Posts Tagged ‘Tax Savings’
How to Hire Your Kids The Tax Smart Way
UPDATED FOR 2022
As long as your kids are doing legitimate work for your business you can hire your child tax free.
How much can I pay my child to work for my business 2022 IRS?
As long as they’re doing legitimate work for your business, you can hire your child tax free and pay each of them up to $12,000 per year tax-free.
It’s true. And all of this while they earn a little money AND start saving for college or that first business. And it’s all tax-free.
So you may want to hire your child(ren) to work in your business. And you want to do it for many good reasons: to teach them about entrepreneurship, develop a strong work ethic, AND for the tax-free income — up to $12,000 per child.
You can hire your kids and pay each of them up to $12,000 per year tax-free. If you hire your son to stuff envelopes and your daughter to update your website then you get to lower your personal income by $24,000! Simply by engaging your children in the family business.
If they stay under this limit, they don’t even have to file a tax return, which means they don’t pay any income tax on it. And you get to deduct their wages, which lowers your business’ taxable income.
BUT WAIT. THERE'S MORE.
The IRS ACTUALLY Rewards You For It! Source: Publication 929 (2020), Tax Rules for Children and Dependents)
If you have children between the ages of 7 - 22, you can use this strategy to save some money. Here is how it works:
- Each of your children can be employed by your business and paid an annual wage of $12,000. This is an important amount because it is the standard deduction amount for single individuals.
- Your business gets to take a deduction for the payment, thus decreasing your taxable income.
- Your children will then file their own tax return, & since they only made $12,000 they pay no federal income tax because of the standard deduction of $12,000, their taxable income is ZERO.
- So the business gets to take a deduction, but the kids pay no federal income tax. It does not get much easier than that!
This strategy can also be combined with IRA and 401k strategies to really maximize the benefit. For instance, if you paid each child $12K each as salary. You could put $6K into an IRA that is deductible, and you can use their standard deduction to take their taxable income to zero.
In that case, your business can deduct $18K per child, but again, no taxable income.
If you want to save money then hire your kids and make sure you have them actually work!
Keep track of the hours and tasks your children perform and make sure it’s age-appropriate. DOL Rules Regarding Youth & Labor The IRS isn’t going to believe your 5-year-old earned $12,000 analyzing dental records. But that 5-year-old can model those pearly whites in photographs to be used on your website or brochure! It’s easy to document an “image agreement” that pays an ongoing licensing fee right from the start.
Using this strategy, rather than just dumping change into their jar, (money you likely paid personal taxes on) you’ve moved those taxable dollars from your tax rate to your child’s tax rate and bracket, which, is zero, and you still keep the money in the family!.
There are countless jobs kids can do for you, and remember, you can pay them at the SAME RATE you would pay any other employee or outsourced company.
- Cleaning the office
- Washing company cars
- Updating customer lists on the computer
- Simple to advanced Data-entry
- Transcribing video or audio
- Trips to the post office or general errands
- Helping at the office, passing out handouts, and more
- Walking door to door, placing fliers for your business
- Updating your social media accounts (They won’t even equate this as work!)
As Long As Your Kids Are Doing Legitimate Work For Your Business You Can Hire Your Kids.
But then, let’s say after reading the guide, you find out that this strategy “doesn’t work” if your business is a corporation.
The Corporation “Problem,” and Its Simple Solution to Hire You Kids
There are different rules for different types of businesses. And that when the owners of a corporation hire their child, there are still payroll taxes like FICA to deal with.
We even pointed this out in your free guide. See for yourself:
FICA tax may not have to be withheld on work performed by a child under the age of 18 while employed by a parent in an unincorporated business (sole-proprietorship, single member LLC or a partnership where the only partners are the child’s parents). However, there is no FICA or FUTA exemption for employing a child in an incorporated business (S or C Corp) or in a partnership that includes non-parent partners. In these cases, the children are subject to the same withholding rules that apply to all other employees.
So you DO NOT have to pay payroll taxes for employing your kids if your business is a sole-proprietorship, a single-member LLC taxed as a disregarded entity, or an LLC taxed as a partnership and owned solely by you and your spouse.
But if your business is a corporation, the IRS’s rules are clear. You must pay payroll taxes on income given to your children.
So are you stuck if your small business is set up as an S or C Corp? Or if you’re planning on switching to an S Corp like we normally recommend for maximum tax advantages?
Well, it turns out there is a workaround.
As one high-profile tax strategist says: in order to lower your tax, just change the facts.
Here’s how to do it:
The Payroll Tax Workaround to Hire Your Kids
If your business is set up as an S or a C corporation, or as a partnership with other non-parent partners, the IRS says you have to withhold payroll taxes when employing your kids.
But there is a way to get around this restriction utilizing a little creativity and a “hybrid” approach.
Instead of paying your children directly from your S Corp, you pay them out of a family management company.
You can create this simple family management company as a Sole Proprietorship separate from your S Corp, and owned by yourself or your spouse.
Its only purpose is to support the operations of your Corporation, which can include the scheduling and monitoring of jobs done by your child(ren) — and all the bookkeeping and documentation necessary to keep the jobs within IRS standards.
The family management company charges the Corporation a management fee for these services and can then pay your child — which removes them from your corporate payroll.
And since the family management company is a Sole Proprietorship owned by a parent, you, or your spouse, it falls under the IRS exemption where payroll taxes don’t have to be withheld.
By following this workaround, you’ve found a way to truly pay your kids $12,000 per year tax-free using nothing but the IRS’s own rules.
For more tax-saving tips check out how my blog on Tax Deductions VS Tax Credits! Then put on your HR hat, because you've got some little new hires to train!
12 Ways for IRS Back Tax Relief with IRS Fresh Start program
Americans who are struggling financially and find it impossible to make tax payments the IRS fresh start program.
How to Get IRS Back Tax Relief
Has the pandemic caused created you to fall behind on filing your federal income tax year return or paying your federal IRS tax liabilities? If it has, you are not the only one looking for IRS back tax relief.
More than 22 million taxpayers in the United States had either failed to file a current tax return or are behind in paying their IRS taxes due and that was before the pandemic hit.
This relief ranged from postponing certain installment payments related to Installment Agreements and Offers in Compromise to the collection and limiting certain enforcement actions.
Past-Due tax returns were still due and the IRS "continued its work to secure unfiled tax returns" but told taxpayers' in an official statement that they "should file any delinquent 2018 return (and their 2019 return) on or before July 15, 2020" thus moving the April 15th deadline and extending the filing season.
Mission-critical functions continued with certain IRS services such as live assistance on telephones, processing paper tax returns, and responding to correspondence were and still are extremely limited.
Current year Tax return bills did not go away and unpaid taxes for prior years still accrued penalties and interest.
If things have been tight financially, it can be easy to ignore the task of filing and paying your federal taxes to the IRS. Some might think that they can get caught up “next year” when things get better.
However, unfortunately, for many their financial hardship won't get better and they will skip tax filing again. And maybe again allowing the situation to snowball.
Initially, one might think they have gotten away with not paying the IRS, but eventually, the IRS will catch up with you. While procrastinating, the penalties and interest build-up to a dollar amount that is way more than what would have been owed if the returns were filed and the taxes were paid on time.
What Can The IRS Do If You Fail To Get IRS Back Tax Relief?
Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 was a landmark law that put respect for the individual taxpayer back into the system. It forced the IRS to more fully communicate with the public and grant taxpayers "due process" rights.
But make no mistake about it, the IRS is not a joke and has almost unlimited power. They can take away your car, your house, garnish wages, clean out your bank account and retirement fund, as well as restrict your travel by seizing your passport.
They will take anything of value – jewelry, precious family heirlooms, artwork, your gun collection, even garnish part of your social security earnings.
By then, the penalties and interest will be so high that it will feel like an impossible situation to get out of.
Did you know that some of IRS debt may not be forgiven if one declares bankruptcy? This is correct.
Just the anxiety alone is not worth getting behind on your taxes. Especially at a time when everyone needs to keep their stress level low and their immune system in tip-top shape to fight the coronavirus.
For some, the added stress could cause a more severe illness. And that's the last thing that is needed because in a worst-case scenario, that can lead to lost wages and hospital bills on top of your IRS debt.
Save Your Marriage With IRS Back Tax Relief
You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to begin the journey of coming clean with the IRS. A huge burden will be lifted from your shoulders and you will feel enormous relief when you take the first step toward getting your IRS issues resolved.
Sleep at night with IRS Fresh Start Program
So, let's see if we can begin to relieve some of that anxiety. We will take a look at all of the steps and options that you have when you get behind in filing or paying your federal income taxes to the IRS.
Facts about IRS Back Tax Relief or Tax Debt Resolution
Here are some facts about resolving your debt with the IRS.
1. The IRS wants to work with taxpayers and grant IRS back tax relief The IRS is actually on your side, in a way. The agency is typically eager and happy to collect old debts. It truly wants to work with taxpayers, but there are many, many rules you need to know about and a process to follow.
2. Only 3 types of professionals can represent you before the IRS.
While you can represent yourself in front of the IRS. It might not be the best idea, especially if your debt is very high or you've ignored the situation for a long time.
There are only three types of professionals that can represent your case at the IRS:
1) CPAs, Certified Public Accountants. But be careful: not all CPAs are experienced in IRS representation.
2) EAs, Enrolled Agents. Again, make sure the EA has experience representing clients to the IRS.
3) Attorneys. Same story as above. Not all attorneys are tax attorneys, and even not all tax attorneys have a bustling representation practice.
A great question to ask anyone you are looking to hire is “What is your offer-in-compromise acceptance rate?” 3. You'll probably need to get your bookkeeping caught up.
If you're behind on your taxes, it can often follow that you are behind on your bookkeeping as well. Anyone you hire is going to need good numbers in order to work with you, so a good first step is to catch up on your bookkeeping.
Often, tax resolution professionals provide bookkeeping catch-up services. They'll do the minimum you need in order to get you or your business in compliance.
4. You will probably need to open all of your IRS mail.
Yep, we know you. It's sitting in a stack somewhere in your home. If you haven't opened the mail, start opening it up.
It's helpful for tax professionals to know what type of notice you received. In most cases, tax resolution specialists will know the letter by form number, and that will give them an idea of where to start with your case.
The Internal Revenue Service, state tax agencies, and local entities will send a letter if one of the following happens:
- You miss a deadline for filing payroll tax reports.
- You miss a deadline for filing your personal or corporate income tax returns.
- You miss a deadline for paying the tax due from your personal or corporate income tax returns.
- You miss a deadline for filing and/or paying corporate franchise tax due.
- An amount paid is short or over what the IRS or another tax agency calculates as due.
- The agency notices a discrepancy on any of your tax returns and needs an explanation.
- You have been selected for an audit.
- You fail to respond to previous correspondence.
Getting into Compliance for IRS Back Tax Relief
Here is what you need to do to get into “compliance” with the IRS. You can't have any debt forgiven until you get into compliance.
5. You should almost always file your past due tax returns, but there are some exceptions and filing needs to be done carefully so additional debt is not triggered.
Before any debt can be forgiven, the taxpayer needs to get into compliance.
This means all past-due returns must be filed. You don't have to pay off all your debt at this time; we'll talk about what you need to pay in the next item.
However, there are a couple of really big “ifs” when it comes to this step. In rare situations, filing can trigger more debt. Also, filing a particular way can also trigger more debt.
That's why it just makes sense to get a tax resolution professional involved in every step of this process, so they can keep you out of more trouble than you're already in.
6. Pay your current taxes.
While you don't have to pay all of your old IRS debt, you do have to be paying your current taxes. This is part of getting into compliance. You need to be able to show IRS that you can pay your taxes that are current.
This means that if you have a job as an employee, withholding is being withheld from your current paychecks. Or, if you're an entrepreneur taking draws, that you are currently making your estimated tax payments.
Paying Off Your IRS Debt: Options for IRS Back Tax Relief
Here are the options you have for paying off your IRS debt.
7. Pay off the entire amount, including penalties and interest.
If you can afford to, just pay it off. You will save on legal fees, but if you're a first-time offender, you may be paying penalties and interest that you might have gotten out of if you hired someone.
8. If the IRS has made an error, get the error corrected.
For this you need a Tax Resolution Professional – they can get into the RIS files and find what they have on you. It can be scary to talk to an IRS person directly.
Review return for errors, amend return, file paper return to IRS.
IRS errors usually refer to when the IRS files a return on your behalf (called a "Substitute For Return" or SFR) and only uses the info they have on hand. Therefore, no deductions are used.
9. Spouse issue You may also have a special situation with your spouse if they promised to file and did not or they do not file correctly, or they don't pay.
As a business or an individual taxpayer, you may receive a penalty on top of what you owe to the IRS. It allows compliant taxpayers to request abatement or remove certain penalties.
A penalty abatement is a tax problem resolution designed to fully eliminate or lessen the degree of IRS penalties.
The IRS penalties can roll out penalties that range from imprisonment to civil fines.
Those fines can be over 25 percent of the total owed to the IRS.
If you have tried applying for an offer in compromise and it was rejected, penalty abatement is the next best tax problem resolution to consider.
You can use it when negotiating repayment method terms or an installment agreement.
There are several types of installment agreements:
- Guaranteed;
- Streamlined;
- In Business; and
- Routine.
11. Understand RCP: Reasonable Collection Potential One of the key concepts in getting IRS back tax relief can be Reasonable Collection Potential or RCP.
It is the basis for making an offer to the IRS as to what you can pay.
RCP is a complicated formula based on the assets and income you currently have.
A tax representation professional can work with you to create a personal budget that can be used to present an offer to the IRS.
We will discuss offers a little later in this article.
When good, hard work is performed to create the budget, the taxpayer's chances of getting their offer accepted by the IRS improve.
Transform Your Financial Luck with 8 Painless Rules
Would you rather have financial luck or be good with money? Most financial challenges aren't just because of unfortunate events. They 're usually founded on poor financial habits. Some may call it financial luck, but most money challenges can be dealt with with using effective habits. Even a minor unforeseen cost can be crippling, with unsuitable financial practices.
While there are many negative financial habits that one might be guilty of committing, there are a couple that are particularly damaging.
Be careful not to acquire those poor financial habits:
- A failure to keep saving money. Consistently free from financial challenges, people have a consistent saving habit. There's always money to handle the inevitable financial emergencies if you save a portion of your paycheck every time you get paid.
- Make yourself a guarantee that you'll save a certain amount of each paycheck.
- Over-spending. The more you invest, the less you need to save. That is so plain. Over-spending leaves you vulnerable and more likely to face financial difficulties. Very excessive spending results in debt accumulation which is the ultimate financial curse.
- Look for other opportunities to have fun other than wasting money that you just don't need to spend.
- Set a tough cap on how much you can spend per month.
- Credit card overuse and other forms of debt. Debt poses a huge challenge to financial safety and stability. Debt can be cumbersome to eliminate and most debt comes with costly terms that make debt a particularly expensive way to spend money.
- Guard against debt. If you have to use debt to buy something, particularly something that is not necessary, then it's a safe bet you can't afford.
- Ignore the bills. No one enjoys paying bills. Period. Bills, though, have a tendency to pile up and have to be paid eventually. You're also wasting money during the time that should go toward your bills. That is an incredible error.
- Every week, spend a few minutes paying your bills. Make it a ritual that you execute one day a week.
- Charge fines, fees, and over-interest daily. Knew that credit card companies earn more revenue from late fees than they earn from interest? The penalties for ATMs are high. These interest-free loans have enormous interest penalties unless you pay them off on time.
- Pay the bills in due time. Using ATMs that do not claim a fee.
For information on tax debt relief go here!
- Raiding your savings, retirement and investment accounts. There may be times when you might be justified to dip into your savings or other accounts, just be sure it's for a good reason.
- Cashing out part of your 401(k) for a trip to Disney World is not a good reason for that. Wiping out your savings for a vintage car is probably not even a smart idea.
- Retirement accounts are used to invest. Investment and retirement plans are built to invest and create wealth. When you take money out of them they don't work well.
- No budget. And no budget. We just need a budget. Just one billionaire will have to have a budget. Financial limits are set in budgets, and financial limits help avoid financial problems.
- Too much dining out. Is difficult to eat out. Even fast food is more costly than a homemade meal. Homemade meals often prove to be safer.
Were you guilty of any of those attitudes?
Think of someone you know who does have a good career but who appears to be struggling financially. Count how many of the negative habits that person commits is guilty of. Then imagine someone you know, who never seems to be financially struggling. So many of these horrible habits have they?
The findings will come as no surprise!
Positive habits result in positive outcomes. Make sure your financial activities take you to a position you want to be in.