06 Mar 2019
0

(#512) Some of Your Deductions May Be Smaller (or Non-Existent) When You File Your 2018 Tax Return

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Individual Tax Briefs

While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) reduces most income tax rates and expands some tax breaks, it limits or eliminates several itemized deductions that have been valuable to many individual taxpayers. Here are five deductions you may see shrink or disappear when you file your 2018 income tax return: 1. State and local tax deduction. For 2018 through 2025, your total itemized deduction for all state and local taxes combined — including property tax — is limited to $10,000 ($5,000 if you’re married and filing separately). You still must choose between deducting income and sales tax; you can’t deduct both, even if your total state and local tax deduction wouldn’t exceed $10,000. 2. Mortgage interest deduction. You generally can claim an itemized deduction for interest...

06 Mar 2019
0

(#511) Keep Fraud Off Your Restaurant’s Menu

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Fraud Briefs

In the restaurant industry, where long hours and thin profit margins are the norm, owners and managers often lack the time and resources to focus on fraud. Unfortunately, restaurants can provide crooked employees, customers and vendors with plenty of opportunities to steal. So you need to be able to recognize fraud threats — and nip them in the bud before they lead to heavy financial losses. Opportunity on the house Many restaurants have high transaction volumes but lack the technology linking point-of-sale, inventory and accounting systems. This leaves gaps for fraudsters to exploit. Employees could, for example, provide food and drinks to friends without entering the sales — or ring up only a portion of friends’ bills. They might issue voids or refunds when there was no...

06 Mar 2019
0

(#510) The Home Office Deduction: Actual Expenses vs The Simplified Method

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Small Business Tax Briefs

If you run your business from your home or perform certain functions at home that are related to your business, you might be able to claim a home office deduction against your business income on your 2018 income tax return. There are now two methods for claiming this deduction: the actual expenses method and the simplified method. Basics of the deduction In general, you’ll qualify for a home office deduction if part of your home is used “regularly and exclusively” as your principal place of business. If your home isn’t your principal place of business, you may still be able to deduct home office expenses if 1) you physically meet with patients, clients or customers on your premises, or 2) you use a storage area in your home...

05 Mar 2019
0

(#508) What Your Need to Know About Filing Gift and Estate Tax Returns

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Estate Planning Briefs

Have you made substantial gifts of wealth to family members? Or are you the executor of the estate of a loved one who died recently? If so, you need to know whether you must file a gift or estate tax return. Filing a gift tax return Generally, a federal gift tax return (Form 709) is required if you make gifts to or for someone during the year (with certain exceptions, such as gifts to U.S. citizen spouses) that exceed the annual gift tax exclusion ($15,000 for 2018 and 2019); there’s a separate exclusion for gifts to a non-citizen spouse ($152,000 for 2018 and $155,000 for 2019). Also, if you make gifts of future interests, even if they’re less than the annual exclusion amount, a gift tax return is...

05 Mar 2019
0

(#507) 3 Big TCJA Changes Affecting 2018 Individual Tax Returns and Beyond

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Individual Tax Briefs

When you file your 2018 income tax return, you’ll likely find that some big tax law changes affect you — besides the much-discussed tax rate cuts and reduced itemized deductions. For 2018 through 2025, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) makes significant changes to personal exemptions, standard deductions and the child credit. The degree to which these changes will affect you depends on whether you have dependents and, if so, how many. It also depends on whether you typically itemize deductions. 1. No more personal exemptions For 2017, taxpayers could claim a personal exemption of $4,050 each for themselves, their spouses and any dependents. For families with children and/or other dependents, such as elderly parents, these exemptions could really add up. For 2018 through 2025, the...

04 Mar 2019
0

(#506) When Are LLC Members Subject to Self-Employment Tax?

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Small Business Tax Briefs

Limited liability company (LLC) members commonly claim that their distributive shares of LLC income — after deducting compensation for services in the form of guaranteed payments — aren’t subject to self-employment (SE) tax. But the IRS has been cracking down on LLC members it claims have under-reported SE income, with some success in court. SE tax background Self-employment income is subject to a 12.4% Social Security tax (up to the wage base) and a 2.9% Medicare tax. Generally, if you’re a member of a partnership — including an LLC taxed as a partnership — that conducts a trade or business, you’re considered self-employed. General partners pay SE tax on all their business income from the partnership, whether it’s distributed or not. Limited partners, however, are subject to SE...

04 Mar 2019
0

(#505) Building an On/Off Switch Into Your Estate Plan

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Estate Planning Briefs

The right estate planning strategy for you likely is the one that will produce the greatest tax savings for your family. Unfortunately, there can be tension between strategies that save estate tax and ones that save income tax. This is especially true now that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act nearly doubled the gift and estate tax exemption — but only temporarily. Through 2025, income tax might be a greater concern, but, after that, estate taxes might be a bigger issue. Fortunately, it’s possible to build an “on/off switch” into your estate plan. Why the conflict? Generally, the best way to minimize estate taxes is to remove assets from your estate as early as possible (through outright gifts or gifts in trust) so that all future appreciation in...

27 Feb 2019
0

(#503) Why You Shouldn’t Wait to File Your 2018 Income Tax Return

Roger Rossmeisl, CPA
Taxes

The IRS opened the 2018 income tax return filing season on January 28. Even if you typically don’t file until much closer to the April 15 deadline, this year consider filing as soon as you can. Why? You can potentially protect yourself from tax identity theft — and reap other benefits, too. What is tax identity theft? In a tax identity theft scheme, a thief uses your personal information to file a fraudulent tax return early in the filing season and claim a bogus refund. You discover the fraud when you file your return and are informed by the IRS that the return has been rejected because one with your Social Security number has already been filed for the same tax year. While you should ultimately be able...

ROGER ROSSMEISL, CPA

Kho & Patel CPAs
160 E. Arrow Highway
San Dimas, CA 91773

(714) 325-0442
roger@khopatel.com

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