If you run a small business, you already have a full plate. The last thing you need is for the IRS to question any of your business expense deductions. But it could happen. And that’s why having records that prove your expenses is so important. Even deductions for routine business expenses could be disallowed if you don’t have appropriate records.

What Records Are Required?

Except in a few instances, the tax law does not require any special kind of records. You’re free to have a recordkeeping system that is suited to your business, as long as it clearly shows your expenses. In addition to books that allow you to track and summarize your business transactions, you should keep supporting documents, such as:

• Canceled checks
• Cash register receipts
• Credit card sales slips
• Invoices
• Account statements

The rules are stricter for travel and transportation expenses. You should retain hotel bills or other documentary evidence (e.g., receipts, canceled checks) for each lodging expense and for any other expense of $75 or more. In addition, you should maintain a diary, log, or account book with the information described below.

• Travel. Your records should show the cost of each separate expense for travel, lodging, and meals. For each trip, record your destination, the dates you left and returned, and the number of days spent on business. Also record the business purpose for the expense or the business benefit you gained or expected to gain. Incidental expenses, such as taxi fares, may be totaled in reasonable categories.
• Transportation. As with travel and entertainment, you should record the amount and date of each separate expense. Note your business destination and the business purpose for the expense. If you are deducting actual car expenses, you’ll need to record the cost of the car and the date you started using it for business (for depreciation purposes). If you drive the car for both business and personal purposes or claim the standard mileage rate, keep records of the mileage for each business use and the total miles driven during the year.

Don’t Mix Business and Personal Expenses

Things can get tangled if you intermingle business and personal expenses. You can avoid headaches by having a separate business bank account and credit card.

Take the initiative to start managing and reducing your tax burden today. Call our tax accountants at 972-442-6800 to learn how you can pay lower taxes or request a consultation through our website now and we’ll contact you.

If you are a volunteer board member for a nonprofit organization, one specific issue to keep in mind is the IRS’s trust fund recovery penalty. If any entity — nonprofit or for-profit — fails to properly remit Social Security taxes and/or income taxes withheld from employees’ wages, the IRS will directly approach the organization’s “responsible persons” for the tax payments and a potential 100% penalty.

In general, the penalty will not be imposed on any unpaid, volunteer member of the board of a tax-exempt organization if the member: (1) is solely serving in an honorary capacity, (2) does not participate in the day-to-day operations of the organization, (3) does not participate in the financial operations of the organization, and (4) does not have actual knowledge of the failure on which the penalty is based.

However, for an active member who has governing responsibilities, it is still important to ask questions about who is handling these tax payments (a staff member, the executive director, a payroll service, an accountant?) and what checks and balances are in effect to make sure no problems arise. Annual reviews or audits may also be helpful to verify compliance.

To learn more about non-profit compliance issues, give us a call today. We look forward to helping your non-profit grow.

When you turn to us for tax services, you’ll receive top-notch customer service from our friendly staff of knowledgeable accountants and financial professionals. We’ll happily answer your questions and will always respond to your emails and phone calls promptly. Request a consultation through our website today or give us a call at 972-442-6800 to get started.

Crowdfunding — or funding a project through the online contributions of many different backers — is becoming increasingly popular. If you are considering raising crowdfunding revenue or contributing to a crowdfunding campaign, you will need to address the many tax issues that can arise.

Background

While crowdfunding was initially used by artists and others to raise money for projects that were unlikely to turn a profit, others have begun to see crowdfunding as an alternative to venture capital. Depending on the project, those who contribute may receive nothing of value, a reward of nominal value (such as a T-shirt or tickets to an event), or perhaps even an ownership/equity interest in the enterprise.

Is It Income?

In an “information letter” released in 2016,¹ the IRS stated that crowdfunding revenues will generally be treated as income unless they are:

• Loans that must be repaid
• Capital contributed to an entity in exchange for an equity interest in the entity
• Gifts made out of detached generosity without any “quid pro quo”

The IRS noted that the facts and circumstances of each case will determine how the revenue is to be characterized and added that “crowdfunding revenues must generally be included in income to the extent they are for services rendered or are gains from the sale of property.”

Frequently, the IRS learns of the activity because crowdfunding entrepreneurs have used a third-party payment network to process the contributions. Where transactions during the year exceed a specific threshold — gross payments in excess of $20,000 and more than 200 transactions — that third party is required to send Form 1099-K (Payment Card and Third-Party Network Transactions) to the recipient and the IRS. Payments that do not meet the threshold are still potentially taxable.

If It’s Income

“Ordinary and necessary” business expenses are generally tax deductible, but deductions for expenses are limited if the IRS deems the activity a hobby rather than a trade or business. Generally, the IRS applies a “facts and circumstances” test to determine if you have a profit-making motive, which is necessary for a trade or business.

New Businesses

Favorable deduction rules may be available for certain types of expenses incurred in starting a new business. If eligible, the business may elect to expense up to $5,000 of those costs (subject to phaseout) in the year the business becomes active, with the remainder of the start-up expenditures deducted ratably over a 180-month period.

For Contributors

Campaign contributors should not assume that their gifts qualify as tax-deductible charitable contributions. Tax-deductible contributions must meet certain requirements, including that they be made to a qualified charitable organization. If gifts are made to an individual or nonqualified organization, you will generally need to file a gift tax return for gifts to any one recipient that exceed the gift tax annual exclusion ($15,000 for 2018).

These are just some of the potential tax issues that may arise. Consult your tax advisor regarding your specific situation.

When you turn to us for tax services, you’ll receive top-notch customer service from our friendly staff of knowledgeable accountants and financial professionals. We’ll happily answer your questions and will always respond to your emails and phone calls promptly. Request a consultation through our website today or give us a call at 972-442-6800 to get started.

Source/Disclaimer:

¹Information Letter 2016-0036

The most recent tax reform law effectively reduces taxes for many small businesses. It also creates some new complications. Here are the highlights.

Corporate tax rates are cut.

The graduated corporate tax structure has been replaced by a flat rate of 21%. This represents a significant rollback for corporations in the former top 35% bracket. Of particular note to owners of closely-held C corporations: the new law repeals the corporate alternative minimum tax and makes the simpler cash method of accounting available to more corporations.

Owners of “pass-through” entities gain a new deduction.

The legislation creates a new deduction for 20% of business pass-through income. This deduction is available to owners of almost any type of trade or business whose taxable income does not exceed $315,000 (joint return) or $157,500 (other returns). Above those amounts, the deduction is generally limited to the greater of:

• 50% of W-2 wages paid by the trade or business, or
• The sum of 25% of W-2 wages paid plus 2.5% of the original cost of tangible, depreciable assets used in the business.

When the business has more than one owner, the owners use their allocated shares of wages and assets in computing the limitations.

Different restrictions apply to individuals in certain service businesses (e.g., law, medicine, and accounting). For those individuals, the ability to take the deduction is reduced with taxable income between $157,500 and $207,500 ($315,000 and $415,000 on a joint return) and is unavailable once taxable income reaches the top of the applicable range.

The taxable income thresholds will be adjusted for inflation after 2018, and the 20% deduction is scheduled to expire after the 2025 tax year.

Depreciation and expensing provisions are more generous.

• Bonus depreciation percentage increases from 50% to 100%. Businesses may deduct the full cost of qualifying property acquired and placed in service after September 27, 2017, and before January 1, 2023 (before January 1, 2024 for certain property). Unlike under prior law, the property does not have to be new — used property can also qualify. Starting in 2023 (2024 for certain property), the deduction is gradually scaled back, and it sunsets after 2026.
• Section 179 expensing limit increases from $500,000 to $1 million. The law doubles the annual expensing limit and raises the investment threshold over which the deduction begins to phase out to $2.5 million. These new limits will be adjusted for inflation after 2018. The new law also makes the Section 179 expensing election available for more types of property, including certain improvements to nonresidential real property.
• Auto depreciation limits increase more than threefold. The new annual caps are generally effective for business autos placed in service after 2017.

Other changes could have an impact.

• The deduction for business entertainment expenses is repealed, effective for expenses paid or incurred after 2017.
• The costs of certain employer-provided transportation fringe benefits, such as transit passes, are no longer deductible, also effective for expenses paid or incurred after 2017.
• For the 2018 and 2019 tax years, employers that provide paid family and medical leave may claim a credit for a portion of the expense (requirements apply).
• The domestic production activities deduction is repealed, effective for 2018 and later tax years.

These are just highlights of some of the changes included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Please consult a qualified tax advisor for more detailed information about how the law’s provisions may apply to your business and personal tax situation.

When you turn to us for tax services, you’ll receive top-notch customer service from our friendly staff of knowledgeable accountants and financial professionals. We’ll happily answer your questions and will always respond to your emails and phone calls promptly. Request a consultation through our website today or give us a call at 972-442-6800 to get started.

Source/Disclaimer:

This communication is not intended to be tax advice and should not be treated as such. You should contact your tax professional to discuss your specific situation.