August 2023 Tax Tips and More
August 2023
Upcoming dates:
September 4
- Labor Day
September 15
- Filing deadline for 2022 calendar-year S corporation and partnership tax returns on extension
- Due date for 3rd quarter installment of 2023 estimated income tax for individuals, calendar-year corporations and calendar-year trusts & estates
Preventing unwanted tax surprises starts with proper planning. And there’s no better time than now to begin looking at how you can cut next year’s tax bill. In this month’s newsletter, we’ve included several situations when it makes sense to schedule a tax review so you can try and avoid a future tax surprise.
As always, please feel free to pass this newsletter to anyone who may find it valuable and call if you have any questions or concerns.
When to Call: Common Situations that Require a Tax Review
Taxes can affect many areas of your life. Here are some common situations when you'll want to schedule a tax review.
Something changed in your life. A change in your life could mean significant changes in your tax status. Some of these changes include:
How your taxes may be different: Tax deductions and credits can increase and decrease because of these and other life changes. You'll want to know as soon as possible if your taxes will be going up so you can be prepared to pay the increased amount.Getting married or divorced
Retirement
A child starting college or an adult going back to school
Moving to a new home
The birth of a child or an adoption
A family member passes away
A new job. You'll have several decisions to make when starting a new job that will affect your tax situation:
How your taxes may be different: You can decrease your taxable income by contributing to qualified retirement and medical savings plans. A tax planning session can reveal how much you can contribute to each of these plans, and if you should consider adjusting your paycheck withholdings.Retirement savings plans - Learn about the available retirement savings plans offered by the employer and any other tax-deferred savings options. Remember that some employers will match a certain percentage of contributions that an employee makes to a plan.
Medical savings accounts - Your employer may offer a Flexible Spending Account or a Health Savings Account to help with paying certain medical expenses with pre-tax funds.
Withholding - You'll need to determine if you want additional federal (along with state and local income taxes if applicable) income taxes withheld from your paycheck beyond what your employer is obligated to withhold.
A new business or side hustle. A new business (hopefully!) means more money, but also more tax responsibilities. Here are some things to consider:
How your taxes may be different: Most small businesses are flow through entities. This means any business profits will add to your personal income. Because of this, your personal tax situation could vary dramatically! So tax planning becomes critical on two fronts: Your new taxable income level AND helping you stay in compliance at the federal, state and local business tax rules.Separate accounts and credit cards - If you only remember one tip, it's to keep separate accounts. Without this, it is easy for the IRS to deem expenses as personal and, therefore, not deductible.
Paying estimated taxes - As a business owner, you are responsible for making tax payments throughout the year to the IRS if your business is profitable.
Setting up a bookkeeping system - Having an accurate bookkeeping system is vital to making sure you don't pay any more in taxes than you're legally obligated to pay. Consider reconciling your bank accounts weekly (or even daily if possible) so they're always current.
Other tax responsibilities - You may be required to submit a sales tax return depending on what types of products you sell or services you provide. You'll also be required to submit various payroll tax returns if you have any employees.
Nobody likes a tax surprise and now is a great time to schedule a tax planning review.
Multiple Jobs: Be Prepared for Tax Surprises
Working more than one job can help maximize income, but also potentially create a tax surprise. Here are several be aware of:
Social Security Surprise: As a full-time employee, the most you'll have to pay in Social Security taxes in 2023 is $9,932. The problem is each employer you work for will withhold Social Security taxes up to this threshold.
Example: Jane Smith works two jobs. Employer #1 has withheld $6,000 in Social Security taxes so far in 2023, while Employer #2 has withheld $4,000. Jane has already paid more than the annual limit of $9,932 in Social Security taxes for 2023. Jane will get back the excess Social Security taxes, but she'll need to wait until she files her 2023 tax return in 2024.
What you can do: Work as a contractor for your second job. You’ll be responsible for paying your own income, Social Security and Medicare taxes, but you'll be able to manage Social Security taxes to avoid overpayment.
Phaseout Surprise: As your income increases, the number of deductions and tax credits available to you will get smaller as benefit phaseout limits are reached.
Example: The Child Tax Credit provides a $2,000 tax credit for each qualifying child. You don't qualify for this credit, however, if you file a joint tax return with taxable income above $440,000, or are single and file a return with taxable income above $240,000.
What you can do: Certain deductions and adjustments can help decrease taxable income below a phaseout's limit. This will potentially allow you to still take advantage of a tax break, such as the Child Tax Credit.
Benefits Surprise: Every retirement and medical account limits how much you can contribute annually. If you exceed these limits, you may have to pay taxes twice on the same income.
Example: The 401(k) contribution limit in 2023 is $22,500. You inadvertently contribute $27,500. The first $22,500 of contributions won't be taxed until you start making withdrawals after you retire. The excess $5,000 contribution could be taxed twice - you must include the $5,000 as taxable income on your 2023 tax return; you'll also pay taxes on that $5,000 when you withdraw it from your 401(k) after you retire.
What you can do: Correct any over-contribution before filing that year's tax return. Up-to-date record keeping throughout the year can alert you to when you're close to the annual contribution limit.
Estimated Tax Surprise: If your extra job is a contract position, you'll receive a Form 1099 summarizing how much you billed a particular client in all of 2023. If this is the first time receiving a 1099, you may be surprised to learn that you're responsible for making all tax payments to the IRS. If you are making a net profit, tax payments for 2023 will need to be made in September and January 2024.
What you can do: Estimated tax payments can sometimes be rather large, especially if you're making a decent amount of money, so keep good bookkeeping records so you can budget for these payments.
Please call if you have questions about these or any other job-related tax topics.
Hiring Family Members - What You Need to Know!
Many business owners hire their children, their spouse, or other family members to work in their business. Sometimes this works out well. Other times it causes problems. Here are some of the key pros and cons of putting family members on your payroll.
Hiring your children
Hiring your kids for a part-time job usually has more tax advantages and fewer drawbacks than hiring others. The financial advantage is that if you’re paying your child to do useful work, the business gets a tax deduction for the wages paid. Your child will probably pay little or no income tax, and the after-tax wages stays in the family.
To ensure the wages are fully deductible the child must be doing a real job that helps the business, and the wages must be reasonable for the work performed. Keep detailed records of hours worked and pay salary regularly, preferably on the same schedule as other employees. In other words, treat your child just like any regular employee.
In addition, depending on how your business is organized and the age of your child, you may be able to avoid paying Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment on their wages. To qualify, you must be a sole proprietor or a husband-wife eligible partnership and your child must be under the age of 18.
Hiring your spouse or other relatives
An advantage to hiring your spouse or other relatives is that you have an employee whom you know well, and who may be more motivated or more flexible than a non-family member. And in many family-owned businesses, it’s a powerful way to train the next generation who will take over leadership of the company.
That same familiarity can bring disadvantages, however.
Few families are without some internal or intergenerational conflict, and that can be disastrous if it spills over into the workplace. You must also consider the effect on other employees. Any sign of favoritism or unequal treatment can cause resentment and ruin the motivation of other employees.
Be cautious moving forward
There are plenty of businesses where hiring family members has worked out just fine, but other businesses where it didn't work out.
So think long and hard before you bring family members into the business. Talk to them and to your key employees beforehand so everyone understands and is comfortable with their roles in the company.
As always, should you have any questions or concerns regarding your tax situation please feel free to call.
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