Real Estate Tax Appeal Deadlines

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

Many times, we find that clients’ property assessments are incorrect. With the South Florida real estate market being so volatile this past year, it is important to make sure that your property tax assessments are accurate.

If you feel that your assessment may be too high, the deadlines to appeal your property taxes are approaching.

• September 16, 2010 – Palm Beach
• September 20, 2010 – Broward
• September 20, 2010 – Miami-Dade

The steps to appeal your property assessment can be challenging. For example, you’ll need to be able to document the market value of your property as of January 1st of the current year by showing its value relative to the qualified comparable sales. And you’ll need to make your case to the Special Magistrate at the Value Adjustment Board hearing.

If you need assistance with this process, please contact a Kaufman, Rossin accountant or contact the following resources directly who specialize in these tax appeals:

Mitchell Feldman – President of FBS Property Tax Abatement, LLC
305.350.7360 or mfeldman@fbstaxabatement.com

Todd M. Wolff – President of LeaseGuard, Inc.
561.998.2800 or toddwolff@leaseguardusa.com

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Scott F. Berger is a tax principal at Kaufman, Rossin’s Miami office.  Kaufman, Rossin & Co. is one of the top CPA firms in the country.  He can be reached at sberger@kaufmanrossin.com.

Florida Tax Amnesty Through September

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Got overdue state taxes?  Don’t miss out on the Florida Tax Amnesty program.  The deadline is September 30, 2010.

What’s the benefit?
If you have overdue Florida taxes, until September 30 you can pay them, with no penalty and reduced interest.  Plus you get the ability avoid criminal prosecution.

What’s covered?
Taxes covered include

•  Sales and Use Tax,
• Florida Corporate Tax and
• Florida Intangible Tax.

 The Department of Revenue has a full list posted here.

What’s not covered?
If you entered into an agreement with the Department before July 1, 2010, your overdue taxes aren’t covered by this amnesty.  But if you were notified but haven’t made arrangements yet, you should take advantage of amnesty. 

What should I do? 

There’s a good FAQs document on the FDOR site.   If you think you might be eligible, contact your tax professional right away.  The window is closing! 

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Scott F. Berger is a tax principal with Kaufman, Rossin & Co., one of the top CPA firms in the Southeast.  He can be reached at sberger@kaufmanrossin.com.

Legislative Alert: Is your law practice an S-Corp?

Friday, June 25th, 2010

June 25, 2010 Update

The Tax Extenders Bill has been tabled after a third cloture attempt failed yesterday. This is the bill that included the provision to subject all business income from certain S corporations to employment taxes. Senator Snowe (R-Maine) cited the “anti-abuse” provisions for S corporations as one of the reasons for voting against cloture.

The future of the bill is uncertain at this time but don’t breathe too easy — it is likely that the payroll tax issue for S corporations will arise again.

Now is the time to get ready by consulting your tax advisor. Prepare by understanding the tax impact on your practice, which could be substantial, and consider making other tax moves to get ready.

June 23, 2010 Update

The Tax Extenders Bill is still being debated in the Senate. Various amendments are being considered to either ensure the number of votes for passage, or pay for the extended tax benefits. The federal budget deficit is now a hot issue that affects this and other legislation.

However, the provision affecting S corporation shareholders is still in the bill, and when this bill does pass it’s my expectation that it will still be in there, which means many professionals will see a significant tax impact.  Contacting your tax professional to plan ahead – even if it’s just getting an idea of the additional tax you’re likely to pay — is smart strategy.  See below for a discussion of the S-Corp provision.

The Tax Extenders and Unemployment Bill I wrote about last week was passed by the House and now goes to the Senate.  Read on to see how your S-Corp may be affected. 

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May 24, 2010

Legislation scheduled to hit the House floor this week would impose Social Security and Medicare taxes on all income derived from professional service businesses.  This is a House amendment to a Senate amendment to HR 4213 (Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010).  That means if it passes the House all income of professional service businesses formed as S-Corporations or Partnerships or Limited Liability Companies would be subject to payroll taxes beginning sometime in 2010.

Social Security taxes are imposed on compensation and self-employment income up to the Social Security Wage Base (currently $106,800) and the Medicare tax is imposed on all self-employment and compensation income.  Under the current tax law, many professional service firms are set up as S-Corporations owned by the professionals in an effort to minimize income subject to payroll taxes.  The S-Corporation earns the professional fees and pays the shareholder-professional wages that are less than the income earned by the S-Corporation. Any income in excess of the wages is then treated as earnings of the S-corporation allocated to the shareholder-professional and not subject to payroll taxes.

This legislation would change that.  In situations where an S-corporation is in a professional service business that is principally based on the reputation and skill of 3 or fewer individuals or an S corporation that is a partner in a professional service business, all of the earnings of the S-Corporation allocated to the shareholder-professional would be subject to employment taxes. The bill would also clarify that individuals that are engaged in professional service businesses are unable to avoid employment taxes by routing their earnings through a limited liability corporation or a limited partnership.

If this measure passes — and it could pass this week — it could impact the tax planning of many professionals.  If your practice is an S-Corporation, contact your accountant to understand the implications.

Dennis Fitzpatrick, J.D., is a tax principal with Kaufman, Rossin & Co., one of the top CPA firms in the Southeast. He can be reached at dfitzpatrick@kaufmanrossin.com

How will the HIRE Act affect my business?

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act has been enacted, in an effort to provide employers with incentives to begin hiring the unemployed.  Its centerpiece is $13 billion in incentives for private sector businesses to boost hiring in 2010. 

It has two basic provisions – one for hiring new workers and the other for retaining them.

1. Qualified employers who hire a new employee between February 3, 2010 and Jan 1, 2011 don’t have to pay their share of the payroll tax (the 6.2% FICA/Social Security withholding).  This is effective with the employee’s first paycheck after March 18, 2010.
2. An employer’s general business credit is increased by the lesser of $1,000 or 6.2 percent of salary for each retained worker that satisfies a minimum employment period – not less than 52 weeks – and gets paid consistently, earning at least 80% as much during the last 26 weeks of the period as they earned in the first 26 weeks.

But wait, there’s more.  Here are a few of the additional provisions in the Act.

• Enhanced Section 179 expensing is extended.  For 2009, the maximum Code Sec. 179 deduction was $250,000, and the phase-out limit for qualifying property purchased during the year began at $800,000. First introduced in 2008, enhanced Code Sec. 179 expensing expired on December 31, 2009.   The HIRE Act extends enhanced Code Sec. 179 expensing, at the $250,000/$800,000 threshold levels, through December 31, 2010.
• Build America Bonds program is enhanced. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (2009 Recovery Act) authorized state and local governments to issue two types of Build America Bonds, one which provides a subsidy through federal tax credits to the bonds’ investors, and another which provides a subsidy through a refundable tax credit paid to state or local governmental issuers. Encouraged by the initial success, Congress included an enhancement in the HIRE Act: an  election for issuers of qualified tax credit bonds to receive a direct payment from the federal government equal to the amount of the federal tax credit otherwise provided for these bonds.
• Foreign account tax compliance is strengthened.   To offset some of the cost of the domestic tax breaks, the HIRE Act generally requires withholding agents to withhold 30 percent of any “withholdable payment” to a foreign financial institution that not agree to comply with new reporting requirements. To avoid this withholding requirement, the financial institution must agree, among other things,  to comply with verification and due diligence procedures with respect to accounts held by U.S. persons or U.S. owned foreign entities, deduct and withhold 30 percent on certain “passthrough” payments to recalcitrant account holders and others, and either obtain from the account holder a waiver to any foreign secrecy laws or close the account if the waiver cannot be obtained within a reasonable time.

To learn more about how the HIRE Act will affect your business, take a look at this summary or contact your accountant.

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Scott Berger is a tax principal with Kaufman, Rossin & Co., one of the top CPA firms in the Southeast. He can be reached at sberger@kaufmanrossin.com.

Quick! Don’t miss out on tax breaks!

Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009

If you run a small business, you’ve probably noticed it’s almost year-end! Now is the time to focus on last-minute moves you can make to save taxes on your 2009 business return.   These moves could be especially productive before year-end because there are tax breaks that are not likely to continue much longer unless Congress acts to extend them.   (more…)

2008 Treat You Rough? Take advantage!

Wednesday, March 11th, 2009

You may look back on 2008 as a terrible year for your business.  Even as you hope to put the rough days behind you, don’t miss out on some tax opportunities.  Here are a few ideas to consider. (more…)

Tax breaks for individuals

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

The $787 billion stimulus package signed into law on February 17th includes nearly $300 billion in tax cuts, and some significant ones for individuals. (more…)

Tax breaks for businesses

Friday, February 27th, 2009

 On Feb. 17, President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). While approximately two-thirds of the nearly $800 billion stimulus act is focused on government spending initiatives intended to create jobs and jumpstart the economy, about one-third provides tax breaks for businesses and individuals. (more…)