receive must not be property you sell to customers, such as merchandise.
• Most securities and instruments of indebtedness or interest are not eligible. The property must not be stocks, bonds, notes, chooses in action, certificates of trust or beneficial interest, or other securities or evidences of indebtedness or interest, including partnership interests. However, you can have a nontaxable exchange of corporate stocks in certain circumstances.
• There must be a trade of like property. The trade of real estate for real estate, or personal property for similar personal property is a trade of like property.

Examples:

Like property:

• An apartment house for a store building
• A panel truck for a pickup truck

Not like property:

• A piece of machinery for a store building
• Real estate in the U.S. for real estate outside the U.S.

• The property being received must be identified by a specified date. The property to be received must be identified within 45 days after the date you transfer the property given up in trade.
• The property being received must be received by a specified date.The property to be received must be received by the earlier of:
  1. The 180th day after the date on which you transfer the property given up in trade, or
  2. The due date, including extensions, for your tax return for the year in which the transfer of the property given up occurs.

Dealing with "boot" received

If you successfully make a straight asset-for-asset exchange, as discussed earlier, you will not pay any immediate tax with respect to the transaction. The property you acquire gets the same tax "basis" (your cost for tax purposes) as the property you gave up. In some circumstances, when you are attempting to make a like-kind exchange, the properties are not always going to be of precisely the same value. Many times, cash or other property is included in the deal. This cash or other property is referred to as "boot." If boot is present in an exchange, you will be required to recognize some of your taxable gain, but only up to the amount of boot you receive in the transaction.

Example:

XYZ Office Supply Co. exchanges its business real estate with a basis of $200,000 and valued at $240,000 for the ABC Restaurant's business real estate valued at $220,000. ABC also gives XYZ $35,000 in cash. XYZ receives property with a total value of $255,000 for an asset with a basis of $200,000. XYZ's gain on the exchange is $55,000, but it only has to report $35,000 on its tax return - the amount of cash or "boot" XYZ received. Note: If no cash changed hands, XYZ would not report any gain or loss on its tax return.

Using like-kind exchanges in your business

There are several different ways that like-kind exchanges can be used in your business and there are, likewise, a number of different ways these exchanges can be structured. Here are a couple of examples:

Multi-party exchanges. If you know another business owner or investor that has a piece of property that you would like to acquire, and he or she only wants to dispose of the property in a like-kind exchange, you can still make a deal even if you do not own a suitable property to exchange. The tax rules permit you to enter into a contract with another business owner that provides that you are going to receive the property that he or she has available in exchange for a property to be identified in the future. This type of multi-party transaction can also be arranged through a qualified intermediary with unknown third (or even fourth) parties.

Multiple property exchanges. Under the like-kind exchange rules, you are not limited in the number of properties that can be involved in an exchange. However, the recognized gain and basis of property is computed differently for multiple property exchanges than for single property-for-property exchanges.

Trade-ins. You could also structure a business to business trade-in of machinery, equipment, or vehicles as a like-kind exchange.

There are many ways that you can advantageously use the like-kind exchange rules when considering disposing of appreciated business assets. However, since the rules are complicated and careful planning is critical, please contact the office for assistance with structuring this type of transaction.

Limited liability companies (LLCs) remain one of the most popular choice of business forms in the U.S. today. This form of business entity is a hybrid that features the best characteristics of other forms of business entities, making it a good choice for both new and existing businesses and their owners.

Limited liability companies (LLCs) remain one of the most popular choice of business forms in the U.S. today. This form of business entity is a hybrid that features the best characteristics of other forms of business entities, making it a good choice for both new and existing businesses and their owners.

An LLC is a legal entity existing separately from its owners that has certain characteristics of both a corporation (limited liability) and a partnership (pass-through taxation). An LLC is created when articles of organization (or the equivalent under each state rules) are filed with the proper state authority, and all fees are paid. An operating agreement detailing the terms agreed to by the members usually accompanies the articles of organization.

Choosing the LLC as a Business Entity

Choosing the form of business entity for a new company is one of the first decisions that a new business owner will have to make. Here's how LLCs compare to other forms of entities:

C Corporation: Both C corporations and LLCs share the favorable limited liability feature and lack of restrictions on number of shareholders. Unlike LLCs, C corporations are subject to double taxation for federal tax purposes - once at the corporate level and the again at the shareholder level. C corporations do not have the ability to make special allocations amongst the shareholders like LLCs.

S Corporation: Both S corporations and LLCs permit pass-through taxation. However, unlike an S corporation, an LLC is not limited to the number or kind of members it can have, potentially giving it greater access to capital. LLCs are also not restricted to a single class of stock, resulting in greater flexibility in the allocation of gains, losses, deductions and credits. And for estate planning purposes, LLCs are a much more flexible tool than S corporations

Partnership: Partnerships, like LLCs, are "pass-through" entities that avoid double taxation. The greatest difference between a partnership and an LLC is that members of LLCs can participate in management without being subject to personal liability, unlike general partners in a partnership.

Sole Proprietorship: Companies that operate as sole proprietors report their income and expenses on Schedule C of Form 1040. Unlike LLCs, sole proprietors' personal liability is unlimited and ownership is limited to one owner. And while generally all of the earnings of a sole proprietorship are subject to self-employment taxes, some LLC members may avoid self-employment taxes under certain circumstances

Tax Consequences of Conversion to an LLC

In most cases, changing your company's form of business to an LLC will be a tax-free transaction. However, there are a few cases where careful consideration of the tax consequences should be analyzed prior to conversion. Here are some general guidelines regarding the tax effects of converting an existing entity to an LLC:

C Corporation to an LLC: Unfortunately, this transaction most likely will be considered a liquidation of the corporation and the formation of a new LLC for federal tax purposes. This type of conversion can result in major tax consequences for the corporation as well as the shareholders and should be considered very carefully.

S Corporation to an LLC: If the corporation was never a C corporation, or wasn't a C corporation within the last 10 years, in most cases, this conversion should be tax-free at the corporate level. However, the tax consequences of such a conversion may be different for the S corporation's shareholders. Since the S corporation is a flow-through entity, and has only one level of tax at the shareholder level, any gain incurred at the corporate level passes through to the shareholders. If, at the time of conversion, the fair market value of the S corporation's assets exceeds their tax basis, the corporation's shareholders may be liable for individual income taxes. Thus, any gain incurred at the corporate level from the appreciation of assets passes through to the S corporation's shareholders when the S corporation transfers assets to the LLC.

Partnership to LLC: This conversion should be tax-free and the new LLC would be treated as a continuation of the partnership.

Sole proprietorship to an LLC: This conversion is another example of a tax-free conversion to an LLC.

While considering the potential tax consequences of conversion is important, keep in mind how your change in entity will also affect the non-tax elements of your business operations. How will a conversion to an LLC effect existing agreements with suppliers, creditors, and financial institutions?

Taxation of LLCs and "Check-the-Box" Regulations

Before federal "check-the-box" regulations were enacted at the end of 1996, it wasn't easy for LLCs to be classified as a partnership for tax purposes. However, the "check-the-box" regulations eliminated many of the difficulties of obtaining partnership tax treatment for an LLC. Under the check-the-box rules, most LLCs with two or more members would receive partnership status, thus avoiding taxation at the entity level as an "association taxed as a corporation."

If an LLC has more than 2 members, it will automatically be classified as a partnership for federal tax purposes. If the LLC has only one member, it will automatically be classified as a sole proprietor and would report all income and expenses on Form 1040, Schedule C. LLCs wishing to change the automatic classification must file Form 8832, Entity Classification Election.

Keep in mind that state tax laws related to LLCs may differ from federal tax laws and should be addressed when considering the LLC as the form of business entity for your business.

Since the information provided is general in nature and may not apply to your specific circumstances, please contact the office for more information or further clarification.