Would you like to benefit charity while reducing the size of your taxable estate yet maintain an income stream for yourself? Would you also like to divest yourself of highly appreciated assets and diversify your portfolio with minimal tax consequences? Then consider a CRT. Here’s how it works:

• When you fund the CRT, you receive a partial income tax deduction and the property is removed from your estate.
• For a given term, the CRT pays an amount to you annually.
• At the term’s end, the CRT’s remaining assets pass to charity.

If you fund the CRT with appreciated assets, it can sell them without paying tax on the gain and then invest the proceeds in a variety of stocks and bonds. You’ll owe capital gains tax when you receive CRT payments, but much of the liability will be deferred. Plus, only a portion of each payment will be attributable to capital gains. This also may help you reduce or avoid exposure to the 3.8% net investment income tax and the 20% top long-term capital gains rate.

For more ideas on tax-smart gifts to charity, minimizing estate taxes, maintaining an income stream or diversifying your portfolio tax efficiently, contact us.

Investing in mutual funds is an easy way to diversify a portfolio, which is one reason why they’re commonly found in retirement plans such as IRAs and 401(k)s. But if you hold such funds in taxable accounts, or are considering such investments, beware of these two tax pitfalls:

1. Mutual funds with high turnover rates can create income that’s taxed at ordinary-income rates. Choosing funds that provide primarily long-term gains can save you more tax dollars because of the lower long-term rates.
2. Earnings on mutual funds are typically reinvested, and unless you keep track of these additions and increase your basis accordingly, you may report more gain than required when you sell the fund. (Since 2012, brokerage firms have been required to track — and report to the IRS — your cost basis in mutual funds acquired during the tax year.)

If your mutual fund investments aren’t limited to your tax-advantaged retirement accounts, we’d be pleased to help you assess the potential tax impact and suggest ways to minimize your tax liability.

Image courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net.

An employer may enjoy several advantages when it classifies a worker as an independent contractor rather than as an employee. For example, it generally isn’t required to pay payroll taxes, withhold taxes, pay benefits or comply with most wage and hour laws. However, there’s a potential downside: If the IRS determines that you’ve improperly classified employees as independent contractors, you can be subject to significant back taxes, interest and penalties.

To determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor, the IRS generally considers the following 3 broad categories, in addition to other facts-and-circumstances-based issues.

1. Behavioral. Does the employer control, or have the right to control, what the worker does and how the worker does his or her job?

2. Financial. Does the employer control the business aspects of the worker’s job? Does the employer reimburse the worker’s expenses or provide the tools or supplies to do the job?

3. Type of relationship. Will the relationship continue after the work is finished? Is the work a key aspect of the employer’s business?

The Department of Labor looks at similar issues and also could penalize employers who misclassify their workers.  Further, the DOL and IRS share information so that an audit by one agency could trigger an audit by the other.

The IRS offers voluntary correction programs that may mitigate the potential penalties, but even these programs contain potential risks.  If you are concerned that you may have misclassified workers, it is important to consult with both your accountant and legal counsel.  Your accountant should be familiar with your business and with the IRS procedures.  Legal counsel can help you with both the IRS and DOL issues.

About Greg Daugherty
Greg Daugherty is a partner at Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP and a featured guest blogger for Whalen & Company.  To view his professional bio, please visit http://www.porterwright.com/greg_daugherty/, and link to his blog at http://www.employeebenefitslawreport.com/.

With the gift and estate tax exemptions currently at $5.34 million, you might think that estate valuations are less important. But even if you believe that your estate’s value is under the exemption amount, it’s still important to know the value of your assets.

First, your estate might be worth more than you think. For example, if you own an insurance policy on your life, the death benefit will be included in your estate, which may be enough to trigger estate tax liability.

Second, obtaining a qualified appraisal can limit the IRS’s ability to revalue your assets. If you make gifts that exceed the $14,000 annual gift tax exclusion, you’ll need to file a gift tax return, even if the gift is within your lifetime exemption. Generally, the IRS has three years to audit gift tax returns and challenge reported values for gifted assets. But that period doesn’t begin until the gift has been “adequately disclosed.”

For assets that are difficult to value — such as closely held business interests or real estate — the best way to satisfy the adequate-disclosure requirements and avoid an IRS challenge is to include a qualified professional appraisal with your return.

Please contact us for more information on properly valuing your assets. We can help you comply with IRS requirements and keep taxes to a minimum.

Restricted stock is stock that’s granted subject to a substantial risk of forfeiture. Income recognition is normally deferred until the stock is no longer subject to that risk or you sell it. You then pay taxes on the stock’s fair market value at your ordinary-income rate.

But you can instead make a Section 83(b) election to recognize ordinary income when you receive the stock. This election, which you must make within 30 days after receiving the stock, can be beneficial if the stock is likely to appreciate significantly. Why? Because it allows you to convert future appreciation from ordinary income to long-term capital gains income and defer it until the stock is sold.

There are some potential disadvantages, however:

• You must prepay tax in the current year — which also could push you into a higher income tax bracket or trigger or increase the additional 0.9% Medicare tax.
• Any taxes you pay because of the election can’t be refunded if you eventually forfeit the stock or sell it at a decreased value.

If you’ve recently been awarded restricted stock or expect to be awarded such stock this year, work with us to determine whether the Sec. 83(b) election is appropriate for you.