Tag Archive for TX

Tax Compliance: What You Need To Know Before You Travel

Thinking of moving to Mexico or Belize to live comfortably? Are you making an income in Mexico or the US you have not reported to the US government? Mexico has changed their tax laws and tax penalties and you need to be aware of them. Mexico now wants to know how much money you have in your US ban accounts.

You must be compliant and Maurice Glazer shares his experience working with taxpayers who decided to move to Belize or Mexico to live. Avoid getting arrested and having your US passport confiscated by being compliant. Read More

Written by | Posted in Cross-Border Tax • Income Tax • Mexico Tax/ Belize Tax • US Tax

Deferred Compensation, Part VI: Minimum Participation Standards

In general, a plan cannot specifically require that employees work for the company at least 1 year or attain the minimum age of 21.  For large employers with several divisions, this can happen accidentally.

Here are two examples from the accompanying Treasury Regulations:

Example 1. Corporation A is divided into two divisions. In order to work in division 2 an employee must first have been employed in division 1 for 5 years. A plan provision which required division 2 employment for participation will be treated as a service requirement because such a provision has the effect of requiring 5 years of service. Read More

Written by | Posted in Deferred Compensation

How Soon You’ll See The Results Of The New Tax Bracket

If you’re an American taxpayer who gets a paycheck, I imagine you’re pretty anxious to see how the new tax code is going to put more money into your pockets each pay period.

The IRS says they should have everything ready to reflect the changes by February. So, you could be seeing extra cash if you are in the top five tax brackets with your February paycheck. Read More

Written by | Posted in 2017 Tax Bill

Deferred Compensation, Part IV: Non-Discrimination

According to §401(a)(4), a deferred compensation plan cannot discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees (HCEs), which is a person who either owned 5% of the business at any time during the year or made more than $80,000 (inflation-adjusted) during the preceding year.

The regulations provide two safe-harbor tests for defined contribution plans (which comprise the vast bulk of 401ks).  Read More

Written by | Posted in Deferred Compensation

Reduce Risk By Segregating Assets In A New Entity

The Problem: Often business owners want to segregate valuable assets from potential adverse liabilities generated in the operation of a business.

For example, a bakery will likely own: (1) equipment used in its operations; (2) the factory building and (3) a fleet of delivery trucks and vehicles. If all of these are owned by the same company, then liabilities arising from an accident involving the trucks could result in the loss of the factory building to satisfy a judgment. Read More

Written by | Posted in Asset Segregation

The SCIN-GRAT Technique- Especially Appropriate For Older Grantors

This SCIN-GRAT uses two well-known and documented techniques used to co-ordinate family gifting and tax efficiency.

The first is known as a Self-Cancelling Installment Note, or “SCIN” for reference. It is an installment note with a provision stating that if the Seller dies before the end of the note, then the note is deemed paid in full and the buyer need no longer make payments.  The buyer pays a premium for this feature, a result of a “bargained for consideration” negotiation. Read More

Written by | Posted in SCIN-GRAT • TaxConnections

Small Business Tips: How To Expand Your Business

Congratulations on successfully starting your business! If you’re ready to take the next step, but don’t know exactly how to go about that, here are some ideas for thinking about growing your business. Turn your business into a franchise – If your business model is easily replicated, and you want to see your business grow quickly, think about franchising. As the owner, now referred to as a franchiser, of the name or trademark sells that right to a franchise. Read More

Written by | Posted in Small Business • TaxConnections

IRS Says It Can’t Satisfy Member’s Tax Liability Out Of Single Member LLC Assets

I. Single Member LLC Asset Protection

A Debtor argued that the Bankruptcy Trustee acts merely for her creditors and is only entitled to a charging order against distributions made on account of her LLC member interest. However, the charging order exists to protect other members of an LLC from having involuntarily to share governance responsibilities with someone they did not choose, or from having to accept a creditor of another member as a co-manager. Read More

Written by | Posted in IRS • LLC