Dec 27, 2019
In its 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld South Dakota’s “economic nexus” statute, expanding the power of states to collect sales tax from remote sellers. Today, nearly every state with a sales tax has enacted a similar law, so if your company does business across state lines, it’s a good idea to reexamine your sales tax obligations.
What’s nexus?
A state is constitutionally prohibited from taxing business activities unless those activities have a substantial “nexus,” or connection, with the state. Before Wayfair, simply selling to customers in a state wasn’t enough to establish nexus. The business also had to have a physical presence in the state, such as offices, retail stores, manufacturing or distribution facilities, or sales reps.
In Wayfair, the Supreme Court ruled that a business could establish nexus through economic or virtual contacts with a state, even if it didn’t have a physical presence. The Court didn’t create a bright-line test for determining whether contacts are “substantial,” but found that the thresholds established by South Dakota’s law are sufficient: Out-of-state businesses must collect and remit South Dakota sales taxes if, in the current or previous calendar year, they have 1) more than $100,000 in gross sales of products or services delivered into the state, or 2) 200 or more separate transactions for the delivery of goods or services into the state.
Nexus steps
The vast majority of states now have economic nexus laws, although the specifics vary:Many states adopted the same sales and transaction thresholds accepted in Wayfair, but a number of states apply different thresholds. And some chose not to impose transaction thresholds, which many view as unfair to smaller sellers (an example of a threshold might be 200 sales of $5 each would create nexus).
If your business makes online, telephone or mail-order sales in states where it lacks a physical presence, it’s critical to find out whether those states have economic nexus laws and determine whether your activities are sufficient to trigger them. If you have nexus with a state, you’ll need to register with the state and collect state and applicable local taxes on your taxable sales there. Even if some or all of your sales are tax-exempt, you’ll need to secure exemption certifications for each jurisdiction where you do business. Alternatively, you might decide to reduce or eliminate your activities in a state if the benefits don’t justify the compliance costs.
Need help?
Note: If you make sales through a “marketplace facilitator,” such as Amazon or Ebay, be aware that an increasing number of states have passed laws that require such providers to collect taxes on sales they facilitate for vendors using their platforms.
If you need assistance in setting up processes to collect sales tax or you have questions about your responsibilities, contact us.
© 2019
Dec 23, 2019
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) hasn’t issued any major new accounting rules in 2019. But there have been some important developments to be aware of when preparing annual financial statements under U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
Deferral of major accounting rules
Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2019-09 delays the effective date of the updated guidance for long-term insurance contracts. For public business entities, except smaller reporting companies (SRCs), the effective date is delayed until fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021. For all other entities, the effective date is postponed until fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023.
In addition, ASU 2019-10 defers the effective dates for three other ASUs as follows:
1. ASU 2016-02, Leases. For public business entities (including SRCs) and certain nonprofit organizations and employee benefit plans, the effective date remains as fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. For all other entities, the effective date is deferred to fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020.
2. ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments — Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. For public business entities that don’t meet the definition of an SRC, the effective date remains fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. For all other entities, the effective date is deferred to fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022.
3. ASU 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging: Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities. For public business entities (including SRCs) the effective date remains as fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. For all other entities, the effective date is deferred to fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020.
Effective dates going forward
ASU 2019-10 also updates the FASB’s philosophy for setting the effective dates for all major ASUs going forward. It will group entities into two overall buckets, as follows:
Bucket 1. Large public companies that are SEC filers and don’t meet the SEC definition of SRCs, and
Bucket 2. Entities other than large public companies, including SRCs, private companies, nonprofit entities and employee benefit plans.
In general, the FASB plans to set the effective dates of major ASUs for Bucket 2 entities at least two years after the initial effective dates for entities in Bucket 1.
Revenue recognition
Starting in 2019, private companies that follow GAAP must use an updated five-step method to recognize revenue from long-term contracts. Public companies that made the switch in 2018 report that the process was more difficult than expected.
Unfortunately, many private companies underestimate the amount of work it takes to apply the updated rules — and many accounting software solutions can’t effectively handle the changes, including the disclosure requirements. If you haven’t started implementing the updated revenue recognition guidance, contact us to get you back on track.
Other developments
Throughout 2019, the FASB has issued some other narrow-scope accounting rules, including guidance that 1) updates the rules for reporting share-based payments to customers and nonemployees, 2) extends the scope of private company alternatives for reporting goodwill to nonprofit organizations, and 3) clarifies major accounting standards updates. Contact us to discuss how the changes to GAAP, including various proposed amendments, will affect your financial statements in 2019 and beyond.
© 2019
Dec 20, 2019
Don’t let the holiday rush keep you from taking some important steps to reduce your 2019 tax liability. You still have time to execute a few strategies, including:
1. Buying assets.Thinking about purchasing new or used heavy vehicles, heavy equipment, machinery or office equipment in the new year? Buy it and place it in service by December 31, and you can deduct 100% of the cost as bonus depreciation.
Although “qualified improvement property” (QIP) — generally, interior improvements to nonresidential real property — doesn’t qualify for bonus depreciation, it’s eligible for Sec. 179 immediate expensing. And QIP now includes roofs, HVAC, fire protection systems, alarm systems and security systems placed in service after the building was placed in service.
You can deduct as much as $1.02 million for QIP and other qualified assets placed in service before January 1, not to exceed your amount of taxable income from business activity. Once you place in service more than $2.55 million in qualifying property, the Sec. 179 deduction begins phasing out on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Additional limitations may apply.
2. Making the most of retirement plans. If you don’t already have a retirement plan, you still have time to establish a new plan, such as a SEP IRA, 401(k) or profit-sharing plans (the deadline for setting up a SIMPLE IRA to make contributions for 2019 tax purposes was October 1, unless your business started after that date). If your circumstances, such as your number of employees, have changed significantly, you also should consider starting a new plan before January 1.
Although retirement plans generally must be started before year-end, you usually can deduct any contributions you make for yourself and your employees until the due date of your tax return. You also might qualify for a tax credit to offset the costs of starting a plan.
3. Timing deductions and income. If your business operates on a cash basis, you can significantly affect your amount of taxable income by accelerating your deductions into 2019 and deferring income into 2020 (assuming you expect to be taxed at the same or a lower rate next year).
For example, you could put recurring expenses normally paid early in the year on your credit card before January 1 — that way, you can claim the deduction for 2019 even though you don’t pay the credit card bill until 2020. In certain circumstances, you also can prepay some expenses, such as rent or insurance and claim them in 2019.
As for income, wait until close to year-end to send out invoices to customers with reliable payment histories. Accrual-basis businesses can take a similar approach, holding off on the delivery of goods and services until next year.
Proceed with caution
Bear in mind that some of these tactics could adversely impact other factors affecting your tax liability, such as the qualified business income deduction. Contact us to make the most of your tax planning opportunities.© 2019
Dec 18, 2019
Audit season is right around the corner for calendar-year entities. Here’s what your auditor is doing behind the scenes to prepare — and how you can help facilitate the audit planning process.
The big picture
Every audit starts with assessing “audit risk.” This refers to the likelihood that the auditor will issue an adverse opinion when the financial statements are actually in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or (more likely) an unqualified opinion when the opinion should be either modified or adverse.
Auditors can’t test every single transaction, recalculate every estimate or examine every external document. Instead, they tailor their audit procedures and assign audit personnel to keep audit risk as low as possible.
Inherent risk vs. control risk
Auditors evaluate two types of risk:
1. Inherent risk. This is the risk that material departures could occur in the financial statements. Examples of inherent-risk factors include complexity, volume of transactions, competence of the accounting personnel, company size and use of estimates.
2. Control risk. This is the risk that the entity’s internal controls won’t prevent or correct material misstatements in the financial statements.
Separate risk assessments are done at the financial statement level and then for each major account — such as cash, receivables, inventory, fixed assets, other assets, payables, accrued expenses, long-term debt, equity, and revenue and expenses. A high-risk account (say, inventory) might warrant more extensive audit procedures and be assigned to more experienced audit team members than one with lower risk (say, equity).
How auditors assess risk
New risk assessments must be done each year, even if the company has had the same auditor for many years. That’s because internal and external factors may change over time. For example, new government or accounting regulations may be implemented, and company personnel or accounting software may change, causing the company’s risk assessment to change. As a result, audit procedures may vary from year to year or from one audit firm to the next.
The risk assessment process starts with an auditing checklist and, for existing audit clients, last year’s workpapers. But auditors must dig deeper to determine current risk levels. In addition to researching public sources of information, including your company’s website, your auditor may call you with a list of open-ended questions (inquiries) and request a walk-through to evaluate whether your internal controls are operating as designed. Timely responses can help auditors plan their procedures to minimize audit risk.
Your role
Audit fieldwork is only as effective as the risk assessment. Evidence obtained from further audit procedures may be ineffective if it’s not properly linked to the assessed risks. So, it’s important for you to help the audit team understand the risks your business is currently facing and the challenges you’ve experienced reporting financial performance, especially as companies implement updated accounting rules in the coming years.
© 2019
Dec 16, 2019
Device policies pertaining to smartphones and other technology tools continue to frustrate business owners as they try to balance their needs for security and functionality against employees’ rights to privacy and freedom. At some companies, loose “bring your own device” (BYOD) policies are giving way to stricter “choose your own device” (CYOD) or “corporate-owned, personally enabled” (COPE) policies.
CYOD: Their device, your data
A CYOD policy lets employees buy a device for combined personal and work purposes from an approved list of products. Generally, the employee owns the device with the business retaining ownership of the SIM card and any proprietary data. Many employers pay for the accompanying mobile plan. Sometimes, high-performance devices are made available only to “power users,” while employees with fewer tech-related job requirements must choose from lesser models.
Under a CYOD policy, you can:
- Ensure device compatibility with your systems,
- Require security protections on the devices, and
- Conduct ongoing security monitoring.
It also makes maintenance and support easier for your IT department, because IT staff will know exactly which devices they’ll need to handle.
Some employees may be unhappy with their choice of devices, which can undermine morale and productivity. Then again, many workers appreciate the improved functionality and flexibility of owning a device that connects them to work.
COPE: All yours
If you’re looking for even greater control and security, look into a COPE policy. They’re most common at large companies or those with heavy compliance burdens.
Here, you buy and own the device, which is intended primarily for business purposes. Most policies do allow for limited personal use — such as phone calls and messaging, approved non-work-related apps and some settings customization.
COPE policies are like CYOD policies in that you can configure employees’ devices for maximum security (including blocking certain features or apps and activating remote wipe capabilities). But they go one step further by minimizing personal use and allowing you to retain possession after an employee leaves the company. Another upside: Many employees will view an employer-provided device as a valuable perk.
One downside is you’ll incur higher costs in covering both the purchase price and mobile plans, though you may be able to lessen the hit through volume discounts. In addition, employees may have concerns about their employer-provided devices inevitably containing some of their own information. “Containerization” tools can help alleviate such worries by segregating business and personal data.
A matter of priorities
The right move for your company comes down to priorities. To tighten security and control costs, a CYOD policy may be a reasonable upgrade to an existing BYOD approach. But if you need absolute security, a COPE policy could be necessary.
Bear in mind that you can always customize a policy to best suit your needs. For example, you might apply different requirements to different departments based on the type of work performed and data accessed. Our firm can help you analyze the potential costs of any device policy and make the right choice.
© 2019
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