On August 8, 2018 the Treasury issued proposed regulations under Code Section 199A, a provision that was part of the 2017 tax act that provides a 20% deduction on “qualified business income.”  Code Section 199A is a very complex provision, but every business owner needs to be advised as to whether it applies to the business owner and, if so, whether the business owner should structure his business to claim it or whether he or she should structure the business as a C corporation to take advantage of the lowered corporate tax rate of 21%.

Generally, for taxpayers with taxable income under the threshold amounts of $157,500 single and $315,000 married filing joint, organizing as a sole proprietor or pass-through entity will produce more tax savings than operating as a C corporation.  This is only a generality, however.  A taxpayer needs to sit down with a tax professional and do projections on business income and taxes as a C or as a sole proprietor or pass-through to determine the best course, and it should be noted that differences exist between types of pass-through entities and between pass-through entities and sole proprietors.

These proposed regulations are not law, but can be relied on by the taxpayer.  An analysis of the proposed regulations is well beyond the scope of this blog.  Some of the questions that arose under Code Section 199A have been addressed, however, such as (i) reclassifying employees as independent contractors so that their income is eligible for qualified business income treatment (doesn’t work), (ii) narrowly defining the catch-all for special services, trades or businesses where the reputation of the employees or owners is a “principal asset” to product endorsements, licensing revenue from use of individual’s image, likeness or trademark, and appearance fees and (iii) a business aggregation rule, allowing taxpayer’s to aggregate related businesses.

Code Section 199A has made choice of entity a complex decision.  Let me know if I can help you with that analysis.