Get started with a FREE Consultation

408-942-6888

Your Partners for Success Since 1977

Computing a Net Operating Loss for an Individual

by Amanda Domitrowich

Speaking broadly, you may be able to benefit by carrying what is called a “net operating loss” (NOL) into a different year-a year in which you have taxable income-and taking a deduction (the “NOL deduction”) for the loss against that year’s income.

The NOL deduction equals the total of your NOL carryovers and NOL carrybacks to the particular tax year. But, for tax years after 2020, the deduction will be subject to an 80%-of-taxable income limitation.

Your NOLs for tax years 2018, 2019 and 2020 are carried back for five years. But, NOLs for 2021 and later tax years generally can’t be carried back (although farm losses can be carried back two years). And, NOLs for tax years after 2017 are generally carried forward indefinitely.

You must carry the NOL first to the earliest year allowed, and, then, successively, to the next earliest year, etc. until the loss is used up. But, if it would benefit you more to just carry a NOL forward, you can waive carryback of that loss.

To determine the amount of your NOL for a particular tax year, you don’t just use the negative taxable income reported on your tax return for that year. Instead, several modifications must be made to compute the amount of your NOL. These include the following:

  • (1) You cannot use your personal or dependency exemptions-for the years in which these are available (i.e., after 2025 and before 2018).
  • (2) You cannot use any NOL from a different year.
  • (3) “Nonbusiness” capital losses (those arising outside of your trade or business, or your employment) can only be used against “nonbusiness” capital gains. Excess capital losses cannot increase your NOL.
  • (4) “Nonbusiness” deductions (e.g., charitable donations, deductible medical expenses, mortgage interest, alimony, etc.) can only be used against “nonbusiness” income (interest, dividends, etc.). That is, they cannot directly increase your NOL. However, if you have nonbusiness capital gains in excess of nonbusiness capital losses (see (3), above), you can use your “excess” nonbusiness deductions against these gains. (Note that casualty losses are treated as fully usable “business deductions” for these purposes.)
  • (5) Finally, “business” capital losses can only be used against “business” capital gains, except that if you still have nonbusiness capital gains after netting nonbusiness capital losses and excess nonbusiness deductions against them, you can use your business capital losses against them.

Example. N has a loss of $20,000 from business operations for the year. N also has (i) nonbusiness capital gains of $9,000 and nonbusiness capital losses of $4,000, and (ii) nonbusiness income of $13,000 and nonbusiness deductions of $14,000 (not including personal or dependency exemptions). N has no business capital gains or losses.

N’s “starting point” for calculating N’s NOL is N’s $20,000 business loss. N’s capital losses reduce N’s capital gains to $5,000 ($9,000 − $4,000). N’s nonbusiness deductions wipe out N’s nonbusiness income ($13,000 − $14,000), leaving N with $1,000 “excess” nonbusiness deductions. N can use the $1,000 excess nonbusiness deductions to further reduce N’s capital gains to $4,000. But, the $4,000 of capital gains do reduce N’s NOL from $20,000 to $16,000. The final result: N incurs a $16,000 NOL for the tax year.

Note that N’s taxable income will show a loss that’s greater than N’s $16,000 NOL, because N’s taxable income includes items such as personal exemption that aren’t allowed in figuring N’s NOL. Only the $16,000 NOL, however, can be carried forward to other years for use as a deduction.

The above computations can grow quite complex, depending upon your circumstances.

In addition to the rules above, special rules allow farmers to retain a pre-2018, two-year NOL carryback election and then applicable 80%-of-taxable-income limitation, for farming losses arising in 2018, 2019 or 2020 tax years, and to revoke a previously made waiver of the two-year carryback for 2018 or 2019 farming losses, and apply the five-year carryback instead. Obviously, there’s a lot to consider in determining the amount of your NOL, and whether to claim an NOL deduction. Please contact us today and we will be happy to discuss further.

Individual Estimated Tax Payments – Who Should Pay Them and Why?

by Amanda Domitrowich

Individuals must pay 25% of a “required annual payment ” by Apr. 15, June 15, Sept. 15, and Jan. 15, to avoid an underpayment penalty. When that date falls on a weekend or holiday, the payment is due on the next business day.

The required annual payment for most individuals is the lower of 90% of the tax shown on the current year’s return or 100% of the tax shown on the return for the previous year. However, if the adjusted gross income on your previous year’s return was over $150,000 (over $75,000 if you are married filing separately), you must pay the lower of 90% of the tax shown on the current year’s return or 110% of the tax shown on the return for the previous year.

Most people who receive the bulk of their income in the form of wages satisfy these payment requirements through the tax withheld by their employer from their paycheck. Those who make estimated tax payments generally do so in four installments. After determining the required annual payment, they divide that number by four and make four equal payments by the due dates.

But you may be able to use the annualized income method to make smaller payments. This method is useful to people whose income flow is not uniform over the year, perhaps because of a seasonal business. For example, if your income comes exclusively from a business that you operate in a resort area during June, July, and August, no estimated payment is required before Sept. 15. You may also want to use the annualized income method if a significant portion of your income comes from sales of securities that are made at various times during the year.

If you fail to make the required payments, you may be subject to an underpayment penalty. The penalty equals the product of the interest rate charged by IRS on deficiencies, times the amount of the underpayment for the period of the underpayment.

However, the underpayment penalty doesn’t apply to you:

  • (1) if the total tax shown on your return is less than $1,000 after subtracting withholding tax paid;
  • (2) if you had no tax liability for the preceding year, you were a U.S. citizen or resident for that entire year, and that year was 12 months;
  • (3) for the fourth (Jan. 15) installment, if you file your return by that Jan. 31 and pay your tax in full; or
  • (4) if you are a farmer or fisherman and pay your entire estimated tax by Jan. 15, or pay your entire estimated tax and file your tax return by Mar. 1

In addition, IRS may waive the penalty if the failure was due to casualty, disaster, or other unusual circumstances and it would be inequitable or against good conscience to impose the penalty. The penalty can also be waived for reasonable cause during the first two years after you retire (after reaching age 62) or become disabled. Third quarter estimated taxes for 2022 are coming due on September 15th. If you think you may be eligible to determine your estimated tax payments under the annualized income method, or you have any other specific questions about how the estimated  tax rules apply to you, please contact our office today!

Simplified Employee Pensions (SEPs)

by Amanda Domitrowich

Are you thinking about setting up a retirement plan for yourself and your employees, but are concerned about the financial commitment and administrative burdens involved in providing a traditional pension or profit-sharing plan? An alternative program you may want to consider is a “simplified employee pension,” or SEP.

SEPs are intended as an alternative to “qualified” retirement plans, particularly for small businesses like yours. The relative ease of administration and the complete discretion you, as the employer, are permitted in deciding whether or not to make annual contributions, are features that are especially attractive. Here’s how these plans work.

If you don’t already have a qualified retirement plan, you can set up a SEP simply by using the IRS model SEP, Form 5305-SEP. By adopting and implementing this model SEP, which doesn’t have to be filed with the IRS, you will have satisfied the SEP requirements. This means that you, as the employer, will get a current income tax deduction for contributions you make on behalf of your employees. Your employees will be taxed not when the contributions are made, but at a later date when distributions are made, usually at retirement. Depending on your specific needs, an individually-designed SEP-instead of the model SEP-may be appropriate for you.

When you set up a SEP for yourself and your employees, you will make these deductible contributions to each employee’s IRA, called a SEP-IRA, which must be IRS-approved. The maximum amount of deductible contributions that you can make to an employee’s SEP-IRA, and that he or she can exclude from income, is the lesser of: (i) 25 percent of compensation, and (ii) $61,000 (for 2022). The deduction for your contributions to employees’ SEP-IRAs isn’t limited by the deduction ceiling applicable to an individual’s own contribution to a regular IRA. Your employees control their individual IRAs and IRA investments, the earnings on which are tax-free.

There are other requirements which you have to meet to be eligible to set up a SEP. Essentially, all regular employees must elect to participate in the program, and contributions can’t discriminate in favor of the highly compensated employees. But these requirements are minor compared to the bookkeeping and other administrative burdens connected with traditional qualified pension and profit-sharing plans. The detailed records that traditional plans must maintain to comply with the complex nondiscrimination regulations aren’t required for SEPs. And employers aren’t required to file annual reports with IRS-Forms 5500-which, for a pension plan, could require the services of an actuary. What record-keeping is required can be done by a trustee of the SEP-IRAs-usually a bank or mutual fund.

We are happy to meet with you to explain your SEP options in greater detail as well as answer any questions you may have. Give us a call today!

Charitable Donations of Appreciated Stock

by Amanda Domitrowich

If you are planning to make a relatively substantial contribution to a charity, college, etc., you should consider donating appreciated stock from your investment portfolio instead of cash. Your tax benefits from the donation can be increased and the organization will be just as happy to receive the stock.

This tax planning tool is derived from the general rule that the deduction for a donation of property to charity is equal to the fair market value of the donated property. Where the donated property is “gain” property, the donor does not have to recognize the gain on the donated property. These rules allow for the “doubling up,” so to speak, of tax benefits: a charitable deduction, plus avoiding tax on the appreciation in value of the donated property.

Example: Tim and Tina are twins, each of whom attended Yalvard University. Each plans to donate $10,000 to the school. Each also owns $10,000 worth of stock in ABC, Inc. which he or she bought for just $2,000 several years ago.

Tim sells his stock and donates the $10,000 cash. He gets a $10,000 charitable deduction, but must report his $8,000 capital gain on the stock.

Tina donates the stock directly to the school. She gets the same $10,000 charitable deduction and avoids any tax on the capital gain. The school is just as happy to receive the stock, which it can immediately sell for its $10,000 value in any case.

Caution: While this plan works for Tina in the above example, it will not work if the stock has not been held for more than a year. It would be treated as “ordinary income property” for these purposes and the charitable deduction would be limited to the stock’s $2,000 cost.

If the property is other ordinary income property, e.g., inventory, similar limitations apply. Limitations may also apply to donations of long-term capital gain property that is tangible (not stock), and personal (not realty).

Finally, depending on the amounts involved and the rest of your tax picture for the year, taking advantage of these tax benefits may trigger alternative minimum tax concerns.

If you’d like to discuss this method of charitable giving more fully, including the limitations and potential problem areas, please give us a call.

Exclusion of Gain on Sale or Exchange of Your Principal Residence

by Amanda Domitrowich

Under these rules, up to $250,000 of the gain from the sale of single person’s principal residence is tax-free. For certain married couples filing a joint return, the maximum amount of tax-free gain doubles to $500,000.

Like most tax breaks, however, the exclusion has a detailed set of rules for qualification. Besides the $250,000/$500,000 dollar limitation, the seller must have owned and used the home as his or her principal residence for at least two years out of the five years before the sale or exchange. In most cases, sellers can only take advantage of the provision once during a two-year period.

However, a reduced exclusion is available if the sale occurred because of a change in place of employment, health, or other unforeseen circumstances where the taxpayer fails to meet the two-year ownership and use requirements or has already used the exclusion for a sale of a principal residence in the past two years. A sale or exchange is by reason of unforeseen circumstances if the primary reason for the sale or exchange is the occurrence of an event that the taxpayer does not anticipate before purchasing and occupying the residence. Unforeseen circumstances that are eligible for the reduced exclusion include involuntary conversions, certain disasters or acts of war or terrorist attacks, death, cessation of employment, change of employment resulting in the taxpayer’s inability to pay certain costs, divorce or legal separation, multiple births from the same pregnancy, and events identified by IRS as unforeseen circumstances (for example, the September 11 terrorist attacks). The amount of the reduced exclusion equals a fraction of the $250,000/$500,000 dollar limitation. The fraction is based on the portion of the two-year period in which the seller satisfies the ownership and use requirements.

These rules can get quite complicated if you marry someone who has recently used the exclusion provision, if the residence was part of a divorce settlement, if you inherited the residence from your spouse, if you sell a remainder interest in your home, if there are periods after 2008 in which the residence isn’t used as your (or your spouse’s) principal residence, or if you have taken depreciation deductions on the residence. Also, the exclusion does not apply if you acquired the residence within the previous five years in a “like-kind” exchange in which gain was not recognized.

Let us know if you have any questions about the exclusion or would like additional information. We are happy to go over the specifics of your situation with you to determine whether a sale of your residence would qualify for this valuable tax break.

Create Online Tax Accounts Now!

by Kassandra Cristobal

As we kick off the start of tax season for the calendar year 2021, we encourage ALL taxpayers to create or update their online accounts with the IRS and relevant state tax agencies. With online accounts, taxpayers gain access to important tax information including balances due, payments made, tax records, and more.

In many cases, you can locate or request relevant information via your online account which will minimize or eliminate the need to sit on hold with tax agencies. Plus, account creation takes just a few minutes!

The following and more can be done online via your account pages:

Both IRS and FTB:

  • View account balance, including taxes due from prior year returns
  • Make electronic payments and create payment plans
  • View tax payment history, including past estimated tax payments
  • View Notices and Letters of correspondence
  • View and authorize Power of Attorney (POA) for outside parties

IRS:

  • View tax records relating to advance payments of the Child Tax Credit and Economic Impact Payments (EIPs)

FTB:

  • View past copies of your California tax returns
  • Send a secure message to an FTB representative with questions regarding your account
  • Authorize Full Online Account Access for your tax professional representative(s)
  • View tax payment history, including the new Pass-Through Entity (PTE) Elective Tax payment

Federal IRS

Log-In Page: https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account

The IRS has partnered with ID.me, an IRS-trusted technology provider, to provide identity verification for IRS applications. Individual taxpayers and tax professionals are required to verify with ID.me for a secure login.

Please note, existing IRS username and passwords will no longer work as of Summer 2022. As such, we suggest creating an ID.me account and completing the identity verification process now.

How to sign-up:

Select “Sign in to your Online Account” and either create a new account or sign-in using a previous login.

If you have an existing ID.me account from a state government or federal agency, you can sign-in without verifying your identity again. If you’re a new user, you’ll have to create a new ID.me account.

To create your account, you will need:

  • A valid email address.
  • Your birthdate.
  • Your Social Security Number (SSN).
  • Your current mailing address.
  • Your mobile phone number (must be a smart phone with internet and texting capabilities)
  • Your ID (driver’s license, passport, or state ID)

Tips for creating your ID.me account:

  • Make sure you have access to a computer, your smartphone, and your email. You’ll be asked to go between all 3 in order to verify your identity.
  • You’ll need to use your smartphone to take a photo of your ID.
  • You’ll need to use your smartphone or your computer’s webcam to take a computer-generated selfie photo.

California FTB

Log-In Page: https://www.ftb.ca.gov/myftb/index.asp

Step-by-step Instructions: https://www.ftb.ca.gov/myftb/help/how-to-guides/individuals/register.pdf

How to sign-up:

You must have a recent California tax return on file in order to register for a MyFTB Individual account. If you filed a joint tax return, you must each register for a separate MyFTB Individual account.

To create your account, you will need:

  • A valid email address.
  • Your Social Security Number (SSN).
  • Your current mailing address.
    • Important! If you moved since you filed your last tax return, call the FTB to update your mailing address before you register for a MyFTB account, (800) 852-5711.
  • Information from a filed California tax return for one of the last five tax years.

After you create your account, you will receive a letter in the mail containing a Personal Identification Number (PIN). The PIN will be mailed via the United States Postal Service within 3 to 5 business days. Please allow 10 business days to receive the PIN. You have 21 days from the date you register to enter your PIN to activate your account.

This is a one-time use PIN is used to activate your MyFTB account. You will not need it again to login. You will need to enter this PIN online in order to activate and gain access to your account.

New Digital Asset Info Reporting

by Michelle Puma

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) was signed into law on Nov. 15, 2021. The IIJA includes IRS information reporting requirements that will require cryptocurrency exchanges to perform intermediary Form 1099 reporting for cryptocurrency transactions. Generally, these rules will apply to digital asset transactions starting in 2023.

Existing reporting rules. As you probably know, if you have a stock brokerage account, then whenever you sell stock or other securities you receive a Form 1099-B at the end of the year. Your broker uses that form to report details of transactions such as sale proceeds, relevant dates, your tax basis for the sale, and the character of gains or losses. Furthermore, if you transfer stock from one broker to another broker, then the old broker is required to furnish a statement with relevant information, such as tax basis, to the new broker.

Digital asset broker reporting. The IIJA expands the definition of brokers who must furnish Forms 1099-B to include businesses that are responsible for regularly providing any service accomplishing transfers of digital assets on behalf of another person (“Crypto Exchanges”). Thus, any platform on which you can buy and sell cryptocurrency will be required to report digital asset transactions to you and the IRS at the end of each year.

(more…)

The SECURE Act and Other Last-Minute Tax Changes

by Kassandra Cristobal

Despite all the gridlock in Washington, as well as an impeachment, the SECURE Act has passed. It changes a number of important retirement plan rules. The act runs over 120 pages, so the experts will be poring over it for some time. Meanwhile, a number of sources have weighed in on what they think are the key provisions. (Note that last-minute alterations and more detailed analysis may lead to additional changes in the coming weeks.)

(more…)

Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) Expiring on December 31st, 2019

by Kassandra Cristobal

Do you have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)? If so, it may be expiring soon.

All ITINs not used on a federal tax return at least once in the last three years will expire on December 31, 2019. In addition, ITINS issued before 2013 with middle digits of 83, 84, 85, 86, or 87 (Example: 9XX-83-XXXX) will expire at the end of the year.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is encouraging taxpayers to submit their renewal applications early in order to avoid refund and processing delays in 2020. Taxpayers can renew their ITIN by completing a Federal Form W-7 and mailing it to the address listed on the form’s instructions with any required documentation. You can find the form here.

What is an ITIN?

An Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) is a tax processing number assigned to individuals who do not have, or are not eligible to obtain, a Social Security number (SSN). Typically, only United States citizens and those non-citizens who are authorized to work in the U.S. receive SSNs.

For more information, visit the IRS’s Individual Taxpayer Identification Number web-page.

I Have A Nanny – Does This Affect My Taxes?

By: Amber N. Stevenson

Nanny Tax Image

In our hustle and bustle lives, working 40 or more hours a week has become the norm, leaving limited time for taking care of duties at home. This has led to an increased need for a nanny, housekeeper, gardener, or perhaps all three!  What many people don’t realize, however, is that while their responsibilities at home may be going down, their tax bill could be going up.

(more…)

Office Location

Crawford Pimentel
Certified Public Accountants
1550 The Alameda #211
San Jose, CA 95126
Phone: (408) 942-6888
Fax: (408) 942-0194
Contact Us
Google Analytics Alternative