Taxpayers are beginning to work on their 2018 business entity income tax returns and are discovering the impacts and opportunities created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), as most of the Act’s provisions are first effective in 2018 (here’s a summary: Tax Reform Has Wide Ranging Impact). Since California is a rather independent state it should not be surprising to know that California has conformed to essentially none of the federal tax law changes created by TCJA. This will create many tax preparation and planning challenges. Currently, conformity is not a major issue to our governor or state legislature so nonconformity will likely be with us for a while. (more…)
CPAs Talk Tech Biz
A blog for the owners, founders, and executives of privately held technology companies.
NextYear-End Tax Planning Ideas
Now is the time to think about tax saving strategies that can be implemented before the end of the year. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed by Congress in December 2017 will significantly impact year-end tax planning for 2018. Several traditional tax saving ideas are no longer effective and many new opportunities are available. Some our favorite ideas are discussed below. (more…)
Cryptocurrency Tax Update - Still More Questions Than Answers
There have been a few developments since we last looked at cryptocurrency in April, 2017 (Are Bitcoin Users Cheating on Taxes? (Or Are They Just Confounded by the Rules?)). The IRS has increased tax compliance enforcement but unfortunately, guidance from the Internal Revenue Service has not kept up with the advances in the cryptocurrency world continuing tax reporting challenges.
In 2014 the IRS released their position regarding the taxation of cryptocurrency transactions in Notice 2014-21 (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-14-21.pdf). The IRS notified taxpayers that: (more…)
States Expand Sales Tax Collection Requirements
Historically a taxpayer selling tangible property was not required to collect a state’s sales tax unless the taxpayer had “nexus” within the state. Nexus is generally defined as a “connection to the state”. My prior blog discussed the changing concept of nexus: Do You Meet the Newest Invisible Tax Filing Requirement?. The landmark 1992 Supreme Court case of Quill v. North Dakota established a physical presence standard. For a state to impose an obligation for a taxpayer to collect sales tax, the taxpayer must have a physical presence within the state. In recent years to generate new sources of tax revenue states have sought to expand the concept of nexus far beyond the physical presence test. These new standards look at economic nexus. (more…)
Do You Meet the Newest Invisible Tax Filing Requirement?
The growth of internet based e-commerce sales and companies offering software as a service has been phenomenal in recent years. The U.S. Commerce Department estimates that e-commerce sales increased from $229 billion in 2012 to $390 billion in 2016. This has impacted traditional retail sales which serves as the base for sales tax revenue and is an important factor in apportioning income of multi-state businesses. Unfortunately, tax rules have not kept up with this changing trend. Federal legislation has not addressed many of the issues created by the digital economy so states have been free to adopt their own rules. As states are anxious to find new revenue sources they have adopted some aggressive tax generating rules. (more…)
California Competes Tax Credit - Update
In November 2016 the Governor’s Office of Economic Development announced that it had awarded $61 million of California Competes tax credits to 74 taxpayers.
These business entities promised to add over 6,500 jobs and invest $670 million in the California economy.
http://www.business.ca.gov/Portals/0/Files/CCTC%20Meeting%20Agenda%2011-17-16.pdf
The credits granted ranged from $8 million to businesses receiving the minimum credit of $20,000. The program is required to grant 25% of the credits to small businesses. It is interesting to note that credits were granted to many taxpayers not operating in manufacturing. Taxpayers receiving credits included entities performing: engineering consulting (Roseville), software development (Folsom); dentist (Fresno), day care services (Oakland); financial planning (Irvine), data analysis (Los Angeles) and architecture (Anaheim). (more…)
Don’t Be Surprised By New Tax Filing Due Dates
Beginning next year several tax filing due dates will be changing. The existing filing schedule has been in place since I manually prepared tax returns with pencil and paper before the computer age began so these changes are significant. The new filing dates were established under the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act of 2015 without much publicity outside of the tax practitioner community. The new filing dates are effective for tax years beginning January 1, 2016, so taxpayers unaware of the new dates may have an unexpected surprise next year.
Fortunately, the traditional April 15th due date for individual tax returns has not changed but the due dates of business returns have been modified. The changes were implemented to help smooth the tax filing process for taxpayers owning interests in pass-through entities such as partnerships and S-Corporations. (more…)
Employer Owned Life Insurance: File a tax form and save $400,000
Business entities use insurance to provide protection against various risks ranging from natural disasters to cyber threats. As our economy has evolved the risks that can be insured against have grown more complex. An introduction to business insurance was the topic of our August, 2015 Emerging Business Group seminar. One traditional use of insurance is to provide funds to compensate a business in the event of the death of a founder or other key employee. For founders and other stockholders, the life insurance proceeds received by the entity can be used to fund the purchase of the founder’s ownership interest in that entity. In the case of key employees, life insurance proceeds can help to offset potential revenue losses or increased costs incurred while the entity determines how to deal with the knowledge and resources lost due to their employee’s death. (more…)
December Tax Act Will Impact 2015 Tax Returns
In a move that surprised many taxpayers Congress enacted legislation in mid-December, 2015 that extended many tax provisions that had lapsed as of January 1, 2015. The President signed the “Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes” (PATH) Act on December 18th. Even more surprising than Congress acting before the end of the year was the fact that many provisions were actually enhanced and made permanent. This action alone will help taxpayers better plan for the future knowing which deductions and credits are available when making business decisions. (more…)