Month: August 2017

Donating to charity is more than good business citizenship; it can also save tax. Here are three lesser-known federal income tax breaks for charitable donations by businesses.

1. Food donations

Charitable write-offs for donated food (such as by restaurants and grocery stores) are normally limited to the lower of the taxpayer’s basis in the food (generally cost) or fair market value (FMV), but an enhanced deduction equals the lesser of:

• The food’s basis plus one-half the FMV in excess of basis, or
• Two times the basis.

To qualify, the food must be apparently wholesome at the time it’s donated. Your total charitable write-off for food donations under the enhanced deduction provision can’t exceed:

• 15% of your net income for the year (before considering the enhanced deduction) from all sole proprietorships, S corporations and partnership businesses (including limited liability companies treated as partnerships for tax purposes) from which food donations were made, or
• For a C corporation taxpayer, 15% of taxable income for the year (before considering the enhanced deduction).

2. Qualified conservation contributions

Qualified conservation contributions are charitable donations of real property interests, including remainder interests and easements that restrict the use of real property. For qualified C corporation farming and ranching operations, the maximum write-off for qualified conservation contributions is increased from the normal 10% of adjusted taxable income to 100% of adjusted taxable income.

Qualified conservation contributions in excess of what can be written off in the year of the donation can be carried forward for 15 years.

3. S corporation stock donations

A favorable tax basis rule is available to shareholders of S corporations that make charitable donations of appreciated property. For such donations, each shareholder’s basis in the S corporation stock is reduced by only the shareholder’s pro-rata percentage of the company’s tax basis in the donated asset.

Without this provision, a shareholder’s basis reduction would equal the passed-through write-off for the donation (a larger amount than the shareholder’s pro-rata percentage of the company’s basis in the donated asset). This provision is generally beneficial to shareholders, because it leaves them with higher tax basis in their S corporation shares.

If you believe you may be eligible to claim one or more of these tax breaks, contact us. We can help you determine eligibility, prepare the required documentation and plan for charitable donations in future years.

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Estate planning typically focuses on what happens to your assets when you die. But it’s equally important (some might say more important) to have a plan for making critical financial and medical decisions if you’re unable to make those decisions yourself.

That’s where the power of attorney (POA) comes in. A POA appoints a trusted representative (the “agent”) who can make medical or financial decisions on your behalf in the event an accident or illness renders you unconscious or mentally incapacitated. Typically, separate POAs are executed for health care and property. Without them, your loved ones would have to petition a court for guardianship or conservatorship, a costly process that can delay urgent decisions. (Depending on the state you live in, the health care POA document may also be known as a “medical power of attorney” or “health care proxy.”)

A question that people often struggle with is whether a POA should be springing or nonspringing.

To spring or not to spring

A springing POA is effective on the occurrence of specified conditions; a nonspringing, or “durable,” POA is effective immediately. Typically, springing powers would take effect if you were to become mentally incapacitated, comatose or otherwise unable to act for yourself.

A nonspringing POA offers two advantages:

It allows your agent to act on your behalf for your convenience, not just when you’re incapacitated. For example, if you’re traveling out of the country for an extended period of time, your POA for property agent could pay bills and handle other financial matters for you in your absence.

It avoids the need for a determination that you’ve become incapacitated, which can result in delays, disputes or even litigation. This allows your agent to act quickly in an emergency, making critical medical decisions or handling urgent financial matters without having to wait, for example, for one or more treating physicians to examine you and certify that you’re incapacitated.

A potential disadvantage to a nonspringing POA — and a common reason people opt for a springing POA — is the concern that the agent may be tempted to commit fraud or otherwise abuse his or her authority. But consider this: If you don’t trust your agent enough to give him or her a POA that takes effect immediately, how does delaying its effect until you’re incapacitated solve the problem? Arguably, the risk of fraud or abuse would be even greater at that time because you’d be unable to monitor what the agent is doing.

What to do?

Given the advantages of a nonspringing POA, and the potential delays associated with a springing POA, a nonspringing POA is generally preferable. Just make sure the person you name as agent is someone you trust unconditionally.

Contact us with any questions regarding POAs.

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A primary goal of estate planning is asset protection. After all, no matter how well your estate plan is designed, it won’t do much good if you wind up with no wealth to share with your family.
If you have significant assets in employer-sponsored retirement plans or IRAs, it’s important to understand the extent to which those assets are protected against creditors’ claims and, if possible, to take steps to strengthen that protection.

Employer plans

Most qualified plans — such as pension, profit-sharing and 401(k) plans — are protected against creditors’ claims, both in and out of bankruptcy, by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). This protection also extends to 403(b) and 457 plans.

IRA-based employer plans — such as Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plans and Savings Incentive Match Plans for Employees (SIMPLE) IRAs — are also protected in bankruptcy. But there’s some uncertainty over whether they’re protected outside of bankruptcy.

IRAs

The level of asset protection available for IRAs depends in part on whether the owner is involved in bankruptcy proceedings. In a bankruptcy context, creditor protection is governed by federal law. Under the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (BAPCPA), both traditional and Roth IRAs are exempt from creditors’ claims up to an inflation-adjusted $1 million.

The IRA limit doesn’t, however, apply to amounts rolled over from a qualified plan or a 403(b) or 457 plan — or to any earnings on those amounts. Suppose, for example, that you have $4 million invested in a 401(k) plan. If you roll it over into an IRA, the entire $4 million, plus all future earnings, will generally continue to be exempt from creditors’ claims in bankruptcy.

To ensure that rollover amounts are fully protected, keep those funds in separate IRAs rather than commingling them with any contributory IRAs you might own. Also, make sure the rollover is fully documented and the word “rollover” is part of its name. Bear in mind, too, that once a distribution is made from the IRA, it’s no longer protected.

Outside bankruptcy, the protection afforded an IRA depends on state law.

What about inherited IRAs?

In 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court held that inherited IRAs don’t qualify as retirement accounts under bankruptcy law. The Court reasoned that money in an IRA retirement account was set aside “at some prior date by an entirely different person.” But after an inheritance, it no longer bears the legal characteristics of retirement funds because the heir can withdraw funds at any time without a tax penalty and take other steps not required with noninherited IRAs. Therefore, they’re not protected in bankruptcy. (Clark v. Rameker)

Consult with your attorney about protection for retirement accounts in a nonbankruptcy context.

Protect yourself

If you’re concerned that your retirement savings are vulnerable to creditors’ claims, please contact us. The effectiveness of these strategies depends on factors such as whether future creditor claims arise in bankruptcy and what state law applies.

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Does your company have an internal audit function? If so, you may be able to use your internal audit team to streamline financial reporting by external auditors. Here’s guidance on how to facilitate this collaborative approach.

Recognize the benefits

External auditors aren’t required to use internal auditors in any capacity. But collaboration between internal and external audit teams can be a win-win.

Collaboration can help minimize disruptions to normal business operations that sometimes happen during external audit fieldwork. And internal audit personnel may have information that’s useful to the external auditor in obtaining an understanding of the entity and its environment and identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement.

Understand AICPA guidance

In 2014, the Auditing Standards Board (ASB) of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) issued Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 128, Using the Work of Internal Auditors. This standard clarifies an external auditor’s responsibilities when using internal auditors.

SAS 128 differentiates between two types of assistance provided by the internal audit function. Specifically, external auditors may consider using internal auditors to:
•Obtain audit evidence, and
•Provide direct assistance under the direction, supervision and review of the external auditor.

One of the most significant changes in SAS 128 is the requirement for the internal audit function to apply a systematic and disciplined approach to planning, performing, supervising, reviewing and documenting its activities. This includes having appropriate quality control policies and procedures.

If the external auditor determines that the internal audit function lacks a systematic and disciplined approach to its activities, the external auditor can’t use the work of the internal auditor in obtaining audit evidence.

Additionally, SAS 128 requires management (or other parties charged with governance) to provide a written acknowledgment that internal auditors providing direct assistance will be permitted to follow the instructions of the external auditor and that the entity won’t interfere in the work the internal auditor performs for the external auditor.

Challenge the status quo

SAS 128 could change the role your internal auditors play on our external audit team. So, before your next audit, let’s evaluate whether your internal audit function meets the requirements of SAS 128. If so, we can leverage our capabilities, ensuring that next year’s fieldwork will run as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

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Now that Affordable Care Act (ACA) repeal and replacement efforts appear to have collapsed, at least for the time being, it’s a good time for a refresher on the tax penalty the ACA imposes on individuals who fail to have “minimum essential” health insurance coverage for any month of the year. This requirement is commonly called the “individual mandate.”

Penalty exemptions

Before we review how the penalty is calculated, let’s take a quick look at exceptions to the penalty. Taxpayers may be exempt if they fit into one of these categories for 2017:

• Their household income is below the federal income tax return filing threshold.
• They lack access to affordable minimum essential coverage.
• They suffered a hardship in obtaining coverage.
• They have only a short-term coverage gap.
• They qualify for an exception on religious grounds or have coverage through a health care sharing ministry.
• They’re not a U.S. citizen or national.
• They’re incarcerated.
• They’re a member of a Native American tribe.

Calculating the tax

So how much can the penalty cost? That’s a tricky question. If you owe the penalty, the tentative amount equals the greater of the following two prongs:

In terms of the percentage-of-income prong of the penalty, the applicable percentage of income is 2.5% for 2017.

In terms of the dollar-amount prong of the penalty, the applicable dollar amount for each uninsured household member is $695 for 2017. For a household member who’s under age 18, the applicable dollar amounts are cut by 50%, to $347.50. The maximum penalty under this prong for 2017 is $2,085 (300% of $695).

The final penalty amount per person can’t exceed the national average cost of “bronze coverage” (the cheapest category of ACA-compliant coverage) for your household. The important thing to know is that a high-income person or household could owe more than 300% of the applicable dollar amount but not more than the cost of bronze coverage.

If you have minimum essential coverage for only part of the year, the final penalty is calculated on a monthly basis using prorated annual figures.

Also be aware that the extent to which the penalty will continue to be enforced isn’t certain. The IRS has been accepting 2016 tax returns even if a taxpayer hasn’t completed the line indicating health coverage status. That said, the ACA is still the law, so compliance is highly recommended. For more information about this and other ACA-imposed taxes, contact us.

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