Under 2017 federal tax reform, the federal government not only made substantial reductions to the corporate tax rate, but made significant changes to the taxation of pass-thru business entities. What are pass-thru business entities? Pass-thru business entities are entities that are permitted to avoid the double taxation of income that normally applies to corporations, once at the corporate level and again when the income is distributed to shareholders. Income earned by these entities is permitted to “pass-thru” to its owners and is taxed a single time to the owners of the business. Pass-thru entities generally include corporations that make an S corporation election under federal law, as well as sole proprietorships, partnerships, and limited liability companies.
Many professionals have organized themselves into pass-thru business entities to carry out their professions and provide services to their clients. Under the 2017 federal tax reform, under one approach to calculating the new deduction for pass-thru business entity owners, owners may deduct 20% of “qualified business income” thereby avoiding taxation on this income. Imagine being able to deduct 20% of your business income when calculating your federal taxes!!
However, before you pop the cork on the bubbly, only “qualified business income” from a “qualified trade or business” is eligible for the new deduction. The problem for professional service providers is that many professionals are initially ineligible to take the new deduction because they don’t qualify as a “qualified trade or business.”
What is a “qualified trade or business” you ask? A “qualified trade or business” means any trade or business other than any trade or business: (a) involving the performance of services in the fields of health, law, accounting, actuarial science, performing arts, consulting, athletics, financial services, or brokerage services; (b) where the principal asset of such trade or business is the reputation or skill of one or more of its employees or owners; or (c) which involves the performance of services that consist of investing and investment management, trading, or dealing in securities, partnership interests, or commodities.
Many professionals are initially ineligible for the new deduction on pass-thru entity business income because either their profession is initially excluded or because the principal asset of their trade or business is the reputation or skill of one or more of its employees or owners. However, as with many things in the federal tax code, what Congress takes away, it may give back in another way. Tune in next week to learn more about how some professionals may nonetheless qualify for the new deduction on pass-thru business entity income.
[Legal advice not only involves an understanding of the law, but the application of the law to a particular set of circumstances or facts. Blog posts are imperfect tools to address the subtlety and exceptions of the law that may apply in particular situations. As a result, the information in this blog post does not represent legal advice. If you are in a situation where you need or desire legal advice, we would be happy to help. Call Paul at 608-358-9413 to set-up your no-charge initial consultation.]