Nate Collins is a Financial Advisor at Raymond James. He works with a select number of business owners and their families to achieve their financial goals. Nate provides in-depth tax-mitigation strategies and valuable guidance through succession planning. He helps owners understand exit readiness and options, maximize wealth transfer, gain family alignment, and prepare for “life after exit.”
nate.collins@raymondjames.com
203.635.5420
Pass-through entities now have a more level planning field with businesses that benefitted from the 2017 corporate tax reduction.
You might recall that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, enacted in December 2017, reduced corporate tax rates from 35% to 21%. Given this notable boost to corporations, a coinciding change was made for pass-through entities (which pay income taxes at the individual owners’ level, not the corporate level) to help level the playing field.
So what’s the change for pass-through businesses? Through 2025, noncorporate owners of pass-through businesses in the U.S. are allowed a deduction equal to the lesser of:
Although the overall concept of this deduction is straightforward, the specific provisions are quite complicated. The IRS has issued guidance for interpreting and applying these rules, hopefully enabling taxpayers to benefit from the deductions as the law intended.
Let’s walk through these complex provisions.
Eligibility for the new deduction is limited to qualified trades or businesses (QTOB)in the U.S. that produce income. A QTOB is any trade or business that is not a specified service trade or business (SSTB).
Eligible for the deduction:
Ineligible for the deduction:
There’s a significant exception to the rule that SSTBs are not QTOBs and thereby ineligible for the deduction, and the exception is based on the taxpayer’s taxable income.
An SSTB may still qualify for the deduction if:
Increase deduction by 20% of REIT dividends and PTP Income. 20% of ordinary REIT dividends and PTP income are now added back to the QBI component to reach the combined QBI amount.
Compare 20% of the combined QBI amount to 20% of adjustable taxable income. The lesser of these two figures is the deduction. Keep in mind the overall deduction limit if the taxpayer’s taxable income exceeds the lower threshold.
Note that the pass-through entities do not take the deduction themselves – instead, they provide the owners with relevant information so the owners can compute their individually available deduction. The deduction does not affect the calculation of self-employment tax or AMT and is available whether or not the taxpayer itemizes deductions.
While the IRS’s guidance should prove helpful, the computations involved in the QBI deduction include a significant amount of complexity and technicalities. Your tax advisor can help provide further detail.
Sources: “Getting the 411 on IRC 199A: Just the Facts Ma’am” (Melissa J. Williams, Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, January 2019); “The 20% Deduction For Business Income From Pass-Through Entities” (U.S. Trust, Oct. 2018)
https://www.raymondjames.com/commentary-and-insights/tax-planning/2023/11/08/does-your-business-qualify-for-this-notable-tax-deduction
Raymond James does not provide tax or legal services. Please discuss these matters with the appropriate professional.
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