New Tax Deduction May Yield Benefits for Some Business Owners

Understanding Section 199A

By Kristina Drzal-Houghton, CPA, MST

At the close of every year, most individuals and business owners begin to think about taxes. Currently, many are anxious to find out what their liability will look like considering the law change known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

One major provision is a new tax deduction for passthrough entities (S-corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships) under Sec. 199A. The deduction generally provides owners, shareholders, or partners a 20% deduction on their personal tax returns on their qualified business income (QBI). Various limitations apply based on the type of business operated and the amount of income the business has.

While the calculation of the deduction amount is beyond the scope of this discussion, a summary follows of the limitations that apply to specified service trades or businesses (SSTBs) and other benefits which may be available.

The Internal Revenue Code has historically treated professional service businesses more harshly than any other type of business, and this continues with the Sec. 199A deduction. For example, before the TCJA, professional service corporations were taxed at a flat 35% tax rate rather than the graduated tax rates applicable to other C-corporations. Under the new rules, the same corporations will benefit from a flat 21% tax. Pass-through entities did not fare as well; the 20% deduction does not apply to certain enumerated SSTBs if the taxpayer’s taxable income is above certain threshold amounts.

The threshold amounts are $315,000 for taxpayers filing jointly and $157,500 for all other taxpayers, with a deduction-phaseout range, or limitation phase-in range, of $100,000 and $50,000, respectively, above these amounts.

SSTBs are broken into two distinct categories:

1.Trades or businesses performing services in the fields of health, law, accounting, actuarial science, performing arts, consulting, athletics, financial services, brokerage services, or any trade or business where the principal asset of that trade or business is the reputation or skill of one or more of its employees (specifically excluded are engineering and architecture); or

2. Any trade or business that involves the performance of services that consist of investing and investment management, trading, or dealing in securities, partnership interests, or commodities.

QBI also does not include compensation, even compensation paid to the shareholders of an S-corporation, or any guaranteed payments paid to a partner for services rendered with respect to the trade or business, or any payment to a partner for services rendered with respect to the trade or business. As a result, if your practice is a partnership that pays out all of its income in guaranteed payments, you may want to switch to a model that instead specially allocates that income to the partners, as a special allocation of income is eligible for the 20% deduction, while the guaranteed payments are not.

This could allow individual partners whose income falls below the above thresholds to benefit from the QBI deduction even if the activity is otherwise an SSTB.

What happens if a trade or business has multiple lines of businesses, where one of the lines is an SSTB? The regulations include a de minimis rule for this situation. If a taxpayer has $25 million or less in gross receipts for the tax year from SSTB activities, it will not be considered an SSTB if less than 10% of the receipts are generated by the SSTB activity. If the taxpayer has more than $25 million in gross receipts, it will not be an SSTB if less than 5% of those receipts are generated by the SSTB activity.

The regulations do provide a couple of anti-abuse provisions to prevent taxpayers from incorrectly trying to take advantage of the tax law. The first relates to a common question I am often asked at networking functions where an employee now desires to be treated as an independent contractor to take advantage of this new tax deduction. The regulations provide that former employees are presumed to still be employees even if subsequently treated as an independent contractor. The IRS provides several tests and factors to consider if a worker is an independent contractor or employee which should be considered by an employer before changing a worker’s classification.

The second anti-abuse provision has to do with related party businesses. Here the IRS has stated that, if a business that otherwise wouldn’t be considered an SSTB has 50% or more common ownership with an SSTB (including related parties) and is providing substantially all its property or services to the related SSTB, it will be considered an SSTB. ‘Substantially all’ is defined to be 80% or more of its total property or services to the related SSTB. This is designed to prevent taxpayers from shifting income to non-SSTB businesses by adjusting the purchase price on related party sales to take advantage of the tax break.

There are several other provisions of the TCJA that benefit all businesses regardless of form. These provisions are all effective Jan. 1, 2018 unless otherwise indicated and include:

• The maximum amount allowed to be expensed under Code Section 179 is increased to $1 million, and the phaseout threshold is increased to $2.5 million. These amounts are indexed for inflation after 2018.

• The definition of qualified real property under Code Section 179 is expanded to include certain depreciable personal property used in the lodging industry, as well as certain improvements to nonresidential real property after the date such property was placed in service, such as roofs; heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning property; fire protection and alarm systems; and security systems.

• For property acquired and placed in service after Sept. 27, 2017 and before Jan. 1, 2023, the first-year deduction is increased to 100%.

• After 2022, the deduction percentage phases down by 20% per year until it sunsets after 2026.

• Most states, including Massachusetts, have decided to decouple from the new bonus-depreciation rules.

• No deduction is allowed for entertainment, amusement, or recreation; membership dues for a club organized for business, pleasure, recreation, or other social purposes; or a facility used in connection with any of the above.

• Costs for entertainment expenses such as tickets to sporting events, taking clients to play golf, and similar activities are no longer deductible.

• Meals provided for the convenience of the employer, through an eating facility or other de minimis food and beverage, are no longer 100% deductible, but now fall into the 50% category. They become non-deductible after 2025.

• Qualified transportation fringe benefits provided to employees continue to be excluded from the employees’ income but are no longer deductible by the business.

• Between Jan. 1, 2018 and Dec. 31, 2019, the TCJA allows a credit of 12.5% of the amount of wages paid to qualifying employees during any period during which such employees are out on family and medical leave, provided that the rate of payment is 50% of the wages normally paid to an employee. The credit increases by 0.25% (but not above 25%) for each percentage point by which the wages exceed 50%.

• Wage expense is reduced when the credit is taken as an alternative.

On Jan. 18, the IRS released guidance on many Sec. 199A issues when it issued final regulations. The IRS noted that the final regulations had been modified somewhat from the proposed regulations issued last August as a result of comments it received and testimony at a public hearing it held. The final regulations apply to tax years ending after their publication in the Federal Register; however, taxpayers may rely on the proposed regulations for tax years ending in 2018.

The combination of the proposed regulation and final regulations has altered some of the planning techniques originally thought to increase the tax benefits available to SSTBs under the provisions of Sec. 199A. If your business previously adopted planning techniques before the August and January regulations, you should revisit the projected benefits with your tax adviser.

Kristina Drzal-Houghton, CPA, MST is a partner at Holyoke-based Meyers Brothers Kalicka and director of the firm’s Taxation Division; (413) 535-8510.