Year-End Tax Planning 2018

As the end of the year approaches, it is a good time to think of planning moves that will help lower your tax bill for this year and possibly the next. Year-end planning for 2018 takes place against the backdrop of a new tax law - the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act - that make major changes in the tax rules for individuals and businesses.

We have compiled a checklist of actions based on current tax rules that may help you save tax dollars if you act before year-end.

Year-End Tax Planning Moves for Individuals

...Higher-income earners must be wary of the 3.8% surtax on certain unearned income. The surtax is 3.8% of the lesser of: (1) net investment income (NII), or (2) the excess of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over a threshold amount. As year-end nears, a taxpayer's approach to minimizing or eliminating the 3.8% surtax will depend on his estimated MAGI and NII for the year. Some taxpayers should consider ways to minimize (e.g., through deferral) additional NII for the balance of the year, while others should try to see if they can reduce MAGI other than NII.

...Long-term capital gain from sales of assets held for over one year is taxed at 0%, 15% or 20%, depending on the taxpayer's taxable income. The 0% rate generally applies to the excess of long-term capital gain over any short term capital loss to the extent that it, when added to regular taxable income, is not more than the "maximum zero rate amount" (e.g., $77,200 for a married couple). If the 0% rate applies to long-term capital gains you took earlier this year, try not to sell assets before year-end yielding a capital loss, because the losses that offset the gains won't yield a benefit. And if you hold long-term appreciated-in-value assets, consider selling enough of them to generate long-term capital gains sheltered by the 0% rate.

...Postpone income until 2019 and accelerate deductions into 2018 if doing so will enable you to claim larger deductions, credits, and other tax breaks for 2018 that are phased out over varying levels of adjusted gross income (AGI). Postponing income also is desirable for those taxpayers who anticipate being in a lower tax bracket next year due to changed financial circumstances.

...It may be advantageous to try to arrange with your employer to defer, until early 2019, a bonus that may be coming your way. This could cut as well as defer your tax.

...Beginning in 2018, many taxpayers who claimed itemized deductions year after year will no longer be able to do so. This is because the basic standard deduction has been increased and many itemized deductions have been cut back or abolished. If you are not sure if this will affect you, contact us for help in determining how these changes will impact you.

...Some taxpayers may be able to work around the new reality by applying a "bunching strategy" to pull or push discretionary medical expenses and charitable contributions into the year where they will do some tax good. For example, if a taxpayer knows he or she will be able to itemize deductions this year but not next year, the taxpayer may be able to make two years' worth of charitable contributions this year, instead of spreading out donations over 2018 and 2019.

...If you expect to owe state and local income taxes when you file your return next year and you will be itemizing in 2018, consider asking your employer to increase withholding of state and local taxes (or pay estimated tax payments of state and local taxes) before year-end to pull the deduction of those taxes into 2018. But remember that state and local tax deductions are limited to $10,000 per year, so this strategy is not a good one to the extent it causes your 2018 state and local tax payments to exceed $10,000.

...Take required minimum distributions (RMDs) from your IRA or 401(k) plan (or other employer-sponsored retirement plan). RMDs from IRAs must begin by April 1 of the year following the year you reach age 70-½. (That start date also applies to company plans, but non-5% company owners who continue working may defer RMDs until April 1 following the year they retire.) Failure to take a required withdrawal can result in a penalty of 50% of the amount of the RMD not withdrawn.

...If you are age 70-½ or older by the end of 2018, have traditional IRAs, and particularly if you can't itemize your deductions, consider making 2018 charitable donations via qualified charitable distributions from your IRAs. Such distributions are made directly to charities from your IRAs, and the amount of the contribution is neither included in your gross income nor deductible on Schedule A. But the amount of the qualified charitable distribution reduces the amount of your required minimum distribution, resulting in tax savings.

...Consider increasing the amount you set aside for next year in your employer's health flexible spending account (FSA) if you set aside too little for this year.

...If you become eligible in December of 2018 to make health savings account (HSA) contributions, you can make a full year's worth of deductible HSA contributions for 2018.

...Make gifts sheltered by the annual gift tax exclusion before the end of the year and thereby save gift and estate taxes. The exclusion applies to gifts of up to $15,000 made in 2018 to each of an unlimited number of individuals.

Year-End Tax-Planning Moves for Businesses & Business Owners

...For tax years beginning after 2017, taxpayers other than corporations may be entitled to a deduction of up to 20% of their qualified business income. For 2018, if taxable income exceeds $315,000 for a married couple filing jointly, or $157,500 for all other taxpayers, the deduction may be limited in certain situations.

…Taxpayers may be able to achieve significant savings by deferring income or accelerating deductions so as to come under the dollar thresholds for 2018. Depending on their business model, taxpayers also may be able increase the new deduction by increasing W-2 wages before year-end. The rules are quite complex, so don't make a move in this area without consulting your tax adviser.

...More "small businesses" are able to use the cash (as opposed to accrual) method of accounting in 2018 and later years than were allowed to do so in earlier years. To qualify as a "small business" a taxpayer must, among other things, satisfy a gross receipts test. Effective for tax years 2018 and later, the gross-receipts test is satisfied if, during a three-year testing period, average annual gross receipts don't exceed $25 million (previously $5 million). Cash method taxpayers may find it a lot easier to shift income, for example by holding off billings until next year or by accelerating expenses by paying bills early or by making certain prepayments.

...Businesses should consider making expenditures that qualify for the liberalized business property expensing option (Section 179 deduction). For tax years beginning in 2018, the expensing limit is now $1,000,000, and the investment ceiling limit is $2,500,000. Expensing is generally available for most depreciable property (other than buildings), off-the-shelf computer software, qualified improvement property, roofs, HVAC, fire protection, alarm, and security systems. Many small and medium sized businesses that make timely purchases will be able to currently deduct most, if not all, of their outlays for machinery and equipment. The expensing deduction is not prorated for the time that the asset is in service during the year. Thus, property acquired and placed in service in the last days of 2018 can result in a full expensing deduction for 2018.

...Businesses also can claim a 100% bonus first year depreciation deduction for machinery and equipment bought used (with some exceptions) or new, if purchased and placed in service this year. The 100% write-off is permitted without any proration based on the length of time that an asset is in service during the tax year. As a result, the 100% bonus first-year write-off is available even if qualifying assets are in service for only a few days in 2018.

...Businesses may be able to take advantage of the de minimis safe harbor election to expense the costs of lower-cost assets and materials and supplies, assuming the costs don't have to be capitalized under the Code Sec. 263A uniform capitalization (UNICAP) rules. Where the UNICAP rules aren't an issue, consider purchasing such qualifying items before the end of 2018.

...To reduce 2018 taxable income, consider disposing of a passive activity in 2018 if doing so will allow you to deduct suspended passive activity losses.

These are just some of the year-end steps that can be taken to save taxes. By contacting us, we can tailor a particular plan that will work best for you.

Year-End Tax Planning for an Individual’s Capital Gains and Losses

Year-end is a good time to engage in planning to save taxes by carefully structuring your capital gains and losses.

Let's consider some possibilities if you have losses to date. For example, suppose you lose money in the stock market this year and have other investment assets that have appreciated in value. You should consider the extent to which you should sell, before the end of this year, appreciated assets (if you think their value has peaked) and thereby offset gains with pre-existing losses.

Long-term capital losses offset long-term capital gains before they offset short-term capital gains. Similarly, short-term capital losses offset short-term capital gains before they offset long-term capital gains. Remember you may use up to $3,000 of total capital losses in excess of total capital gains as a deduction against ordinary income in computing your adjusted gross income or AGI.

Individuals are subject to tax at a rate as high as 37% on short-term capital gains and ordinary income. But long-term capital gains on most types of investment assets receive favorable treatment. They are taxed at rates ranging from zero to 23.8% depending on an individual's taxable income (inclusive of the gains).

All of this means that you should try to avoid having long-term capital losses offset long-term capital gains since those losses will be more valuable if they are used to offset short-term capital gains or up to $3,000 per year of ordinary income. This requires making sure that the long-term capital losses are not taken in the same year as the long-term capital gains are taken. However, this is not just a tax issue, you also need to consider investment factors. You wouldn't want to defer recognizing gain until the following year if there's too much risk that the property's value will decline before it can be sold. Similarly, you wouldn't want to risk increasing a loss on property that you expect will continue to decline in value by deferring its sale until the following year.

To the extent that taking long-term capital losses in a different year than long-term capital gains is consistent with good investment planning, you should take steps to prevent those losses from offsetting those gains.

If you have yet to realize net capital losses for this year, but expect to realize net capital losses next year well in excess of the $3,000 ceiling, you should consider shifting some of the excess losses into this year. That way the losses can offset current gains and up to $3,000 of any excess loss will become deductible against ordinary income this year.

For the reasons outlined above, paper losses or gains on stocks may be worth recognizing this year in some situations. But suppose the stock is also an attractive investment worth holding for the long term. There is no way to precisely preserve a stock investment position while at the same time gaining the benefit of the tax loss, because the "wash sale" rule precludes recognition of loss where substantially identical securities are bought and sold within a 61-day period (30 days before or 30 days after the date of sale). Thus, you can't sell stock to establish a tax loss and simply buy it back the next day. However, you can substantially preserve an investment position while realizing a tax loss by using one of these techniques:

·         Sell the original holding and then buy the same securities at least 31 days later. The risk is upward price movement.

·         Buy more of the same stocks or bonds, then sell the original holding at least 31 days later. The risk here is downward price movement.

·         Sell the original holding and buy similar securities in different companies in the same line of business. This approach trades on the prospects of the industry as a whole, rather than the particular stock held.

·         For mutual fund shares, sell the original holding and buy shares in another mutual fund that uses a similar investment strategy.

As we have shown, careful handling of your capital gains and losses can save you substantial amounts of tax. Please contact us so that we can help you to realize maximum tax savings from these and other year-end planning strategies.