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What’s the Third Best Investment You Can Make?

The second-best investment you can make is paying off high interest rate debt. That could come after you’ve contributed enough to your 401(k) to get a full match from your employer. What should come next? If you have no expensive debt to pay down and you’re getting the full employer match, where should you direct your money? Here are some suggestions.

Unmatched 401(k) contributions 

In 2017, employees can contribute up to $18,000, or $24,000 if they’re at least age 50. Few (if any) company matches are that generous.

Example 1: Julie Benson earns $100,000 a year. Her employer’s 401(k) match is dollar-for-dollar, up to 6% of pay, so Julie will put at least $6,000 into the plan this year to get $6,000 in “free money” from the match. Julie, age 45, could contribute another $12,000.

Such a contribution is easy to do, with the money flowing directly into the 401(k) with every paycheck. The deferred income won’t be subject to income tax and any investment earnings can compound, untaxed. Other possible advantages include access to plan loans, offered by many companies, and considerable shelter from creditors.

That said, the main benefit of an unmatched 401(k) contribution is income tax deferral. If you are in a relatively high tax bracket now and expect to be in a lower bracket when you take withdrawals in retirement, maximizing 401(k) contributions could pay off. On the other hand, tax deferral might not appeal to workers in their 20s with modest incomes, perhaps deferring tax in a 15% bracket, who will face uncertain tax rates on distributions decades from now.

Roth IRA contributions

A Roth IRA is always funded with after-tax dollars, so there is no upfront tax benefit. However, distributions from a Roth IRA, made after the 5-year period beginning with the first tax year of a contribution to a Roth IRA and after the Roth IRA owner reaches age 59½, are completely tax-free. Therefore, putting some money into a Roth IRA can provide a source of tax-free cash in retirement instead of, or in addition to, taxable withdrawals of money from a 401(k). Roth IRA contributions can be up to $5,500 in 2017, or $6,500 for those 50 or older.

Example 2: Assume that Julie Benson, with her $100,000 salary, desires to save $15,000 for retirement this year. Julie might put $6,000 into her 401(k) to get the match and put $5,500 into a Roth IRA. That would total $11,500, so Julie could achieve her $15,000 savings goal by contributing another $3,500 to her 401(k) without a match.

Roth IRA owners never have required distributions, which generally impact pretax retirement funds after age 70½. It’s true that income limits may crimp Roth IRA contributions – single taxpayers can’t contribute for 2017 with modified adjusted gross income of at least $133,000, or $196,000 on joint tax returns.

However, there are no income limits for making nondeductible contributions to a traditional IRA and then converting that amount to a Roth IRA. This workaround won’t generate income tax for people who have no pretax money in traditional IRAs.

Roth IRAs may be especially appealing to people in relatively low tax brackets now, who will get only modest tax savings from unmatched 401(k) contributions.

Health savings accounts

Another possibility exists for people with certain high deductible health insurance coverage. Besides paying for the insurance, such people can have a health savings account (HSA) that offers unique tax advantages.

HSAs have no income limits. Contributions, which are tax deductible, can go up to $3,400 for 2017 and up to $6,750 for those with family coverage. (People 55 or older can contribute $1,000 more.) Inside an HSA, earnings are tax-free and distributions are untaxed if the HSA owner spends at least that much on qualified health care costs.

Example 3: Suppose that Julie Benson is eligible for an HSA. With single coverage, Julie contributes $3,400 this year, which she invests in stock funds. Although past performance is no guarantee of future success, stocks historically have done well over long time periods. Therefore, Julie hopes that annual contributions to her HSA will provide her with a substantial fund to tap for medical bills in retirement.

Besides contributing $6,000 to her 401(k) to get the full match, and $3,400 to her HSA, Julie can still contribute $5,500 to a Roth IRA for a total of $14,900 in 2017. Each of these options has features that go beyond those mentioned in this article, but they all may be viable choices for retirement investing. HLB Gross Collins, P.C. can explain their tax impact on your particular situation.

Roth IRA Distributions

• Roth IRA owners do not include distributions that are a return of regular contributions in their gross income.
• “Qualified distributions” from a Roth IRA also are not included in gross income.
• A qualified distribution is any payment from a Roth IRA made after the 5-year period beginning with the first taxable year of a contribution to a Roth IRA, and
  • made after the date the Roth IRA owner reaches age 59½;
  • made because of the Roth IRA owner’s disability;
  • made to the Roth IRA owner’s beneficiary or estate after death; or
  • that qualifies as a “first-time homebuyers’ distribution” (up to a $10,000 lifetime limit).

Interest Charge Domestic International Sales Corporations

There are two different ways to structure an IC-DISC.  One way is to set up the IC-DISC as a buy/sell entity.  This means that the IC-DISC owns the goods that it then sells outside the United States.  The second and most common way is to structure it as a commission IC-DISC.  This means that the IC-DISC sells goods outside the United States as if it were a commission agent for the distribution company.

Typically, the IC-DISC receives a commission from the exporter of goods and the commission is not taxable. The exporter, however, gets to deduct the commissions it pays the IC-DISC at ordinary income tax rates. The shareholders of an IC-DISC will pay tax on the income of the IC-DISC when they receive an actual or deemed dividend.  Taxable income attributable to the first $10,000,000 of gross receipts from the sale or exchange of qualified export asset is generally not included as a deemed distribution and will only be taxable to the shareholders when an actual dividend is received.  Taxable income attributable to any gross receipts in excess of the first $10,000,000 is taxable to the shareholders as if it has been distributed in the current year. Because of the tax benefit received, shareholders are required to pay an interest charge on deferred tax liabilities at qualified rates.

In order to make the election to be treated as an IC-DISC, a corporation must be organized in the United States and meet the following tests:

• Have a tax year end that conforms to the tax year end of its principal shareholders
• At least 95% of gross receipts for the tax year are qualified export receipts
• Has qualified export assets whose adjusted basis at year-end equals at least 95% of the total basis of its assets
• Has one class of stock and has stock outstanding with a par value of at least $2,500 on each day of the tax year
• Keeps its own bank account and separate books and records
• Makes a timely election to be treated as an IC-DISC
• No more than 50% of the product’s fair market value can be from articles imported into the U.S.

Valuable Tax Credits Available to Contractors

Many Federal and Georgia tax credits are available to contractors, though they are often overlooked and go unused. With proper planning and assessment, these credits can go a long way toward improving a contractor’s bottom line. Following is a summary of some of the more recognizable credits available. In the coming months we will delve into the details of each type of credit.

Research & Development (“R&D”) Tax Credit
The R&D Tax Credit is a Federal credit introduced in 1981 as a boost of the economy. Usage became so prolific that many states, including Georgia, created their own version of the R&D Tax Credit. In general, the R&D Tax Credit is to help a company offset dollar-for-dollar incremental research expenses. Contractors may be eligible for the credit, for example, if new processes or materials are being used in construction or installation. In addition, contractors who assist clients with design work are often eligible for the credit. This credit was made permanent with the passage of the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit (“WOTC”)
The WOTC is a Federal credit provided to employers hiring persons belonging to specific groups, and there are special guidelines with extended credit for qualified veterans. In general, the credit can be equal to 40% of first-year wages up to $6,000. The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 extended the hiring deadline to January 1, 2020, meaning the employee must be hired and start working before that date to be counted as part of this credit.

Georgia Retraining Tax Credit
The Georgia Retraining Tax Credit is only a Georgia credit. The purpose is to encourage employers to continually invest in their employees by upgrading equipment, acquiring new technology, and completing ISO 9000 training. The annual maximum credit is $1,250 per employee. This credit is available to any business that files a Georgia income tax return.

The three credits described above are not an exhaustive list and there may be more Federal and Georgia credits that apply specifically to your business. HLB Gross Collins, P.C. has been serving some of the Southeast’s most prominent construction companies for nearly 50 years. Our Construction Practice works closely with the clients to ensure that they are taking advantage of all available credits and savings opportunities.

Clearer Standard for Business/Asset Acquisitions

On January 5, 2017, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2017-01 to clarify the definition of a business.

Determining whether the net assets being acquired constitute a business under Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 805 is critical. The accounting for a business combination is significantly different than an asset acquisition. In an asset acquisition transaction costs, which are often significant, are capitalized but would be expensed under ASC 805, business combination, accounting.  Other costs such as in-process research and development (IPR&D) and contingent consideration are recorded on the balance sheet in a business combination but expensed or recognized when the contingency is resolved in an asset acquisition.

The guidance requires an entity to evaluate if substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or a group of similar identifiable assets; if so, the set of transferred assets and activities is not a business. The guidance also requires a business to include inputs, at least one substantive process and narrows the definition of outputs by more closely aligning it with how outputs are described in ASC 606.

We expect this to impact many of our clients in the real estate industry. For example: Company A purchases a portfolio of three multi-family apartment complexes that each has in-place leases.  Company A assumes the existing outsourced landscaping and security contracts for the properties. No other elements (e.g., employees, assets, substantive processes) are included in the acquired assets.  Company A determines substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired is concentrated in a single identifiable asset or group of similar identifiable assets.  As a result, Company A concludes that the acquired assets are not a business and does not account for the acquisition under ASC 805.

This becomes more complicated when the acquisition includes and operating company and the employees, all the contracts, operating IT and processes are being acquired. If the example above was for three skilled nursing facilities and all of the contract, IT, employees and processes were being acquired, then Company A would likely conclude this was a business acquisition and account for it under ASC 805.

This ASU is effective for private entities for periods beginning after December 15, 2018, but early adoption is permitted.

Please reach out to us if you have any questions regarding the new standard or other acquisition account issues.

HLB International Appoints New Member in Brazil

HLB International, one of the leading global accountancy networks with presence in 140 countries, continues its growth with the recent signing of a new member firm in Brazil – Grupo Boucinhas.

Grupo Boucinhas is based in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, São Caetano, Porto Alegre plus Miami (FL) with operational bases in Belém, Recife and Brasilia. Established in 1936, the firm is active in the areas of consulting, auditing and inventory services.

Celeste Boucinhas, Partner of Boucinhas Group, commented: “We are very honored to be a new member of HLB and truly believe that an international presence will contribute to our growth as a firm and as professionals. Being part of a dynamic network brings not only new clients, but also peer networking opportunities and career development to our executives.”

Grupo Boucinhas will work closely with other HLB members in Brazil and makes a great addition to our coverage across Latin America.