Tax Flashcards
investment interest deduction
-limited to net investment income
-no investment income= no deduction for margin interest
=not for margin interest to purchase tax-exempt (muni!)
investment income includes:
interest, dividends, royalties, ST gains
*(qualified dividend only qualifies if opted-out of reduced LT gains rate)
what qualifies as investment income? (gain election)
income from property held for investment: interest, (dividends), royalties, STG
- dividends included if elected out of reduced rates
- LTG included only if elected out of long term rate (elects STCG)
Meals and Entertainment Expense
Meals travel, business 50%
NO ENTERTAINMENT- instead ask for reimburse (tax free)
Employer reimbursement:
employer can reimburse in full, but only claim deduction 50%
kiddie tax and muni bonds
muni bond income not included in unearned income bc muni bonds are federal tax-exempt
standard deduction for kiddie when both earned and unearned income
standard deduction is greater of:
$1100 unearned OR earned+$350(max) ($12,200 total max)
SE income included and not included
Included: NET schedule C, Gen partnership income (K-1), Board of directors fees, 1099
NOT included: real estate income/rent paid to you, share of income/loss from limited partner, wages from S corp (fica wages), K-1 income from S corp
FICA (Federal Insurance Contribution Act) taxes
employee and employer each pay 6.2% + 1.45% up to W-2 $132,900
over that, each pays Medicare tax of 1.45%
child dependent care credit (nonrefundable) under age 13
allowable expense $3000 one child, $6000 two or more, and take 20% ($1200 credit) (so $6000 is the max)
child tax credit (partially refundable) under age 17
under 17! $2000 ($1400 of it is refundable) credit for each child (phaseout in tax table)
ex: $4000 owed in tax, 3 kids- $2000+$2000+$1400
other tax credits
Elderly,disabled credit (nonrefundable)- 65 and disabled
Foreign tax credit (non)- take credit OR deduct
Earned income credit (refundable)
Installment sale- Gross Profit Percentage
gain recognized in each year (related party- don’t sell within 2 yrs or it’ll collapse)
Profit/Total contract price= GPP
Ex: $10k basis, $100k sale= $90k profit
$90k/$100k=90%, so for all future payments, 90% is reported as LTCG (if property owned LT) and 10% is return of basis
Section 1244 qualified small business stock (simply add to document!)- what does it do?
- applies to first million of stock (C or S)
- loss of $100,000/$50,000 (JT/single) is ORDINARY loss
- allows you to take $100,000 ordinary loss plus $3000 capital loss if business fails (instead of just $3000/yr and carry forward forever)
sole proprietorship- interest paid on business loans
unlimited deduction!
QBI (qualified business income)
up to 20% of QBI can be deducted from pass through entities like sole p, S corp, LLC, partnerships etc.
up to $421,400 (married), $160,700 (single) taxable income
if business income exceeds $421,400, lesser of 50% of W2 payments
original basis and adjusted basis
adjusted basis is original basis (includes attorney fees, title, etc)- (less) cost-recovery deduction (depreciation)
Ex: bought building for $20,000 down and $100,000 mortgage and sold for $180,000 and took $18,000 depreciation. Adjusted basis is $120,000-$18,000; gain is $180,000-$102,000=$78,000
MACRS, 179…(197?)
you can either amortize using MACRS or 179 it (election to expense up to $1 million ish- tangible (1245) property like computers- limited to taxable earned income.
197 - intangibles like franchise , goodwill
1031 like-kind exchange
business-personal ok if personal is to be used for business
real estate only
Holding period (ST, LT, collectible rates)
-ST and 1245 recaptures- ordinary
-LT:
0% for (10-12% bracket);
15% (bracket 15%-39.6%);
20% (bracket above 39.6%)
passive activities, passive loss
like non-publicly traded partnerships (RELPs- real estate limited partnerships), no material participation
$3000 loss can’t be deducted for PASSIVE loss, that’s just for capital losses
[loss from LLC where active participant- deductible up to basis]
phantom income by category (duplicate)
Insurance: any lapse with a loan; section 162 life/disability
Investments: zero/strip income, TIPS, dividends declared but not paid, CG, [dividends reinvested?]
Tax: K-1 income from LP/FLP, recaptures
Retirement: ESOP distribution (basis only), secular trust
divorce property settlements (and life insurance)
any transfer of property between spouses incident to a divorce is tax-free.
life insurance can also be transferred as nontaxable transfer of property (and not as alimony or child support)- this is exception to “transfer for value” rule
payee assumes payer spouse’s basis if property is transferred (no step up)
front-loading of alimony
too much in 1st 3 years- must be recaptured as ordinary income
- no alimony 3rd year: 1st+2nd-$37,500=subject to recap
- third year payment made: (3rd x 2) +$37,500=
then that number is subtracted from 1st 2 years
(exceeding by more than $15k is a problem- can’t decrease substantially)
- P. T38
(charitable contribution)ordinary income property- limited to BASIS
property that would produce ordinary income if sold:
Use-unrelated property (like artwork, collectibles), Short-term capital gains property, inventory, work of art by taxpayer, copyright
SS taxation; MAGI
Muni bonds added to AGi for SS tax calculation
hobby income/loss
income reportable, no miscellaneous itemized deductions anymore
get income (profit) 3 out of 5 consecutive years is a BUSINESS, not hobby (2 out of 7 consecutive for horses)
above/below the line deductions
Gross income
-“above the line” deduction (adjustment FOR AGI)
AGI
-“below the line” deductions(FROM AGI)
Taxable income….
Adjustments (front):
IRA, student loan interest, MSA, 1/2 SE tax, SE health insurance, Keogh/SEP, HSA, alimony
Itemized deductions(schedule A) [or standard]: medical, dental, qualified LTC 10%, mortgage interest, taxes up to $10,000, charitable gifts, investment interest, casualty losses
can’t deduct adviser fees anymore!
foreign tax credit
if you paid income taxes to foreign govt, you can DEDUCT or CREDIT dollar for dollar against US income tax liability