Q-1:

Subject: business tax question

Hi,

Thank you for your article on sub s vs. c corp.  I am a licensed professional in healthcare and have a sub s.  I have a sub s, as years ago when I started it, my profession did not have a license in my state and my attorney at the time advised me to start this type of corp.  I do not remember the specifics.  Here we are 13 years later and several attorney and accountant later.  As I make another accountant change, I am advised to consider starting a c corp.  To keep my sub s to do my business so I do not have to change contracts etc.  To have the sub s provide management services for the c corp, which will really have the clients  have the c corp be profitable and the sub s operate at a loss.  This is a new way of thinking for me.  Is it legal?  It sounds a bit on the edge?

 

Thanks for responding.  Each new person seems to add something and it becomes very confusing.

A-1:

Using both an S and a C corp together has been a very useful tactic for decades for exercising more control over business owners' taxable income.  Too many people make the mistake of thinking everything has to be all or nothing with everything run through a single entity. Depending on your unique situation, using an assortment of entities can result in huge tax savings, as well as better liability protection from nuisance lawsuits.

Working with a creative professional tax advisor who understands how to properly utilize multiple entities is essential, as is up to date accurate accounting because many of the income shifting decisions depend on knowing how much income you have at any point in time.

Good luck.

Kerry Kerstetter

Q-2:

Thank you for your reply.  Would you indulge me in another question or two?

Your reply certainly confirmed the advice of my new accountatnt.  But, I am still skeptical.  There are so many dishonest people, I am apprehensive!! These are my concersn or things I notice.

This new accountant, John Anderson, does not market himself as a CPA.  His business card says CEO of his consulting company.  When I asked if he was a CPA, he said yes.  I checked AZ licensing, but he is not.  I confronted him and he said he had a PA license.  I checked PA and it expired in '86.  Is that a big deal?  If you have the info and knowledge, I guess you do not need a license to give advice and or prepare taxes.  I am feeling like his answers are not necessarily honest.  Further, he asked for POA to be able to sign to get c corp and do other things for the company.  I am reluctant to give him that power.  Is that usual?  Finally, he mentioned that under the c corp we could in some way deduct our life insurance premiums.  He discussed the keyman policy or by/sell.  It makes sense to me, but my bother in law who sells life ins in TX is adamant that you cannot deduct life insurance. So, I am confused and apprehensive.

Thanks for your time.

A-2:

Anyone you work with should be completely open and honest about the status of his/her licensing.  I'm confused as to which PA you are referring to.  Do you mean licensed as a CPA in Pennsylvania or licensed as a Public Accountant, which is a designation similar to CPA that is rarely seen any more?

While CPAs, attorneys and EAs (enrolled Agents) are automatically eligible to prepare tax returns, each state has its own rules regarding the special licensing of others.

Asking for a power of attorney up front to submit incorporation papers on your behalf does sound very unusual and is not something I have ever requested from any clients, nor would I advise you to do.  While the amount of personal involvement you choose to have in the business transactions is up to you, I would be very careful of delegating too many things to other people.  There are too many things that could go wrong.

There are so many varieties of life insurance policies and ways in which to handle them that there is no easy answer in regard to the deductibility of premiums or whether company paid premiums are taxable as income to the beneficiaries.  There are ways by which to have the ownership of the policy vested in a special trust or in the employer's name that may be useful.  You need to work with an experienced advisor to see if there is a way to structure things so as to accomplish your specific goals.

No offense to your brother in law, but the claim that life insurance premiums are never deductible is wrong.  There are various occasions when they are.  For example, one that I encounter quite often is when a lender requires a life insurance policy as a condition of making a loan.  For decades, I have been showing those premiums as deductions on client tax returns, with descriptions that they are required by the lenders. IRS has never had any problems with any of them.

I hope this helps.

Good luck.

Kerry Kerstetter

Labels: corp

- posted by Kerry M. Kerstetter, MBA~CPA~ATP~ATA @ 5/21/2008 02:07:00 PM Send this post: