Cornbelt Financial
  • Home
  • About
  • Pricing
    • Tax Prep & Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Investment Advising
    • Individual & Business Succession Planning
    • Business Valuation
    • 401k Plan Advisory
    • Bookkeeping
  • Contact
  • Resources
    • Investors
    • Industries
    • Values
    • Blog
    • Tax Firm Solutions
  • Upload
  • Home
  • About
  • Pricing
    • Tax Prep & Planning
    • Financial Planning
    • Investment Advising
    • Individual & Business Succession Planning
    • Business Valuation
    • 401k Plan Advisory
    • Bookkeeping
  • Contact
  • Resources
    • Investors
    • Industries
    • Values
    • Blog
    • Tax Firm Solutions
  • Upload

Two ways spouse-owned businesses can reduce their self-employment tax bill

12/5/2017

0 Comments

 
Picture
If you own a profitable, unincorporated business with your spouse, you probably find the high self-employment (SE) tax bills burdensome. An unincorporated business in which both spouses are active is typically treated by the IRS as a partnership owned 50/50 by the spouses. (For simplicity, when we refer to “partnerships,” we’ll include in our definition limited liability companies that are treated as partnerships for federal tax purposes.)

For 2017, that means you’ll each pay the maximum 15.3% SE tax rate on the first $127,200 of your respective shares of net SE income from the business. Those bills can mount up if your business is profitable. To illustrate: Suppose your business generates $250,000 of net SE income in 2017. Each of you will owe $19,125 ($125,000 × 15.3%), for a combined total of $38,250.

Fortunately, there are ways spouse-owned businesses can lower their combined SE tax hit. Here are two.

1. Establish that you don’t have a spouse-owned partnership

While the IRS creates the impression that involvement by both spouses in an unincorporated business automatically creates a partnership for federal tax purposes, in many cases, it will have a tough time making the argument — especially when:
  • The spouses have no discernible partnership agreement, and
  • The business hasn’t been represented as a partnership to third parties, such as banks and customers.
If you can establish that your business is a sole proprietorship (or a single-member LLC treated as a sole proprietorship for tax purposes), only the spouse who is considered the proprietor owes SE tax.
Let’s assume the same facts as in the previous example, except that your business is a sole proprietorship operated by one spouse. Now you have to calculate SE tax for only that spouse. For 2017, the SE tax bill is $23,023 [($127,200 × 15.3%) + ($122,800 × 2.9%)]. That’s much less than the combined SE tax bill from the first example ($38,250).

2. Establish that you don’t have a 50/50 spouse-owned partnership

Even if you do have a spouse-owned partnership, it’s not a given that it’s a 50/50 one. Your business might more properly be characterized as owned, say, 80% by one spouse and 20% by the other spouse, because one spouse does much more work than the other.

Let’s assume the same facts as in the first example, except that your business is an 80/20 spouse-owned partnership. In this scenario, the 80% spouse has net SE income of $200,000, and the 20% spouse has net SE income of $50,000. For 2017, the SE tax bill for the 80% spouse is $21,573 [($127,200 × 15.3%) + ($72,800 × 2.9%)], and the SE tax bill for the 20% spouse is $7,650 ($50,000 × 15.3%). The combined total SE tax bill is only $29,223 ($21,573 + $7,650).

More-complicated strategies are also available. Contact us to learn more about how you can reduce your spouse-owned business’s SE taxes.

© 2017
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Adam Carr, MBA, EA

    Archives

    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015

    Categories

    All
    Business
    Charity
    Education
    Estate Planning
    Identity Protection
    Investments
    Life Events
    Medical
    Real Estate
    Tax Forms
    Tax Law
    Tax Planning
    Tax Reform

    RSS Feed

© COPYRIGHT Cornbelt Financial, LLC 2018. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

There are no warranties implied.
Cornbelt Financial, LLC (“RIA Firm”) is a registered investment advisor located in Denver, Colorado. Cornbelt Financial, LLC may only transact business in those states in which it is registered, or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration requirements. Cornbelt Financial, LLC’s website is limited to the dissemination of general information pertaining to its advisory services, together with access to additional investment-related information, publications, and links. Accordingly, the publication of Cornbelt Financial, LLC’s website on the internet should not be construed by any consumer and/or prospective client as Cornbelt FInancial, LLC’s solicitation to effect, or attempt to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, over the internet. Any subsequent, direct communication by Cornbelt Financial, LLC with a prospective client shall be conducted by a representative that is either registered or qualifies for an exemption or exclusion from registration in the state where the prospective client resides. For information pertaining to the registration status of Cornbelt Financial, LLC, please contact the state securities regulators for those states in which Cornbelt Financial, LLC maintains a registration filing. A copy of Cornbelt Financial, LLC’s current written disclosure statement discussing Cornbelt Financial, LLC’s business operations, services, and fees is available at the SEC’s investment adviser public information website – www.adviserinfo.sec.gov or from Cornbelt Financial, LLC upon written request. Cornbelt Financial, LLC does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to Cornbelt Financial, LLC’s website or incorporated herein, and takes no responsibility therefor. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly.
This website and information are provided for guidance and information purposes only.  Investments involve risk and unless otherwise stated, are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial advisor and/or tax professional before implementing any strategy.  This website and information are not intended to provide investment, tax, or legal advice.
Insurance products and services are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed insurance agents.