Translating the New Tax Bill for Small Businesses
Business owners have many questions since the passage of the massive new tax bill. This article outlines what’s in the new provision, who it affects, and why you likely don’t need to change a thing to benefit. The most important outcome of the new tax law (officially the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or TCJA) was to give a large, permanent tax cut to corporations. But most businesses in the US are small businesses, not large corporations.
So rightfully, Congress introduced a provision into the TCJA to create a little more parity, called the deduction for Qualified Business Income (QBI) (also known as Section 199A). This provision, unlike the corporate tax cuts, is strictly for businesses known as “pass-through entities.” In terms of taxation, there is only one corporate entity that actually pays taxes, the C-Corporation.
A C-Corporation is usually very large and is primarily structured in order to take on shareholders, as a public company or one that is traded on the stock market. Every other type of business, from a tax standpoint, is known as a pass-through entity. The new deduction for Qualified Business Income (QBI), allows you to deduct 20% of your “qualified business income” from your total business income. For example, if I made $100,000 in profit from selling paintings as an artist, I get to deduct 20% of that — ie, $20,000. This benefit is phased out for individuals making between $157,500 ($315,000 if married) and $207,500 ($415,000 if married) in a number of service-based fields. There are a ton of details and restrictions in this particular new provision, especially if your income falls within the phase-out window, so know that you need to do research or talk to your accountant before you apply it. - Hyperallergic.com
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