Guest Article

At least once a week in the cryptocurrency community, there is a new post or article encouraging crypto investors to relocate to Puerto Rico to avoid tax. Relocating to the Caribbean is certainly an attractive proposition, but is it too good to be true? In the words of every good tax professional everywhere, “It depends.” Becoming a resident of Puerto Rico does have some potential tax benefits that come with it, but it is no slam dunk decision. Let’s take a trip together to the Island of Enchantment, grab a cocktail on the beach, and lower our tax bill!

I’m no fan of needlessly complicating people’s tax situations, and I often remind readers to consider administrative overhead and compliance costs in addition to tax savings when evaluating tax strategies. The following strategies work best for high-net-worth taxpayers and medium to large “small businesses.” I’m not talking about people who think they are high-net-worth, but if even after the estate tax exemption was doubled, you have to file an estate tax return (Form 706), this is you. If your individual or business net worth is in or is approaching the double-digit millions, this may not apply to you – yet. Keep reading anyway because it may be only a matter of time before you can use it or one of your “I wanna be a playa” clients comes to you asking about this strategy because they saw it on TikTok. Keep reading to learn more on how to save.

COVID-19 has affected every aspect of our lives, and tax filing status is no exception. Couples who have filed jointly for their entire marriage may find that for 2021 it is more beneficial to file separately. This is in large part thanks to the many stimulus bills the Congress passed in 2020 and 2021. The addition of Economic Impact Payments (EIP) and the associated Recovery Rebate Credits (RRC) have complicated what was once a simple tax calculation to now include these additional factors. In some scenarios, a couple would pay more tax filing separately than if they filed jointly, but because of pandemic-related credits, end up with more money in their pockets. Filing separately is not without its own potential headaches, though. Keep reading to find out when to switch your filing status.

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is a huge benefit for businesses, but it is often incredibly difficult to maximize fully. Practitioners must perform a complex interplay of wages between PPP, grants, or other wage credits. They must know the voluminous rules of the ERC program itself, the other programs that may enter into the equation, and the related portions of the Tax Code. With so much to consider, a particularly powerful tool can easily be missed: the ERC health expenses. Many are surprised when someone asks about health programs since they do not realize these benefits count as ERC qualified costs. Some ERC claims ignore health costs entirely or only capture the employee portions. Deductions for health costs are in the payroll data, but employer costs are typically not in pay records. By reviewing all the qualifying health expenses and available methods for allocating costs, you can really increase your ERC. Keep reading to learn more!

Many tax professionals cringe at the thought of a client coming to them with cryptocurrency transactions. However, a May 2021 NASDAQ survey shows that 17 percent of American adults own crypto, making it harder for tax pros to avoid. It may soon be inevitable that practitioners will need to process cryptocurrency transactions. IRS Circular 230 requires practitioners to “possess the necessary competence” and to “exercise due diligence” in the return they prepare. Failure to meet these provisions could result in the taxpayer unnecessarily overpaying tax. What exactly does that require? Read on to find out!

The limited liability corporation or LLC is one of the most popular entity choices for small business owners. And for good reason. An LLC is relatively simple to form and, as the name suggests, it provides a limited amount of liability protection for business owners. Nevertheless, some business owners are often unaware that an LLC has no inherent tax advantages (because, as our readers know, the Feds disregard it for tax purposes) over other types of entities (or even no entity at all). You should always be encouraged to make your entity choice based on a variety of factors, including both potential tax treatment and the administrative burden associated with it. How do you use an LLC to save tax, and better yet ensure it isn’t costing you more than it needs to? Keep reading to find out.

One of the favorite sayings of my first managing partner, the late Herb Cohan, was “I’d rather owe it to you than cheat you out of it.” To be honest, like some of the other sayings, I was never clear exactly what it meant. Nonetheless, I think it sums up pretty well a tax strategy that is becoming more viable every year. File a timely accurate return and just don’t pay. Wait 10years and celebrate when the statute of limitation on collections runs out. Did you know that not paying can be a strategy to get out of your tax bill? It can be, depending on the qualifications and your specific circumstances. Keep reading to see how to qualify.

Think back to January 2021. A new President was sworn in; Twitter was obsessed with “Bean Dad,” and the term “Meme Stock” entered popular culture. A previously obscure subreddit called “Wall Street Bets” began making front page headlines. Average Americans took their “Stimmies” and invested them into unpopular companies, some on the verge of failure, and started making double digit percentage gains per day by pitting their collective holdings to short squeeze institutional investors. Companies that no analyst listed as a good buy, such as a retail video game store (retail is still a thing?), a movie theater chain (in the middle of a pandemic) and multiple cell phone companies (that don’t produce Apple or Android phones) all began to skyrocket overnight. As of this writing, GameStop Corp. ($GME) was up nearly 2000 percent in the last year. It’s likely while riding the adrenaline rollercoaster, most investors were not thinking about taxes. There are no taxes on the moon, but it’s not too late to plan for tax consequences here on Earth.