Author: Leon Clinton

Tax

Beat the Unfair $10,000 SALT Cap with a C Corporation

Beat the Unfair $10,000 SALT Cap with a C Corporation

C corporations cause double taxation for business owners, so you probably think you want to avoid them at all costs.

And for many of you, this is true, as the S corporation often provides the lower overall tax outcome.

But for some of you, the C corporation could provide the best tax outcome because it bypasses the $10,000 state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, which was introduced by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

Prior to the TCJA, you could deduct as itemized deductions on your Form 1040, Schedule A—without limit—the following foreign, state, and local taxes:

  • Income taxes
  • Real property taxes
  • Personal property taxes
  • Foreign income and real property taxes

Tax reform took two direct actions against your Form 1040 itemized deductions for foreign, state, and local taxes. Beginning in tax year 2018,

  • you can’t deduct foreign real property taxes, and
  • your combined state and local income, real property, and personal property tax deductions may not exceed $10,000 ($5,000 on a married filing separate return).

If you operate your business as an S corporation, the S corporation passes its net income to your individual tax return. This causes you, the individual, to pay state income taxes on the S corporation income. Those state income taxes are subject to the $10,000 cap.

C Corporation Loophole

But there is an exception: This $10,000 limit applies only to individuals—meaning, taxes deducted on your Form 1040, Schedule A. The limit does not apply to C corporations.

If you operate your business as a C corporation, then your C corporation pays state income taxes on its net income and deducts those taxes on its corporate income tax return.

Business

COVID-19 pandemic – SBA Relief / Loans

COVID-19 pandemic – SBA Relief / Loans

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended all aspects of life around the world, including the world of business here in the U.S.

If your business is struggling, you may be able to get some help from the federal Small Business Administration (SBA), which is authorized to provide loans to small businesses on an as-needed basis.

There are two types of relief you can apply for—read on.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans

Traditionally, low-interest SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) have been available to small businesses following a disaster declaration; these are authorized by Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act.

EIDLs are commonly granted on a local level following a natural disaster (such as a hurricane or a tornado). But right now they are authorized for small businesses in all U.S. states and territories due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Currently, each disaster loan provides up to $2 million to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills. The interest rate is fixed at 3.75 percent for small businesses and 2.75 percent for non-profits. EIDLs can be repaid over a period of up to 30 years.

Additionally, due to COVID-19, the SBA is providing advances of up to $10,000 on EIDLs for businesses experiencing a temporary loss of revenue. Funds are available within three days after applying, and the loan advance does not have to be repaid.

Small business owners can apply for an EIDL and advance here: https://covid19relief.sba.gov/#/

New Paycheck Protection Program

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) is an expansion of the existing 7(a) loan program, authorized by the recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

Who’s Eligible?

You are covered if your business was in operation as of February 15, 2020, and you had either (a) employees for whom you paid salaries and payroll taxes or (b) 1099-MISC independent contractors.

Small businesses that employ 500 or fewer employees, including sole proprietors, independent contractors, certain non-profits, veterans’ organizations, tribal businesses, and self-employed workers, are all eligible for PPP relief.

“Self-employed” workers are who you would think they are, the sole proprietors who file Schedule C with their Form 1040. IRC Section 1402 identifies them as those who regularly carry on a trade or business within the meaning of tax code Section 1402.

How Much Aid Is Available?

Small businesses can borrow 250 percent of their average monthly payroll expenses during the one-year period before the loan is taken, up to $10 million.

For example, if your monthly payroll average is $10,000, you can borrow $25,000 ($10,000 x 250 percent). At $1 million, you can borrow $2.5 million.

The law defines “payroll costs” very broadly as

  • employee salaries, wages, commissions, or “similar compensation,” up to a per-worker ceiling of $100,000 per year;
  • cash tips or the equivalent;
  • payment for vacations and parental, family, medical, or sick leave;
  • allowance for dismissal or separation;
  • payment for group health benefits, including insurance premiums;
  • payment of any retirement benefit; or
    state or local tax assessed on employee compensation.

What’s specifically not included in payroll costs:

  • Annual compensation over $100,000 to any individual employee
  • Compensation for employees who live outside the U.S.
  • Sick leave or family leave wages for which a credit is already provided by the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (P.L. 116-127)

How Much of the Loan Is Forgiven?

Principal amounts used for payroll, mortgage interest, rent, and utility payments during an eight-week period (starting with the loan origination date) between February 15, 2020, and June 30, 2020, will be forgiven.

If the full principal is forgiven, you are not liable for the interest accrued over that eight-week period—and, as an added bonus, the canceled amounts are not considered taxable income.

Warning: Payroll Cuts Affect Loan Forgiveness

Because the whole point of the PPP is to help keep workers employed at their current level of pay, the loan forgiveness amount decreases if you lay folks off or reduce their wages.

  • If you keep all your workers at their current rates of pay, you are eligible for 100 percent loan forgiveness.
  • If you reduce your workforce, your loan forgiveness will be reduced by the percentage decrease in employees.

Example: Last year, you had 10 workers. This year, you have eight. Your loan forgiveness will be reduced by 20 percent.

You are allowed to compare your average number of full-time equivalent employees employed during the covered period (February 15, 2020, to June 30, 2020) to the number employed during your choice of

    • February 15, 2019, to June 30, 2019, or
    • January 1, 2020, to February 29, 2020.
  • If you reduce by more than 25 percent (as compared to the most recent full quarter before the covered period) the pay of a worker making less than $100,000 annually, your loan forgiveness decreases by the amount in excess of 25 percent.

Example: Last quarter, Jim was earning $75,000 on an annual basis. You still have Jim on the payroll but have reduced his salary to $54,750 annually. Jim’s pay has decreased by 27 percent, so the amount of your PPP loan forgiven is reduced by the excess 2 percent.

The good news: If you have already laid workers off or made pay cuts, it’s not too late to set things right. If you hire back laid-off workers by June 30, 2020, or rescind pay cuts by that date, you remain eligible for full loan forgiveness.

When Are Payments Due?

Any non-forgiven amounts are subject to the terms negotiated by you and the lender, but the maximum terms of the loan are capped at 10 years and 4 percent interest.

Also, payments are deferred for at least six months and up to one year from the loan origination date.

What If You Already Applied for an EIDL for Coronavirus-Related Reasons?

No problem—if you took out an EIDL on or after January 30, 2020, you can refinance the EIDL into the PPP for loan forgiveness purposes, but you can’t double-dip and use the loans for the same purposes.

Any remaining EIDL funds used for reasons other than the stated reasons above are a regular (albeit low-interest) loan that needs to be repaid.

How to Apply for a PPP

Unlike EIDLs, which run directly through the SBA, PPP loans go through approved third-party lenders. Talk to your bank or your local SBA office (given the current demands on the SBA, your bank may be a better place to start).

There’s no fee to apply, and your burden for demonstrating need is low. In addition to the appropriate documentation regarding your finances, you need only make a good-faith showing that

  • the loan is necessary to support your ongoing business operations in the current economic climate;
  • the funds will be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage payments, lease payments, and utility payments; and
  • you do not have a duplicate loan already pending or completed.

If You’re Going to Apply, Do It Now

The law allocates $349 billion for PPP relief—a huge amount, but one that will presumably be in very high demand given the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There’s no guarantee that more funding will be forthcoming, so act now to claim your share if you are eligible. It may be a while before the processes to grant these loans are actually up and running, but get things rolling at your end ASAP.

If you are in dire straits right now, you may additionally want to go ahead and apply for an EIDL loan and advance, as the machinery is already set up for those.

Should you have any questions regarding the article above, or would like to schedule an appointment, please do not hesitate to give our office a call: (408) 778-9651, or email.

Tax

Dealing With Deposits in Quickbooks

Dealing With Deposits in Quickbooks

Recording payments, whether they come in to comply with an invoice you sent or are issued as sales receipts, is one of the more satisfying tasks you do in QuickBooks. The sales cycle is almost complete, and you’re about to have more money in the bank – once you document the payments as bank deposits.

Unless you use QuickBooks Payments, which moves your company’s remittances into an account automatically, you’ll have to deal with your deposits twice. First, you’ll have to make out a deposit slip for the bank. You’ll also need to record the deposit in QuickBooks itself.

Fortunately, the software makes this easy for you. Here’s how it works.

A Special Account

By default, QuickBooks transfers payments received into an account called Undeposited Funds. You can see it in your Chart of Accounts by clicking the Chart of Accounts icon on QuickBooks’ home page and scrolling down a bit. Look over to the end of the line and you’ll see its current balance. This account is an Other current asset. It holds your payments until you record them as deposits and take your money to the bank.

When you’re getting ready to take cash and checks to the bank, click the Record Deposits icon on the home page. The Payments to Deposit window will open.


Figure 1: When money moves into Undeposited Funds from invoice payments or sales receipts, it’s displayed in the Payments to Deposit window.

We recommend completing your physical deposit slip first, based on the checks and cash you have in hand. Then, match them to payments in the window pictured above. You can click in front of each one you’ve matched to create a checkmark. When you’ve finished, click OK. The Make Deposits window will open. Make sure that the account you want to Deposit to is showing in the upper left corner. You can add a Memo and change the Date if needed.

Do you want cash back from your deposit? You may want to move this to Petty Cash, for example. Click the down arrow in the Cash goes back to field and select the correct account. Add a memo if necessary and enter the Cash back amount. When you’re done, save the transaction. QuickBooks now knows that you’re taking a deposit slip to the bank.

The total for your handwritten deposit slip and the final tally in the Make Deposits window should be the same. This will ensure that the amount deposited in your bank account will match the bank deposit amount in QuickBooks when reconciling. If you have leftover cash or checks, you’ll need to track down their origins and create new transactions.

Checking Your Work

It’s a good idea to check your Undeposited Funds account occasionally to make sure that you haven’t left money undeposited. To do this, open your Chart of Accounts again. Right-click Undeposited Funds and click on QuickReport: [number] Undeposited Funds. All should be selected in the Date field in the upper left. Click on Customize Report and select the Filters tab. Scroll down in the Filters list and click on Cleared. Select No and click OK to display your report.


Figure 2: You can customize your QuickReport to see if you’ve neglected to deposit any payments. If this list contains any, open the Banking menu and select Make Deposits to follow the steps above again.

Changing Your Destination Account

As we’ve already mentioned, QuickBooks is set up to automatically move payments into Undeposited Funds. We recommend leaving it this way so you can easily check for money that hasn’t been deposited. You can change this, though. If you feel it’s necessary, please call the office and speak to a QuickBooks professional who will help you modify your destination account.

Working with Payment Methods

QuickBooks comes with a default set of payment methods. You can add to these and/or make existing ones inactive, so they don’t clutter up the drop-down list. Open the Lists menu and select Customer & Vendor Profile Lists | Payment Method List. If you don’t accept Discover cards, for example, right-click on that entry and select Make Payment Method Inactive. To add one, click the down arrow next to Payment Method and then New. The Payment Method should always match the Payment Type.

Precision Critical

Account reconciliation is difficult enough without having to deal with deposit discrepancies. Treat this element of your accounting with great care. If you need help with account management, financial reporting or any other QuickBooks-related issues don’t hesitate to call.

Scroll to top