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William Byrnes (Texas A&M) tax & compliance articles

Archive for November, 2018

IRS provides tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2019

Posted by William Byrnes on November 23, 2018


The Internal Revenue Service was very late (only on November 15) in announcing the tax year 2019 annual inflation adjustments for more than 60 tax provisions, including the tax rate schedules and other tax changes. Revenue Procedure 2018-57 provides details about these annual adjustments. The tax year 2019 adjustments generally are used on tax returns filed in 2020.

The tax items for tax year 2019 of greatest interest to most taxpayers include the following dollar amounts:

  • The standard deduction for married filing jointly rises to $24,400 for tax year 2019, up $400 from the prior year. For single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately, the standard deduction rises to $12,200 for 2019, up $200, and for heads of households, the standard deduction will be $18,350 for tax year 2019, up $350.
  • The personal exemption for tax year 2019 remains at 0, as it was for 2018, this elimination of the personal exemption was a provision in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
  • For tax year 2019, the top rate is 37 percent for individual single taxpayers with incomes greater than $510,300 ($612,350 for married couples filing jointly). The other rates are:

o 35 percent, for incomes over $204,100 ($408,200 for married couples filing jointly);

o 32 percent for incomes over $160,725 ($321,450 for married couples filing jointly);

o 24 percent for incomes over $84,200 ($168,400 for married couples filing jointly);

o 22 percent for incomes over $39,475 ($78,950 for married couples filing jointly);

o 12 percent for incomes over $9,700 ($19,400 for married couples filing jointly).

o The lowest rate is 10 percent for incomes of single individuals with incomes of $9,700 or less ($19,400 for married couples filing jointly).

  • For 2019, as in 2018, there is no limitation on itemized deductions, as that limitation was eliminated by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
  • The Alternative Minimum Tax exemption amount for tax year 2019 is $71,700 and begins to phase out at $510,300 ($111,700, for married couples filing jointly for whom the exemption begins to phase out at $1,020,600). The 2018 exemption amount was $70,300 and began to phase out at $500,000 ($109,400 for married couples filing jointly and began to phase out at $1 million).
  • The tax year 2019 maximum Earned Income Credit amount is $6,557 for taxpayers filing jointly who have three or more qualifying children, up from a total of $6,431 for tax year 2018. The revenue procedure has a table providing maximum credit amounts for other categories, income thresholds and phase-outs.
  • For tax year 2019, the monthly limitation for the qualified transportation fringe benefit is $265, as is the monthly limitation for qualified parking, up from $260 for tax year 2018.
  • For calendar year 2019, the dollar amount used to determine the penalty for not maintaining minimum essential health coverage is 0, per the Tax Cuts and Jobs act; for 2018 the amount was $695.
  • For the taxable years beginning in 2019, the dollar limitation for employee salary reductions for contributions to health flexible spending arrangements is $2,700, up $50 from the limit for 2018.
  • For tax year 2019, participants who have self-only coverage in a Medical Savings Account, the plan must have an annual deductible that is not less than $2,350, an increase of $50 from tax year 2018; but not more than $3,500, an increase of $50 from tax year 2018. For self-only coverage, the maximum out-of-pocket expense amount is $4,650, up $100 from 2018. For tax year 2019, participants with family coverage, the floor for the annual deductible is $4,650, up from $4,550 in 2018; however, the deductible cannot be more than $7,000, up $150 from the limit for tax year 2018. For family coverage, the out-of-pocket expense limit is $8,550 for tax year 2019, an increase of $150 from tax year 2018.
  • For tax year 2019, the adjusted gross income amount used by joint filers to determine the reduction in the Lifetime Learning Credit is $116,000, up from $114,000 for tax year 2018.
  • For tax year 2019, the foreign earned income exclusion is $105,900 up from $103,900 for tax year 2018.
  • Estates of decedents who die during 2019 have a basic exclusion amount of $11,400,000, up from a total of $11,180,000 for estates of decedents who died in 2018.
  • The annual exclusion for gifts is $15,000 for calendar year 2019, as it was for calendar year 2018.
  • The maximum credit allowed for adoptions is the amount of qualified adoption expenses up to $14,080, up from $13,810 for 2018.

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Tax Facts was first published in 1951 in a slim, 137-page volume covering the income, estate and gift tax aspects of life insurance and annuity ownership, titled Tax Facts on Life Insurance. Since that first year, the breadth and depth of Tax Facts coverage has grown to include employee benefits, business continuation, individual and qualified retirement plans, as well as decades of hard-to-find rulings and clarifications of longstanding regulations.  In 1983, Tax Facts grew to two volumes, with the second covering investments of all types: stocks, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, and the tax requirements related to each. What began as a 234-page book grew rapidly as tax reform in the 1980s multiplied the rules covering the treatment of investments.

In 2010 Tax Facts expanded to its current 4 volume and online format.  In its 67-year history, Tax Facts has become the financial advisor industry’s standard for clear, up-to-date thorough tax information. Now in an all-inclusive online format, every answer, ruling and table is easier than ever to find.

“Tax Facts is the place I go to find the answers to those tough life insurance questions that no one else has – and to check those they do. It’s THE SOURCE for authoritative income, estate, and gift tax information on life insurance and annuity contracts.”

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TaxFacts Intelligence Weekly Nov 16th

Posted by William Byrnes on November 16, 2018


IRS Releases Guidance on Impact of Personal Exemption Suspension on Premium Tax Credit
The 2017 tax reform legislation suspended the personal exemption for tax years beginning after 2017 and before 2026. Relatedly, taxpayers are entitled to claim the Affordable Care Act premium tax credit with respect to an individual if the taxpayer has claimed an exemption with respect to that taxpayer (i.e., the personal or dependency exemption). A taxpayer is entitled to claim the premium tax credit with respect to another individual if the taxpayer would otherwise be entitled to claim a dependency exemption with respect to that individual, and includes the individual’s name and TIN on his or her Form 1040. For more information, visit Tax Facts Online and Read More.
OTHER IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS

Grandfathering Potential May Still Exist Under Section 162(m) Post-Regulations
The IRS regulations governing the new limitations on the Section 162(m) executive compensation deduction limits may have curtailed grandfathering opportunities that some had expected under the new tax law, but possibilities still remain. The test for determining whether grandfather treatment is permitted involves whether the company was legally obligated to pay the compensation under state law (meaning contract law) as of November 2, 2017. For more information on the new rules governing the deductibility of executive compensation, visit Tax Facts Online and Read More.
LITIGATION WATCH

Tax Court Rules Business-Provided Life Insurance Taxable to Insured Individual Under Split Dollar Rules
The Tax Court recently ruled that the “economic benefit” of business-sponsored life insurance provided to a key employee through a multiple-employer welfare benefit fund was taxable income to the employee. The Tax Court agreed with the IRS that this structure required current income inclusion under the split dollar life insurance principles, so that the economic benefit received by the employee was required to be included in his gross income for the year in question despite the fact that no actual cash benefits were received during that year. For more information on the rules governing split dollar life insurance, visit Tax Facts Online and Read More.

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TaxFacts Intelligence Weekly (Nov 2)

Posted by William Byrnes on November 2, 2018


TAX REFORM DEVELOPMENTS by William Byrnes & Robert Bloink

IRS Guidance Provides Market Discount Not Included Under Section 451
The IRS has released guidance on the treatment of market discount under the new accounting rules created by the 2017 tax reform legislation. For accrual basis taxpayers, income must be included in gross income when all events have occurred to fix the right to the income and the amount can be determined with reasonable accuracy. Post-reform, this “all events test” is satisfied when the taxpayer takes the item into account as revenue on an applicable financial statement. For more information on the rules governing accrual-based accounting post-reform, visit Tax Facts Online and Read More.
OTHER TAX REFORM DEVELOPMENTS

IRS Releases New Model Notice Implementing Tax Reform Rollover Changes for Safe Harbor Retirement Plans
The IRS has released a new safe harbor model tax notice under IRC Section 402(f), which is important for plans that use these notices for eligible rollover distributions (however, alternative notice formats should also be updated). The model notice incorporates the new rollover deadline for qualified plan loan offsets–the deadline has been extended from 60 days to the taxpayer’s tax filing deadline. The new self-certification procedures for waiver of the 60-day rollover deadline are also reflected in the notice (these were introduced in 2016) For more information on the rules governing qualified plan rollovers, including tax reform’s changes, visit Tax Facts Online and Read More.
Tax Court Finds Capital Gain Income Counted in Determining Premium Tax Credit Eligibility Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) rules may seem to have taken a back burner following the repeal of the individual mandate, most ACA provisions remain in force and clients continue to claim the premium tax credit. A recent Tax Court summary opinion highlights the importance of continuing to understand the ACA rules. In the case, a taxpayer’s gross income from most sources was very low, allowing the taxpayer and her son to qualify for premium tax credit assistance. However, to make ends meet, they sold several of their personal belongings in the same year, generating capital gain income. Because the capital gain income exceeded 400% of the poverty line, they were required to repay all advance premium tax credit payments. For more information on the premium tax credit, visit Tax Facts on Individuals and Small Business Online and Read More.
LITIGATION WATCH

Court Rules Stock in Former Parent No Longer Qualified as “Employer Securities” for ERISA Purposes
A district court in Texas recently ruled that stock in a former parent ceased to qualify as an “employer security” following a spinoff, so that the ERISA exemption from the duty to diversify investments and the duty of prudence no longer applied. The plan at issue was a defined contribution plan that also contained an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), which was formed after a spinoff. The plan held both newly issued employer stock, as well as stock in the former parent company that was transferred from an old plan. The court rejected the defendants’ argument that the ERISA exemption applied, finding that stock does not retain its character as employer securities indefinitely. For more information on the tax treatment of employer securities in retirement plans, visit Tax Facts Online and Read More.

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