Axley & Rode, LLP

With the increasing cost of employee health care benefits, your business may be interested in providing some of these benefits through an employer-sponsored Health Savings Account (HSA). For eligible individuals, an HSA offers a tax-advantaged way to set aside funds (or have their employers do so) to meet future medical needs. Here are the important tax benefits: Contributions that participants make to an HSA are deductible, within limits. Contributions that employers make aren’t taxed to participants. Earnings on the funds in an HSA aren’t taxed, so the money can accumulate tax free year after year. Distributions from HSAs to cover qualified medical expenses aren’t taxed. Employers don’t have to pay payroll taxes on HSA contributions made by employees through payroll deductions. Eligibility rules

The IRS occasionally publishes “Issue Snapshots” to provide an overview of a tax topic for its employees. Recently, the tax agency released “Issue Snapshot: Combined Limits under IRC Section 404(a)(7).” The publication discusses the limits on contribution deductions when an employer provides both a defined contribution (DC) and defined benefit (DB) retirement plan — commonly referred to as a “combination” plan. Qualified plan rules Generally, an employer’s contributions to a qualified retirement plan are deductible if they’re ordinary and necessary expenses of carrying on a trade or business and are compensation for services rendered. However, an employer’s qualified plan contributions are limited. For example, an employer sponsoring a DC plan, such as a 401(k), is allowed a deduction for contributions of up to 25% of the compensation paid or accrued to plan beneficiaries during the employer’s tax year. If the employer contributes to two or more DC plans, those plan

Are you planning to launch a business or thinking about changing your business entity? If so, you need to determine which entity will work best for you — a C corporation or a pass-through entity such as a sole-proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC) or S corporation. There are many factors to consider and proposed federal tax law changes being considered by Congress may affect your decision. The corporate federal income tax is currently imposed at a flat 21% rate, while the current individual federal income tax rates begin at 10% and go up to 37%. The difference in rates can be mitigated by the qualified business income (QBI) deduction that’s available to eligible pass-through entity owners that are individuals, estates and trusts. Note that noncorporate taxpayers with modified adjusted gross income above certain levels are subject to an additional 3.8% tax on net investment income. Or

Are you considering a move to another state when you retire? Perhaps you want to relocate to an area where your loved ones live or where the weather is more pleasant. But while you’re thinking about how many square feet you’ll need in a retirement home, don’t forget to factor in state and local taxes. Establishing residency for state tax purposes may be more complicated than it initially appears to be. What are all applicable taxes? It may seem like a good option to simply move to a state with no personal income tax. But, to make a good decision, you must consider all taxes that can potentially apply to a state resident. In addition to income taxes, these may include property taxes, sales taxes and estate taxes. If the state you’re considering has an income tax, look at what types of income it taxes. Some states, for example, don’t tax wages but do tax interest and dividends. And

Do you have a tax-saving flexible spending account (FSA) with your employer to help pay for health or dependent care expenses? As the end of 2021 nears, there are some rules and reminders to keep in mind. An account for health expenses A pre-tax contribution of $2,750 to a health FSA is permitted in 2021. This amount is increasing to $2,850 for 2022. You save taxes in these accounts because you use pre-tax dollars to pay for medical expenses that might not be deductible. For example, they wouldn’t be deductible if you don’t itemize deductions on your tax return. Even if you do itemize, medical expenses must exceed a certain percentage of your adjusted gross income in order to be deductible. Additionally, the amounts that you contribute to a health FSA aren’t subject to FICA taxes. Your employer’s plan should have a listing of qualifying items and any documentation from a medical provider that may be nee

Are employees at your business traveling again after months of virtual meetings? In Notice 2021-52, the IRS announced the fiscal 2022 “per diem” rates that became effective October 1, 2021. Taxpayers can use these rates to substantiate the amount of expenses for lodging, meals and incidental expenses when traveling away from home. (Taxpayers in the transportation industry can use a special transportation industry rate.) Background information A simplified alternative to tracking actual business travel expenses is to use the high-low per diem method. This method provides fixed travel per diems. The amounts are based on rates set by the IRS that vary from locality to locality. Under the high-low method, the IRS establishes an annual flat rate for certain areas with higher costs of living. All locations within the continental United States that aren’t listed as “high-cost” are automatically conside

If you’re starting to worry about your 2021 tax bill, there’s good news — you may still have time to reduce your liability. Here are three quick strategies that may help you trim your taxes before year-end. 1. Accelerate deductions/defer income. Certain tax deductions are claimed for the year of payment, such as the mortgage interest deduction. So, if you make your January 2022 payment in December, you can deduct the interest portion on your 2021 tax return (assuming you itemize). Pushing income into the new year also will reduce your taxable income. If you’re expecting a bonus at work, for example, and you don’t want the income this year, ask if your employer can hold off on paying it until January. If you’re self-employed, you can delay your invoices until late in December to divert the revenue to 2022. You shouldn’t pursue this approach if you expect to be in a higher tax bracket

Employers offer 401(k) plans for many reasons, including to attract and retain talent. These plans help an employee accumulate a retirement nest egg on a tax-advantaged basis. If you’re thinking about participating in a plan at work, here are some of the features. Under a 401(k) plan, you have the option of setting aside a certain amount of your wages in a qualified retirement plan. By electing to set cash aside in a 401(k) plan, you’ll reduce your gross income, and defer tax on the amount until the cash (adjusted by earnings) is distributed to you. It will either be distributed from the plan or from an IRA or other plan that you roll your proceeds into after leaving your job. Tax advantages Your wages or other compensation will be reduced by the amount of pre-tax contributions that you make — saving you current income taxes. But the amounts will still be subject to Social Security and Medicare

Don’t let the holiday rush keep you from considering some important steps to reduce your 2021 tax liability. You still have time to execute a few strategies. Purchase assets Thinking about buying new or used equipment, machinery or office equipment in the new year? Buy them and place them in service by December 31, and you can deduct 100% of the cost as bonus depreciation. Contact us for details on the 100% bonus depreciation break and exactly what types of assets qualify. Bonus depreciation is also available for certain building improvements. Before the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), bonus depreciation was available for two types of real property: land improvements other than buildings (for example fencing and parking lots), and “qualified improvement property,” a broad category of internal improvements made to nonresidential buildings after the buildings are placed in service. The TCJ

Have you heard of the “nanny tax?” Even if you don’t employ a nanny, it may apply to you. Hiring a house cleaner, gardener or other household employee (who isn’t an independent contractor) may make you liable for federal income and other taxes. You may also have state tax obligations. If you employ a household worker, you aren’t required to withhold federal income taxes from pay. But you can choose to withhold if the worker requests it. In that case, ask the worker to fill out a Form W-4. However, you may be required to withhold Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes and to pay federal unemployment (FUTA) tax. 2021 and 2022 thresholds In 2021, you must withhold and pay FICA taxes if your household worker earns cash wages of $2,300 or more (excluding the value of food and lodging). The Social Security Administration recently announced that this amount would increase to $2,400

If you’re fortunate enough to own a vacation home, you may want to rent it out for part of the year. What are the tax consequences? The tax treatment can be complex. It depends on how many days it’s rented and your level of personal use. Personal use includes vacation use by you, your relatives (even if you charge them market rent) and use by nonrelatives if a market rent isn’t charged. Less than 15 days If you rent the property out for less than 15 days during the year, it’s not treated as “rental property” at all. In the right circumstances, this can produce revenue and significant tax benefits. Any rent you receive isn’t included in your income for tax purposes. On the other hand, you can only deduct property taxes and mortgage interest — no other operating costs or depreciation. (Mortgage interest is deductible on your principal residence and one other home, subject to certain limits.)

If you’ve been to a restaurant lately, you might have noticed that the establishment was short-staffed. The current labor shortage is most visible in the food and beverage industry but, as you may be keenly aware, it’s affecting employers of all kinds. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in early September that the number of job openings had increased to a “series high” of 10.9 million on the last business day of July 2021. One potential solution to easing the pressure of such a tight labor market is outsourcing. By eliminating the need to hire for certain support positions, you can focus your hiring efforts on employees who are essential to fulfilling your organization’s mission. Let’s review some of the most outsourced functions. Accounting and financial reporting Finding a trustworthy, competent bookkeeper isn’t always easy. You could engage an external expert to handle accounting and financ

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently updated its guidance on employer incentives related to encouraging employees (and their family members) to get vaccinated against COVID-19. In a Q&A format, the guidance addresses compliance issues under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and other federal employment nondiscrimination laws. Unlimited unless … The revised language of the Q&As indicates that the ADA doesn’t limit the incentives an employer may offer to encourage employees to voluntarily receive a COVID-19 vaccination or provide proof of vaccination. However, this holds true only if the health care provider administering the COVID-19 vaccine isn’t the employer or its agent. If the vaccination is administered by the employer or its agent, the ADA’s rules on disability-related inquiries apply. Thu

Many employers have found value in combining a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) with a Health Savings Account (HSA). The IRS recently published two information letters — Letter 2021-0008 and Letter 2021-0014 — that provide some helpful details on the applicable rules. Claim of mismanagement The first letter responds to an inquiry by an HSA account holder who claimed that his employer overcontributed to his HSA. He further claimed that his account custodian mismanaged the HSA and failed to provide a corrected Form 5948-SA (“HSA, Archer MSA, or Medicare Advantage MSA Information”). The account holder: Wanted his employer to refund the excess contributions, Requested assistance in obtaining a corrected Form 5948-SA, and Asked whether he had rights that might protect him from HSA mismanagement. As the IRS letter expla