Author: KraftCPAs

Employers have a new option to help employees who face sudden emergencies and financial shortfalls.

Included as part of the SECURE 2.0 legislation passed in 2022, the pension-linked emergency savings account (PLESA) provision is available for plan years beginning January 1, 2024.

The DOL defines PLESAs as “short-term savings accounts established and maintained within a defined contribution plan.” Employers with 401(k), 403(b), and 457(b) plans can opt to offer PLESAs, but only to non-highly compensated employees. For 2024, a participant who earned $150,000 or more in 2023 is classified as a highly compensated employee.

More details about PLESA accounts:

• The portion of the account balance attributable to participant contributions can’t exceed $2,500 (or a lower amount determined by the plan sponsor) in 2024. The $2,500 amount will be adjusted for inflation in future years.
• Employers can offer to enroll eligible participants in these accounts beginning in 2024 or can automatically enroll participants in them.
• The account can’t have a minimum contribution to open or a minimum account balance.
• Participants can make a withdrawal at least once per calendar month, and such withdrawals must be distributed “as soon as practicable.”
• For the first four withdrawals from an account in a plan year, participants can’t be subject to any fees or charges. Subsequent withdrawals may be subject to reasonable fees or charges.
• Contributions must be held as cash, in an interest-bearing deposit account or in an investment product.
• If an employee has a PLESA and isn’t highly compensated, but becomes highly compensated as defined under tax law, he or she can’t make further contributions but retains the right to withdraw the balance.
• Contributions will be made on a Roth basis, meaning they are included in an employee’s taxable income, but participants won’t have to pay tax when they make withdrawals.

Proof of an event not necessary

A participant in a PLESA doesn’t need to prove that he or she is experiencing an emergency before making a withdrawal from an account. The DOL states that “withdrawals are made at the discretion of the participant.”

These are just the basic details of PLESAs, but there are additional PLESA pros and cons to consider. The IRS recently released guidance about the accounts (in Notice 2024-22), and the U.S. Department of Labor published frequently asked questions for additional clarification.

© 2024 KraftCPAs PLLC

A tax provision commonly called the “kiddie tax” can cause a child’s unearned income to be taxed at the parent’s tax rates – often considerably higher than the much lower rates a child would otherwise pay.

The rules are complicated and can impact individuals up to age 23, often catching families by surprise.

Kiddie tax basics

Perhaps the most important thing to know about this poorly understood provision is that, for a student, the kiddie tax can be an issue until the year that he or she turns age 24. For that year and future years, your child is finally kiddie-tax-exempt.

The kiddie tax is only assessed on a child’s (or young adult’s) unearned income. That usually means interest, dividends, and capital gains. These types of income often come from custodial accounts that parents and grandparents set up and fund for younger children.

Earned income from a job or self-employment is never subject to the kiddie tax.

Calculating the tax

To determine the kiddie tax, first add up the child’s (or young adult’s) net earned income and net unearned income. Then subtract the allowable standard deduction to arrive at the child’s taxable income.

The portion of taxable income that consists of net earned income is taxed at the regular federal income tax rates for single taxpayers.

The portion of taxable income that consists of net unearned income that exceeds the standard deduction ($2,600 for 2024 or $2,500 for 2023) is subject to the kiddie tax and is taxed at the parent’s higher marginal federal income tax rates.

The tax is calculated by completing an IRS form, which is then filed with the child’s Form 1040.

Calculating and reporting the kiddie tax can be cumbersome and complicated, often requiring help from an accounting professional.

Is your child exposed?

For 2023, the relevant IRS form must be filed for any child or young adult who meets each of these criteria:

• Has more than $2,500 of unearned income
• Is required to file a Form 1040
• Is under age 18 as of December 31, 2023; or is age 18 and didn’t have earned income more than half of his or her support; or is between ages 19 and 23 and a full-time student and didn’t have earned income more than half of his or her support
• Has at least one living parent
• Didn’t file a joint return for the year

For 2024, the same rules apply, except the unearned income threshold is raised to $2,600.

Don’t let the tax sneak up on you

There are strategies to minimize or avoid the tax. For example, your child could invest in growth stocks that pay no or minimal dividends and hold on to them until a year when the kiddie tax no longer applies.

© 2024 KraftCPAs PLLC

The IRS will open the 2024 income tax return filing season on January 29 – that’s the day the agency will begin accepting and processing 2023 tax year returns.

Here are answers to seven tax season questions often asked this time of year.

1. What are this year’s deadlines?

The filing deadline to submit 2023 returns or file an extension is Monday, April 15, 2024, for most taxpayers. Taxpayers living in Maine or Massachusetts have until April 17, due to state holidays.

Because of the severe storms that swept through Middle Tennessee in early December, taxpayers in Davidson, Dickson, Montgomery, and Sumner counties have a later filing deadline of June 17, 2024. Read more about that deadline change here.

2. When is my return due if I request an extension?

If you’re requesting an extension, you’ll have until October 15, 2024, to file. Keep in mind that an extension of time to file your return doesn’t grant you any extension of time to pay your taxes. You should estimate and pay any taxes owed by the April 15 deadline to avoid penalties.

3. When should I file?

Many filers wait until close to the deadline (or file for an extension), but there are advantages to filing earlier, such as the additional protection from tax identity theft.

4. What’s tax identity theft, and how does early filing help protect me?

Typically, in a tax identity theft scam, a thief uses another person’s information to file a fake tax return and claim a fraudulent refund early in the filing season.

The legitimate taxpayer discovers the fraud when filing a return. He or she is then told by the IRS that the return is being rejected because one with the same Social Security number has already been filed for the tax year. The victim should be able to eventually prove that his or her return is the valid one, but it can be time consuming and frustrating to straighten out. It can also delay a refund.

Filing early provides some proactive defense. The reason: If you file first, the tax return filed by a potential thief will be rejected.

5. Are there other benefits to filing early?

Besides providing protection against tax identity theft, another benefit of early filing is you’ll get any refund sooner. According to the IRS, most refunds will be issued less than 21 days after you file. The time may be shorter if you file electronically and receive a refund by direct deposit into a bank account. Direct deposit also avoids the possibility that a refund check could be lost, stolen, returned to the IRS as undeliverable, or caught in mail delays.

6. When will my W-2s and 1099s arrive?

To file your tax return, you’ll need all your Forms W-2 and 1099. The deadline is January 31, 2024, for employers to file 2023 W-2s and, generally, for businesses to file Form 1099s for recipients of any 2023 interest, dividends, or reportable miscellaneous income payments (including those made to independent contractors).

If you haven’t received a W-2 or 1099 by early February, reach out to the entity that should have issued it.

7. When can I prepare my return?

You can file your return now, even though it won’t be formally accepted by the IRS until later this month. Separate penalties apply for failing to file and pay on time — and they can be quite severe.

Still have questions? Find even more answers in our 2023-’24 Tax Planning Guide.

© 2024 KraftCPAs PLLC

Good communication between a business and its customers is just good practice. But to make that communication most effective, it’s important to know as much about your customers as you can.

You’ve undoubtedly created records for customers that at least contain their company name, contact name, and address, so this information can be included on sales forms like invoices. But there’s much more, some of which QuickBooks automatically contributes and some of which you can add. If you keep these records updated, you’ll be able to quickly call up details when someone calls or emails you. Good customer profiles can also present sales opportunities for you.

Here’s a look at how they work and why we think it’s worth taking some extra time to maintain them and browse through them regularly.

Hidden data

QuickBooks’ customer records are divided into two horizontal sections stacked on top of each other on the Customer Information page (Customers | Customer Center). To the left is a vertical pane where you’ll choose the Customer or Job you want to view. Select one, and the panes to the right change to reflect relevant data.

Contact information and links to related reports appear in the top pane. You’ve probably already completed these fields. Click on the pencil icon in the upper right corner, and a new window opens, containing settings and customization options you may not have seen.

They are:

Address info. This duplicates the contact data that appears on the main customer record page.

Payment settings. These fields are optional, but completing them will save time and reduce errors when you create transactions. Don’t worry about the Price Level field if it appears. This is an advanced feature that may not even be present in your copy of QuickBooks.

Sales tax settings. This window won’t mean anything to you unless you’ve set up sales tax in QuickBooks. We can help you do so if you’d like.

Additional info. QuickBooks allows you to create up to a total of 15 custom fields for your customer, vendor, and employee records. That’s not 15 for each, but rather, for example, five of each. You can define them in this window.

When you’ve finished adding all the information you want in these windows, click OK.

A mini-contact manager

Now that you’re back at the main Customer Information window, look at the bottom half of the page. Five tabs divide the data stored here, making your customer record something of a contact manager. Some of the information that appears here is automatically entered by QuickBooks, and some can be added by you.

The table that opens when you click the Transactions tab is automatically populated by QuickBooks. It displays that customer’s sales transactions, including payments you’ve received from them. Click Manage Transactions, and you can create new transactions like invoices and sales receipts directly from entries in the drop-down menu. You can also view the transactions as a report.

If you sell to a company that has multiple Contacts that you want to track, you can add them by clicking the next tab. Open the drop-down menu under Manage Contacts, and you’ll be able to add new ones and edit or delete existing ones. We recommend being very conscientious about keeping track of your contacts. It doesn’t make for good customer relations if you must call the company and you don’t know who you’ve been dealing with.

You probably have a separate list for all the tasks you need to accomplish each day. We suggest you keep your accounting tasks stored in QuickBooks, right on each customer’s page. With the To Do’s window open, either right-click anywhere in the table or open the Manage To Do’s menu and select Create New to open the Add To Do window. Complete the fields there and click OK.

You can add related Notes by clicking that tab. And when you click Sent Emails, you’ll see a list of emails you’ve sent that customer.

A good practice

You can see how helpful your QuickBooks Customer Information records would be if you updated them regularly. Even if your customer base is small, don’t rely on your memory. Document your history with them. You’ll be better able to respond in an informed way when they contact you. Over time, good customer relationships can lead to more sales and a better understanding of your audience.

© 2024 KraftCPAs PLLC

If you’re an employer with a business where tipping is routine when providing food and beverages, you could qualify for a federal tax credit involving the Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes that you pay on your employees’ tip income.

Credit fundamentals

The FICA credit applies to tips that your staff members receive from customers when they buy food and beverages. It doesn’t matter if the food and beverages are consumed on or off the premises. Although tips are paid by customers, for FICA purposes, they’re treated as if you paid them to your employees.

As you know, your employees are required to report their tips to you. You must then withhold and remit the employee’s share of FICA taxes and pay the employer’s share of those taxes.

How the credit works

As a business owner, you can claim the credit as part of the general business credit. It’s equal to the employer’s share of FICA taxes paid on tip income more than what’s needed to bring your employee’s wages up to $5.15 per hour. In other words, no credit is available to the extent the tip income just brings the employee up to the $5.15-per-hour level, calculated monthly. If you pay each employee at least $5.15 an hour (excluding tips), you don’t have to be concerned with this calculation.

A 2007 tax law froze the per-hour amount at $5.15, which was the amount of the federal minimum wage at that time. The minimum wage is now $7.25 per hour but the amount for credit computation purposes remains $5.15.

One example

Let’s say a server works at your restaurant. She is paid $2.13 an hour plus tips. During the month, she works 160 hours for $340.80 and receives $2,000 in cash tips, which she reports to you.

The server’s $2.13-an-hour rate is below the $5.15 rate by $3.02 an hour. Thus, for the 160 hours worked, she is below the $5.15 rate by $483.20 (160 times $3.02). For the server, therefore, the first $483.20 of tip income just brings her up to the minimum rate. The rest of the tip income is $1,516.80 ($2,000 minus $483.20). As the server’s employer, you pay FICA taxes at the rate of 7.65% for her. Therefore, your employer credit is $116.03 for the month: $1,516.80 times 7.65%.

While the employer’s share of FICA taxes is generally deductible, the FICA taxes paid with respect to tip income used to determine the credit can’t be deducted, because that would amount to a double benefit. However, you can elect not to take the credit, in which case you can claim the deduction.

© 2024 KraftCPAs PLLC

Change orders are an unavoidable part of many industries, particularly construction. Alterations to the original design, specifications, execution methods or scope of a job can impact the budget and timeline. And when not discussed and documented properly, they can lead to nonpayment and legal disputes.

That’s why establishing a standard, comprehensive change order management process is critical to the financial well-being and operational stability of every construction business.

Approved vs. unapproved

Approved change orders, whereby the contractor and project owner formally agree on the additional work and price — and put that agreement in writing — are relatively straightforward to account for in billing and financial reporting.

On the other hand, unapproved change orders call for careful evaluation and documentation until formal approval is obtained. As you may have learned the hard way, a verbal agreement and handshake don’t always guarantee payment.

What’s more, waiting for approval documents before entering change orders into your accounting system could prevent your company from accurately tracking project costs. This may compromise financial reporting, which can in turn negatively impact creditworthiness and internal financial management.

Effective measures

There are a variety of measures that can help you more effectively manage and account for change orders — both approved and unapproved. Here are some to consider:

Review contracts and plans to clarify scope. For every project, or perhaps those of high value or complexity, ask your attorney to review the contract and revise or eliminate clauses that may lead to additional work. During preconstruction, you and your project manager should also review the building plans and clear up any vague or dubious specs or job scope. Both measures will help resolve ambiguities and catch errors or omissions that could lead to contentious change orders later in the job.

Establish formal submittal and approval procedures. Ensure the language of each contract specifies change order procedures, including how costs will be calculated and how the project schedule will be adjusted. Emphasize the need for written documentation and approval. Many construction businesses attach a change order form template and a payment schedule to contracts or project documents.

Keep organized project records. Maintaining thorough documentation empowers your team to evaluate change orders promptly, accurately reflect them in financial statements and take corrective actions when needed. Make sure the documents objectively support why additional work is needed. Any facts or specs mentioned should be verifiable and consistent with the work already performed.

Communicate effectively with all stakeholders. It’s obviously important to maintain an open dialogue with project owners, designers, subcontractors and other partners throughout a job. But this is especially true when a change order arises. After all, no one wants to be the last to know. Raise the issue as soon as possible, discussing the likely impact on costs, productivity, scheduling, and resources such as labor, materials and equipment.

Adjust accounting based on likeliness of approval. Generally, you don’t want to start work on a change order until you have a signed approval in hand. In such cases, the accounting approach usually involves adding costs associated with the change order to the total project costs and increasing the total contract value by the additional amount charged.

However, as you may have experienced, real-world circumstances sometimes force you to move forward on an unapproved change order. If such a change order will likely be approved, you could add the costs to a special asset account until approval is obtained. Another option is to conditionally add the cost to the total project costs and increase the anticipated job revenue by the same amount.

If you believe a change order is unlikely to be approved, you may choose to add the associated costs to the job’s direct costs. Again, careful documentation of the work performed and costs incurred will be imperative, as you may need to undertake legal action down the line.

© 2024 KraftCPAs PLLC

Confusion over employee retention credit rules resulted in a wave of claims filed by ineligible businesses, and now the IRS has launched a program to help those businesses pay back ERC money without harsh penalties and fines.

The IRS said that the new program is open to employers who meet multiple requirements:

• The business received the ERC for a tax period in which it was not actually qualified
• The employer is not under criminal investigation, either current or pending
• The employer is not under an IRS employment tax examination for the same tax period involving the mistaken ERC claim
• The employer did not receive an ERC disallowance letter mailed by the IRS in December 2023

The special disclosure program allows for the repayment of 80% of the claim received by the business. Installment payment plans are available but are subject to additional penalties and interest.

To apply, an employer must file Form 15434 with the IRS document upload tool. The employer also must provide the names and contact information of any tax advisors or preparers who assisted with the ineligible claim.

The deadline to apply is March 22, 2024.

Click here for additional information on the program and eligibility on the IRS website.

© 2024 KraftCPAs PLLC

If you’re interested in selling commercial or investment real estate that has appreciated significantly, one way to defer a tax bill on the gain is with a Section 1031 “like-kind” exchange. With this transaction, you exchange the property rather than sell it. Although the real estate market has been tough recently in some locations, there are still opportunities (with high resulting tax bills) when the like-kind exchange strategy may be attractive.

A like-kind exchange is any exchange of real property held for investment or for productive use in your trade or business (relinquished property) for like-kind investment, trade or business real property (replacement property).

For these purposes, like-kind is broadly defined, and most real property is like-kind with other real property. However, neither the relinquished property nor the replacement property can be real property held primarily for sale.

Asset-for-asset or boot

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, tax-deferred Section 1031 treatment is no longer allowed for exchanges of personal property — such as equipment and certain personal property building components — that are completed after December 31, 2017.

If you’re unsure if the property involved in your exchange is eligible for like-kind treatment, contact us to discuss the specifics.

Assuming the exchange qualifies, and it’s a straight asset-for-asset exchange, you won’t have to recognize any gain from the exchange. You’ll take the same “basis” (your cost for tax purposes) in the replacement property that you had in the relinquished property. Even if you don’t have to recognize any gain on the exchange, you still must report it on Form 8824, “Like-Kind Exchanges.”

However, in many cases, the properties aren’t equal in value, so some cash or other property is added to the deal. This cash or other property is known as “boot.” If boot is involved, you’ll have to recognize your gain, but only up to the amount of boot you receive in the exchange. In these situations, the basis you get in the like-kind replacement property you receive is equal to the basis you had in the relinquished property reduced by the amount of boot you received but increased by the amount of any gain recognized.

How it works

For example, let’s say you exchange business property with a basis of $100,000 for a building valued at $120,000, plus $15,000 in cash. Your realized gain on the exchange is $35,000: You received $135,000 in value for an asset with a basis of $100,000. However, since it’s a like-kind exchange, you only have to recognize $15,000 of your gain. That’s the amount of cash (boot) you received. Your basis in the new building (the replacement property) will be $100,000: your original basis in the relinquished property ($100,000) plus the $15,000 gain recognized, minus the $15,000 boot received.

Note that no matter how much boot is received, you’ll never recognize more than your actual (“realized”) gain on the exchange.

If the property you’re exchanging is subject to debt from which you’re being relieved, the amount of the debt is treated as boot. The reason is that if someone takes over your debt, it’s equivalent to the person giving you cash. Of course, if the replacement property is also subject to debt, then you’re only treated as receiving boot to the extent of your “net debt relief” (the amount by which the debt you become free of exceeds the debt you pick up).

Unload one property and replace it with another

Like-kind exchanges can be a great tax-deferred way to dispose of investment, trade, or business property. But be sure to meet all the requirements to enjoy the benefits.

© 2024 KraftCPAs PLLC

QuickBooks Online was built for small businesses, so you don’t have to be an expert in accounting or technology. It simplifies the complex process of double-entry accounting, using understandable language and a simple, easy-to-navigate user interface. It does all the required bookkeeping in the background, so you can focus on getting your work done and building your business.

Once you’ve learned the basics of navigation and financial data entry in QuickBooks Online, you may keep doing things the way you learned to do them. But the site can do more, in small ways. Consider incorporating these tips into your daily accounting work, and you’ll benefit from the time saved and the additional convenience.

1. Edit lines in your transactions

QuickBooks Online allows you to edit lines in transactions so you don’t have to delete them and start over. You can:

• Delete lines. Click the trash can icon at the end of a line.
• Reorder lines. Click the icon to the left of the line number and drag it to the desired position when you see the green arrow in the upper left. This is tricky. You may have to try a few times.
• Add lines and Clear all lines. Click the buttons below the line item table.

2. Find recent transactions faster

If you want to work with a transaction you’ve recently had open, you don’t have to search for it. Click the clock icon in the upper left corner of an invoice, for example, and a list of Recent Invoices will drop down. Click to open one.

QuickBooks Online no longer opens invoice forms when you click on them in the main invoice list (Sales | Invoices). A panel slides out from the right displaying the transaction’s details, including an activity timeline. Click More actions to see your options there. Edit invoice opens the original form.

3. Open a new tab

Sometimes you want to see two QuickBooks Online screens simultaneously. Right-click on a navigation link, like Expenses | Vendors. Click Open link in new tab. A new tab will open in Windows displaying the content from the link you just clicked.

4. Use the More menu

If you haven’t explored the action links at the very bottom of transactions, you should. This is where you find Print or Preview, Make recurring, and Customize. Click More, and you’ll be able to Copy, Void, or Delete the transaction. You can also see the Transaction journal and Audit history.

5. Use keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are available in QuickBooks Online. It takes a little time to learn them, but they’re intuitive and can save you time. For example, Ctrl+Alt+I opens a blank invoice form, and Ctrl+Alt+x displays a blank expense form. Ctrl+Alt+? opens a comprehensive list and shows your Company ID.

6. Add attachments to transactions

If you have original documentation for transactions like expenses and bills, it can be a good idea to have a scanned copy attached to the original transaction– especially if it’s something you’ll be claiming on your income tax return. You can do this easily in QuickBooks Online. Click the link at the bottom of the transaction form and find the document in your computer’s directory. The attachment will remain linked to the original transaction. You can view all your attachments by clicking the gear icon in the upper right and selecting Attachments under Lists.

If you’re using the mobile version of QuickBooks Online, you can also snap photos of receipts and have them converted to expense forms.

7. Freshen up your sales forms

It’s easy to make basic modifications to your sales forms in QuickBooks Online.  Give yourself more flexibility and present a better look for your customers. Click the gear icon in the upper right and select Your Company | Account and settings. Click the Sales tab to see your options there. You can even add custom fields by clicking the link on that page or by going to Lists | Custom fields.

© 2024 KraftCPAs PLLC

Residents and business owners in several Tennessee counties now qualify for tax relief from the IRS because of severe storms and tornadoes that struck on December 9.

Based on federal disaster area declarations by FEMA, the counties of Davidson, Dickson, Montgomery, and Sumner qualify for the IRS exemption. It provides individuals who reside or own a business in those counties a later deadline of June 17, 2024, to file returns or make payments that were due sooner.

For example, individual income tax returns and payments normally due April 15, 2024, will now be due June 17. The later deadline also applies to quarterly payroll, excise tax, partnership, S corporation, and fiduciary returns that were due between December 9 and June 17.

The new IRS provisions are applied automatically to taxpayers whose IRS address is located in one of the disaster area counties, so taxpayers are not required to request the additional time.

Visit the IRS disaster relief page for detailed information on the exemptions available, or contact a KraftCPAs advisor to find out how these changes might affect you.

© 2023 KraftCPAs PLLC

If your business completes minor repairs by December 31, you can deduct those costs on your 2023 tax return. But is that work a repair or an improvement? Know the difference, because it can matter when it comes time to file.

Safe harbors

Unlike repairs, improvements are capital expenditures that must be written off over time. Fixing a broken windowpane is clearly a repair. Adding an indoor parking facility is obviously an improvement. But many expenses fall in between those two examples. Fortunately, IRS tangible property regulations offer more clarity.

Notably, the final regulations provide a safe-harbor rule under which you can currently deduct for federal tax purposes amounts paid for tangible property if you deduct those amounts for financial accounting purposes or in keeping your books and records. However, a dollar limit applies with one of these two options:

• $5,000 if you have an “applicable financial statement,” generally meaning one that’s audited by a CPA
• $2,500 if you don’t have an applicable financial statement

Additional rules apply that may limit or eliminate your current deduction for a particular expense.

There’s also a small businesses safe harbor that allows businesses with $10 million or less in average gross receipts to currently deduct improvements to a building with an unadjusted basis of $1 million or less. However, the total amount paid for repairs, maintenance, and improvements to the building can’t exceed the lesser of $10,000 or 2% of the unadjusted basis.

Further IRS guidance

Routine maintenance costs generally are deductible in the year in which they’re incurred. An activity is “routine” if the business reasonably expects to perform it more than once during the property’s useful life (more than once over a 10-year period for buildings). A business may capitalize these costs if this is consistent with its financial statements.

In addition, the traditional rule that improvements are capitalized and depreciated over time remains in place. But the regulations authorize a business to deduct some improvements (for example, an HVAC unit) if they are properly segregated.

A potential tax trap

If your business makes repairs and improvements at the same time, be aware that the IRS may lump the costs together as a general plan of betterment, causing you to forfeit a current deduction for repairs. All else being equal, arrange repair work separately at another time — preferably before the end of the year to reduce next year’s tax liability.

© 2023 KraftCPAs PLLC

If you’re a business owner, you probably already know about the rule that allows you to deduct employee bonuses this year if bonuses are paid within 2½ months after the end of the tax year. It’s an attractive year-end planning technique that benefits your business and your employees: You enjoy the tax deduction this year, and your employees don’t report the income until next year.

These tax benefits aren’t always available, however, so it’s important to understand the requirements.

Accrual-basis taxpayers only

If your business uses the cash method of accounting, you must deduct bonuses in the year they’re paid  ̶̶  even if they’re earned in the previous year. To accelerate bonus deductions into this year, your business must be on the accrual method of accounting.

Favorable tax treatment is limited to bonuses paid to unrelated parties. For a corporation, a related party is an individual who owns more than 50% of the company. For S corporations, partnerships, and limited liability companies, related parties include any of their shareholders, partners, or members.

Fixed and determinable

Even if the first two requirements are met, you can’t deduct a bonus this year unless it’s fixed and determinable as of December 31. Generally, this means that:

• The recipient has earned the bonus
• All events have taken place that establish the company’s liability to pay it
• The amount of the bonus can be determined with reasonable accuracy

Many companies get tripped up by the “fixed and determinable” requirement because their bonus plans condition payment on the recipient’s continued employment through the payment date. If employees who leave the company before the payment date forfeit their bonuses, the company’s liability isn’t established by year’s end.

There may be a way to avoid this problem, however. Under IRS guidance, it’s possible to deduct bonuses earned this year even if there’s a risk of forfeiture. The solution can be to use a properly designed bonus pool. For this strategy to work, the aggregate amount in the pool must be fixed by the end of the year. In addition, any forfeited bonuses must be reallocated among the remaining employees.

Handle with care

If you wish to accelerate deductions for bonuses paid next year, it’s critical to design your bonus plan carefully to avoid any language that suggests bonuses aren’t fixed by the end of the year, such as retaining discretion to modify or cancel them or conditioning payment on board approval.

© 2023 KraftCPAs PLLC