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Member of Russell Bedford International, a global network of independent professional service firms.
A situation where taxpayers often make tax mistakes, is when deciding if it is better to receive a home as a gift or as an inheritance. It is generally more advantageous tax-wise to inherit a home rather than to receive it as a gift before the owner’s death. This article will explore the various tax aspects related to gifting a home, including gift tax implications, basic considerations for the recipient, and potential capital gains tax implications. Here are the key points that highlight why inheriting a home is often the better option.
RECEIVED AS A GIFT
First, let’s explore the tax ramifications of receiving a home as a gift. Gifting a home to another person is a generous act that can have significant implications for both the giver (the donor) and the recipient (the donee), especially when it comes to taxes. Most gifts of this nature are between parents and children. Understanding the tax consequences of such a gift is crucial for anyone considering this option.
Gift Tax Implications – When a homeowner decides to gift their home to another person (whether or not related), the first tax consideration is the federal gift tax. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires individuals to file a gift tax return if they give a gift exceeding the annual exclusion amount, which is $18,000 per recipient for 2024. This amount is inflation-adjusted annually. When gifts exceed the annual exclusion amount, and a home is very likely to exceed this amount, it will necessitate the filing of a Form 709 gift tax return.
It’s worth mentioning that while a gift tax return may be required, actual gift tax may not be due thanks to the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. For 2024, this exemption is $13.61 million per individual, meaning a person can gift up to this amount over their lifetime without incurring gift tax. The value of the home will count against this lifetime exemption.
Note: The lifetime exclusion was increased by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017, which without Congressional intervention will expire after 2025, and the exclusion will be cut by about half.
Basis Considerations for the Recipient – For tax purposes basis is the amount you subtract from the sales price (net of sales expenses) to determine the taxable profit. The tax basis of the gifted property is a critical concept for the recipient to understand. The basis of the property in the hands of the recipient is the same as it was in the hands of the donor. This is known as “carryover” or “transferred” basis.
For example, if a parent purchases a home for $200,000 and later gifts it to their child when its fair market value (FMV) is $500,000, the child’s basis in the home would still be $200,000, not the FMV at the time of the gift. If during the parent’s time of ownership, the parent had made improvements to the home of $50,000, the parent’s “adjusted basis” at the time of the gift would be $250,000, and that would become the starting basis for the child.
If a property’s fair market value (FMV) at the date of the gift is lower than the donor’s adjusted basis, then the property’s basis for determining a loss is its FMV on that date.
This carryover basis can have significant implications if the recipient decides to sell the home. The capital gains tax will be calculated based on the difference between the sale price and the recipient’s basis. If the home has appreciated significantly since it was originally purchased by the donor, the recipient could face a substantial capital gains tax bill upon sale.
Home Sale Exclusion – Homeowners who sell their homes may qualify for a $250,000 ($500,000 for married couples if both qualify) home gain exclusion if they owned and used the residence for two of the prior five years counting back from the sale date. However, when a home is gifted that gain qualification does not automatically pass on to the gift recipient. To qualify for the exclusion the recipient would have to first meet the two of the prior five years qualifications. Thus, where the donor qualifies for home gain exclusion it may be best taxwise for the donor to sell the home, taking the gain exclusion and gift the cash proceeds net of any tax liability to the donee.
Capital Gains Tax Implications – The capital gains tax implications for the recipient of a gifted home are directly tied to the basis of the property and the holding period of the donor. If the recipient sells the home, they will owe capital gains tax on the difference between the sale price and their basis in the home. Given the carryover basis rule, this could result in a significant tax liability if the property has appreciated since the donor originally purchased it. Capital gains are taxed at a more favorable rate if the property has been held for over a year. For gifts, the holding period is the sum of the time held by the donor and the donee, sometimes referred to as a tack-on holding period.
Special Considerations – In some cases, a homeowner may transfer the title of their home but retain the right to live in it for their lifetime, establishing a de facto life estate. In such situations, the home’s value is included in the decedent’s estate upon their death, and the beneficiary’s basis would be the FMV at the date of the decedent’s death, potentially offering a step-up in basis and significantly reducing capital gains tax implications, i.e., treated as if they inherited the property.
AS AN INHERITANCE
There are significant differences between receiving a property as a gift or by inheritance.
Basis Adjustment – When you inherit a home, your basis in the property is generally “stepped up” to the fair market value (FMV) of the property at the date of the decedent’s death. However, occasionally this could result in a “step-down” in basis where a property has declined in value. Nevertheless, in this day and age, most real estate would have appreciated in value over the time the decedent owned it, and the increase in value will not be subject to capital gains tax if the property is sold shortly after inheriting it.
For example, if a home was purchased for $100,000 and is worth $300,000 at the time of the owner’s death, the inheritor’s basis would be $300,000. If the inheritor sells the home for $300,000, there would be no capital gains tax on the sale.
In addition, the holding period for inherited property is always considered long term, meaning inherited property gain will always be taxed at the more favorable long-term capital gains rates.
Note: The Biden administration’s 2025–2026 budget proposal would curtail the basis step-up for higher income taxpayers.
In contrast, if a property is received as a gift before the owner’s death, the recipient’s basis in the property is the same as the giver’s basis. This means there is no step-up in basis, and the recipient could face significant capital gains tax if the property has appreciated in value, and they decide to sell it.
Using the same facts as in the example just above, if the home was gifted and had a basis of $100,000, and the recipient later sells the home for $300,000, they would potentially face capital gains tax on the $200,000 increase in value.
Depreciation Reset – For an inherited property that has been used for business or rental purposes, the accumulated depreciation is reset, allowing the new owner to start depreciation afresh on the inherited portion and since the inherited basis is FMV at the date of the decedent’s death, the prior depreciation is disregarded. This is not the case with gifted property, where the recipient takes over the giver’s depreciation schedule.
Given these points, while each situation is unique and other factors might influence the decision, from a tax perspective, inheriting a property is often more beneficial than receiving it as a gift. However, it’s important to consider the overall estate planning strategy and potential non-tax implications.
Please contact the tax experts Cray Kaiser at (630) 953-4900 for developing a strategy that is suitable for your specific circumstances.
If you’ve been thinking about ways to save on medical expenses, now may be the perfect time to open a Health Savings Account (HSA). Thanks to persistent inflation, the IRS recently announced historic bumps to contribution limits for HSAs, making planning for health savings more beneficial than ever.
Established in 2003 as part of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act, Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are a type of medical savings account with tax advantages. Individuals contribute pre-tax income to savings accounts that may be used to pay for qualified medical expenses. Funds in an HSA roll over from year to year, meaning it is possible to establish significant reserves for future medical costs while saving money by lowering your taxable income.
HSA funds can be used for a variety of qualified medical expenses, including office visits, dental care, eyeglasses, over-the-counter medications, and more. Funds may even be used for costs related to healthcare, like transportation expenses.
HSAs are available to those enrolled in High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHP). HDHPs are defined as a plan where the deductible is higher than the average, as determined by the IRS. For 2024, an HDHP includes any plan “with an annual deductible that is not less than $1,600 for self-only coverage or $3,200 for family coverage, and for which the annual out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, co-payments, and other amounts, but not premiums) do not exceed $8,050 for self-only coverage or $16,100 for family coverage.”
In addition to being enrolled in an HDHP, you may not be enrolled in Medicare and must not be claimed as dependent on someone else’s tax return.
For 2024, the IRS has raised the contribution limit for an individual to $4,150, an increase of $300 from the previous year, and $8,300 for family coverage, an increase of $550 from 2023. These amounts represent the largest yearly adjustments since the accounts’ inception and reflect rising healthcare-related expenses due to ongoing inflation.
HSAs can provide advantages in both the short term, by lowering your taxable income, and in the long term, by helping establish a cushion for future medical expenses. Increased contribution limits make HSAs more beneficial than ever. If you have any questions about HSAs or tax-advantaged medical savings accounts, please call Cray Kaiser at (630) 953-4900 or contact us here.
CPA | CK Principal
Here we are again, on the precipice of another round of significant tax changes. The last round of significant tax law changes occurred in 2018, with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Most of the tax changes made by the TCJA are not permanent and will expire (sunset) after 2025. With little time before December, 2025, we are encouraging all to review your 2024 and 2024 tax planning – NOW!
We’ll highlight some of the significant provisions deserving of everyone’s attention.
Estate Tax Exclusion – TCJA significantly increased the inflation-adjusted estate and gift tax exclusion. Before TCJA, the estate and gift tax exclusion was $5.49 million (meaning, estates with more than that level of assets faced the prospect of federal estate tax). Post TCJA, the 2024 exemption is dramatically higher at $13.61 million.
However, with the sunset of the TCJA, the exemption would revert back to pre-TCJA levels. Many estate planning professionals are advising clients to act now to reduce their taxable estate, usually through gifts to family members. Especially notable is t the IRS has indicated they will not challenge this strategy. According to the IRS, “Individuals planning to make large gifts between 2018 and 2025 can do so without concern that they will lose the tax benefit of the higher exclusion level once it decreases after 2025.”
With the additional clarification of the lifetime gift exclusion availability for future estates, wealthy donors should strongly consider ensuring that their gifting strategy maximizes future tax benefits.
Corporate tax rate/Qualified Business Income (QBI) Deduction – As part of TCJA, Congress changed the tax rate structure for C corporations to a flat rate of 21% instead of the former graduated rates that topped out at 35%. If allowed to sunset with TCJA, businesses organized as C corporations will face significant tax increases. In fact, the after-tax rate of corporate distributions will well exceed 50%.
Needing a way to equalize the rate reduction for all taxpayers with business income, Under the TCJA, Congress came up with a new deduction for businesses that are not organized as C corporations. This resulted in a new and substantial tax benefit for most non-C corporation business owners in the form of a deduction that is generally equal to 20% of their qualified business income (QBI). Notably for personal service industries (lawyers and accountants for example), the QBI was limited.
Given the potential increase in C corporation tax rates and the elimination of the QBI deduction, businesses may need to revisit their tax structure after 2025.
SALT Limits – SALT is the acronym for “state and local taxes”. TCJA limited the annual SALT itemized deduction to $10,000, which primarily impacted residents of states with high state income tax and real property tax rates, such as New York, New Jersey, and California. Several states have developed somewhat complicated work-a-arounds (called the pass-through entity tax, or PTET) to the limits that benefit taxpayers who have partnership interests or are shareholders in S corporations. The future of the PTET is uncertain with an expired TCJA.
Standard Deductions – The standard deduction is the amount of deductions you are allowed on your tax return without itemizing your deductions. The standard deduction is annually adjusted for inflation. In 2018, the TCJA just about doubled the standard deduction which generally benefited lower income taxpayers and retirees. The increased standard deductions also meant fewer taxpayers claimed itemized deductions – roughly 10% of filers now itemize versus 30% before TCJA.
Personal & Dependent Exemptions – Prior to 2018, the tax law allowed a deduction for personal and dependent exemption allowances. One allowance was permitted for each filer and spouse and each dependent claimed on the federal return. Under current law, there is no dependency exemption. It’s possible that in 2026, the tax benefits related to personal exemptions will come back into play.
Child Tax Credit – Prior to 2018 the child tax credit was $1,000 for each child below the age of 17 at the end of the year. With the advent of TCJA the child tax credit was doubled to $2,000 for each child below the age of 17 at the end of the year. This more than made up for the loss of a child’s personal exemption deduction for lower income families.
Home Mortgage Interest Limitations – Prior to the passage of TCJA, taxpayers could deduct as an itemized deduction the interest on $1 Million ($500,000 for married taxpayers filing separate) of acquisition debt and the interest on $100,000 of equity debt secured by their first and second homes. With the passage of TCJA, the $1 Million limitation was reduced to $750,000 for loans made after 2017 and any deduction of equity debt interest was suspended (not allowed). A return to pre-TCJA levels will tend to benefit higher income taxpayers with more expensive homes and higher mortgages.
Tier 2 Miscellaneous Deductions – TCJA suspended the itemized deduction for miscellaneous deductions for tax preparation and planning fees, unreimbursed employee business expenses, and investment expenses. Most notable of these is unreimbursed employee expenses which allowed employees to deduct the cost of such things as union dues, uniforms, profession-related education, tools and other expenses related to their employment and profession not paid for by their employer. Investment expenses included investment management fees charged by brokerage firms. These types of expenses were allowed only to the extent they totaled more than 2% of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income. These expenses are currently not deductible.
Tax Brackets – TCJA altered the tax brackets and although most taxpayers benefited, higher income taxpayers benefited the most with a 2.6% cut in the top tax rate. A return to the pre-TCJA rates would have the largest negative effect on higher income taxpayers.
The tax changes to occur with the sunset of TCJA will be dramatically impacted by the November 2024 elections.
Depending upon your circumstances, these changes may impact your long-term planning such as your business structure, estate planning, buying a home, retirement planning, and other issues. It’s going to be an interesting year, for sure, and best to get planning now. Please contact Cray Kaiser at (630) 953-4900 with any questions.
In this video, Maria Gordon, Tax Supervisor of State and Local Taxation, delves into the intricacies of sales tax nexus, taxable items and customer exemptions. She also talks about the invaluable lifeline offered by the voluntary disclosure programs offered by some states.
Transcript:
My name is Maria Gordon. My title is Tax Supervisor of State and Local Taxation. Each of the states really wants to get a piece of their pie from taxpayers.
There’s lots of different types of taxes that businesses need to be concerned about. Income tax is an obvious one, but also requirements for sales taxes are continually changing with the states. And then we have local income taxes, we have personal property taxes and even gross receipts taxes based upon total receipts collected in a state and franchise taxes.
So, a business needs to determine whether or not they’re required to collect sales tax in the various states where they ship product or they do services and determining whether that business has nexus for sales tax is different from determining nexus for income tax.
In the past, if the business didn’t have any physical presence in the state, they really didn’t have to worry about sales tax, but that all changed in 2018 when the Supreme Court ruled on South Dakota versus Wayfair.
And now the states, all of the states, have enacted economic thresholds, whereby if you have sales into that state over a certain threshold, even if you don’t have any physical presence there, you are required to begin collecting sales tax from your customers in that state. And this has been an area over the past few years that businesses have really had to keep a close eye on. So, this is something that each year, you know, we’re taking a look at that to see where our clients have exceeded those nexus thresholds.
Once a business decides that they are subject to collecting sales tax in a state, then the next step is to really determine what of their products or services are taxable. And this varies again from state to state. So, in some states, services across the board, you know, pretty much are not taxable and other states only specific services might be taxable. And then in this day and age, we have additional considerations like computer software. You know, when is that software considered a taxable product? Or when is it considered a non-taxable service?
So, there’s a lot to consider there just in determining what items are taxable. Once that’s determined, you also need to take a look at your customers and find out who of your customers are taxable because you may have resellers who you don’t have to charge tax to because they’re taxing the end customer that they sell to and so another really big aspect of protecting your business is to collect those exemption certificates, make sure that you have those on hand, and also make sure that they’re current. You know, if it’s been a few years since you’ve collected one, it’s always a good idea to go back to your customers and request an updated certificate from them.
But a business discovers that they have nexus in a state for income tax or for sales tax and that that nexus has existed for the last several years. There is a way that they can go to the states and get some protection and this is called voluntary disclosure. So many of the states offer a voluntary disclosure program where the taxpayers are coming forward and saying, you know, we recognize that we should have been filing income tax or collecting sales tax in your state. We’d like to make it right and the states in response to that coming forward place a limit on the look back period, so they may only go back three or four years to collect tax and then also they often will waive penalties. So it is it’s a great program to protect the business from back audit exposure because it limits those years and the states are very willing to work with taxpayers to get them into compliance.
The tax bill put forth a few weeks ago, the Smith-Wyden Tax Act, has the potential to bring about significant changes for both individual and business taxpayers in 2024 and possibly even retroactively to 2022 and 2023. Although the bill passed the House, it is currently stalled in the Senate. Here’s a highlight of the tax provisions that we believe will be most impactful to our clients:
R&D Expense Correction:
Child Tax Credit Expansions:
Bonus Depreciation Reinstatement:
Business Interest Expense Limitation:
Section 179 Small Business Expensing Cap:
We will continue to monitor the Act – whether it continues to move through Senate or stalls. Given the proximity to the tax filing due date for calendar year entities, we are advising our affected clients to extend their 2023 tax returns to avoid possible amendments to their returns should the Act pass on a retroactive basis. If you have any questions on how the Act may impact your tax situation, please call us at 630-953-4900.
In this video, Maria Gordon, Tax Supervisor of State and Local Taxation, sheds light on the crucial topic of tax incentives offered by states and localities to businesses. From empowerment and edge credits to research and development incentives, she underscores the vast array of opportunities available.
Transcript:
My name is Maria Gordon. My title is Tax Supervisor of State and Local Taxation. Businesses should really be thinking about tax incentives that many states and localities offer to them.
The states really want to see economic development in their state and even certain areas, and so often they will offer empowerment, credits, edge credits where your business is employing people there, investing in capital. And these credits are very specific. You apply for it with the state. And then it helps businesses to really expand and get some credit, some benefits there. And some states offer, you know, research and development credits. You can get that at the federal level, but if you are also doing research and experimentation in a state, you may be able to receive a state -level credit as well.
And then there’s even states that have credits that have to do with your activities such as the Wisconsin Manufacturing Tax Credit, that’s a credit against income tax. So, there is an awful lot out there with respect to state incentives and if a business isn’t thinking about these things, they really could be missing out on some benefits.
One benefit that business owners have had had for the last couple years is taking advantage of the pass-through entity tax, which is a tax whereby the business can pay state income tax at the entity level rather than having it paid at the individual level for partnerships and s-corporations where the income would generally flow through to the owners.
Now as a workaround to the state and local tax deduction cap, businesses can pay those at the entity level and get a state tax deduction against the business income. For most states, this is set to expire after 2025. So, we’re doing all we can to take advantage of those deductions right now.
I think the hope is that some of these states will extend that provision, but as of now for most of them it’s expiring 2025 and this is just an issue that we’re going keep up on and make sure we know all the changes that are happening over the next couple of years.
CPA | Tax Supervisor
In 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) introduced limiting state and local taxes (including real estate taxes) to $10,000. Prior to this legislation, state and local taxes were usually deducted in full on individual income tax returns. As a result of this legislation, many Americans, especially in high tax states or those owning their own business, lost the ability to itemize their deductions.
Many states have worked around this limitation by allowing owners of passthrough entity businesses the ability to deduct their share of state taxes on the business return itself, reducing total profit and thereby giving a back-door deduction for business owners. This is commonly referred to as a pass-through entity tax (PTET) deduction and many states have allowed it, including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin. While this back-door deduction is a benefit for business owners that have profitable pass-through entities, it doesn’t benefit those without businesses or those living in states with higher state taxes, such as California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland and Illinois.
This legislation has been controversial since it was introduced and is expected to sunset (expire) in 2026. The current 118th US Congress, primarily the House of Representatives, has three bills before it that would liberalize the current itemized deduction limitation on state and local taxes.
In short, the three bills have different outcomes. One bill proposes to eliminate the limitation altogether, which would result in the full deduction of state and local taxes paid during the year. The second bill proposes to increase the limitation from the current $10,000 to $100,000 for single filers and $200,000 for married filing jointly. The final bill proposes to modestly increase the cap for married filing jointly to $20,000 but retain the current $10,000 limitation on single filers.
Congress has squabbled over many policies and bills during the recent years, and to expect a clear decision anytime soon does not seem likely. As taxes have become politicized, the outcome of the full repeal of the SALT limitation prior to 2026 does not seem likely. However, we will continue to monitor the status of the other two bills which would at least raise the cap on the limitation of state and local taxes. The outcome of either bill progressing significantly could bring about a substantial change in limitations.
While any proposals in Congress, especially tax changes, can cause confusion, Cray Kaiser is here to help you navigate potential pitfalls and opportunities. Please contact us at 630-953-4900 with any questions.
Tax Supervisor – SALT
For tax years beginning January 1, 2024 there are big changes to the Ohio Commercial Activity Tax (“CAT”). For one thing, the CAT annual minimum tax is being eliminated. More importantly, the receipts exclusion is increased from $1 million to $3 million for 2024 and will be increased to $6 million for 2025. Taxpayers having 2024 calendar year Ohio gross receipts of $3 million or less will no longer be subject to the CAT. The CAT rate remains unchanged at 0.26% and will apply to Ohio gross receipts in excess of $3 million.
What does this mean for your business? If you expect your 2024 Ohio gross receipts to be under $3 million, you must close your CAT account. Failure to close the account could result in non-filing notices. You may close the CAT account online by visiting the Ohio Business Gateway. Select the CAT Cancel Account transaction and indicate a closure date of December 31, 2023.
Remember to file your final CAT return for tax year 2023! CAT filing deadlines are:
Ohio is just one of many states that imposes a tax on gross receipts. Cray Kaiser can help your business evaluate the impact of these types of taxes on your business. Contact us by calling 630-953-4900 and one of our State and Local Tax professionals will be happy to provide assistance.
In-Charge Staff Accountant
As the end of the year approaches, a lot of us take time to look back at the past year and plan for the year ahead. Now is the time to look for new opportunities, plan for the future, and take steps to avoid surprises.
Teaming up with your advisor to put together a year-end tax projection is a good idea that’s worth making time for. A tax projection is essentially an estimated tax return that will use a combination of information you already know and estimates of things you can’t know until the year is over to form a rough idea of what to expect come tax time. No projection will be perfect, especially in recent years when tax laws have changed so frequently and drastically. But starting with a good projection can eliminate at least some unknowns. In the words of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
Unpleasant surprises often come in the form of a higher-than-expected amount of tax due with your return, and a year-end projection can help avoid this. In many cases, an extra year-end estimated payment might be a good idea, since it can help ensure timely payment and avoid incurring penalties or interest that the government might add on to your balance due.
In addition, a year-end tax projection can often help you and your advisor uncover opportunities for additional tax savings. For many people, this might come in the form of maximizing contributions to retirement savings accounts, health savings accounts, or education savings accounts. It can also aid in the planning of charitable giving.
Beyond that, a year-end projection can aid in planning for future savings, as well. For business owners, conducting a projection can help in evaluating timing decisions for major investments in equipment or other aspects of their businesses. The same activity might have different tax consequences if it takes place before or after the current year ends. Certain deductions and credits for individuals have annual limits, as well. Some of these are fixed and other limits have a sliding scale based on your adjusted gross income (AGI) as calculated on your tax return. A tax projection can show whether the benefit will be greater in the current year or in a future year.
Of course, a projection is just an estimate, and there will be uncertainties involved. But a year-end projection can help put you in the best position to step into the year ahead. For assistance with completing your year-end tax projection, please contact the tax experts at CK at 630-953-4900.
CPA | Tax Supervisor
Cryptocurrency is relatively established with 17% of Americans using it, but the regulations on tax reporting are still in the infancy stage.
The Treasury Department has proposed a new Form 1099-DA to modernize reporting requirements related to cryptocurrency. It would result in an easier way to determine the transactions that result in a taxable event and gives crypto users a clearer answer regarding taxation around cryptocurrency. While the form is new, the rationale aligns with what Congress adopted in 2021 with the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IRA).
The current system in place is a hodgepodge of rules, with part of it being based on the honor system. The proposed 1099-DA would require brokers to annually report the sales and exchanges of digital assets to both the IRS and the taxpayer, similar to how the sale of securities is reported. As such, the learning curve is low as most taxpayers are used to the reporting regime related to the sale of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.
This Proposal gives a clearer definition of who brokers are and will encompass both traditional brokers (i.e. Morgan Stanley) and new entrants (i.e. Coinbase). It includes both centralized and decentralized trading platforms, crypto payment processors and online applications that store digital assets, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and NFTs.
The government is catching up to the nascent crypto world and trying to bring order and consistency to the taxation of digital assets. Currently, the IRS is waiting to hear feedback until October 30, and once fine-tuned, implementation would occur for the 2025 tax year, giving the industry two years to get systems and best practices in compliance.
While any change, especially tax changes, can cause anxiety, Cray Kaiser is here to help you navigate potential pitfalls and opportunities. Please call us today at 630-953-4900.
