Returning Value Blog

The 2024 election is likely to profoundly impact tax policy and legislation. Once the dust settles on the results, the incoming president and Congress will have a tall task in 2025, as the expiration of several 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provisions will loom large, and many other tax policy proposals will be on the table. All of the moving parts have inspired pundits to refer to 2025 as a year we will see the “Super Bowl of Tax”. 

Employee stock ownership plans have been in the headlines recently, but they have been around for decades. ESOPs are qualified defined contribution plans in the form of stock bonus plans or stock purchase/money purchase plans. They are governed by Internal Revenue Code Section 401(a) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, also known as ERISA.

For high-net-worth individuals, the art of wealth transfer extends beyond merely providing financial assistance to future generations; it is about strategically positioning the next generation for personal success. Unfortunately, it also requires navigating a complex landscape of income, gift, and estate taxes. 

There are several financial and legal implications when adding a new partner to a partnership. Here’s an example to illustrate: You and your partners are planning to admit a new partner. The new partner will acquire a one-third interest in the partnership by making a cash contribution to the business. Assume that your basis in your partnership interests is sufficient so that the decrease in your portions of the partnership’s liabilities because of the new partner’s entry won’t reduce your basis to zero.

If your business doesn’t already have a retirement plan, it might be a good time to take the plunge. Current retirement plan rules allow for significant tax-deductible contributions.

We May Never See a Better Environment for Transferring Wealth … Here’s Why

It may seem that there will always be time to address estate planning. However, a unique opportunity to maximize the amount of wealth that can be tax-efficiently passed to heirs will expire at the end of 2025. Furthermore, legislation could curb lifetime exemption limits even sooner. The opportunity is even more pressing because the current market downturn represents an especially advantageous time to optimize your taxable estate before markets eventually recover.

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act of 2019) and the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (collectively, SECURE) enacted a new mandate that, starting in 2024, long-term, part-time (LTPT) employees must be allowed to make salary deferrals into their employer’s 401(k) plan.

The SECURE 2.0 law, enacted last year, contains wide-ranging changes to retirement plans. One provision in the law is that eligible employers will soon be able to provide more help to staff members facing emergencies. This will be done through what the law calls “pension-linked emergency savings accounts.”

Does your organization offer health care and retirement benefits for its employees? Benefit plans with 100 or more participants are generally required to have their annual reports audited under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Here’s some guidance to help plan administrators fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities for hiring independent qualified public accountants to perform audits.

Healthcare Has a Margin Erosion Problem

The past few years have significantly destabilized the healthcare industry’s financial footing. According to our 2023 Healthcare CFO Outlook Survey, 60% of healthcare CFOs could not meet the terms of their bond or loan covenants in 2022 — up from 41% in 2021.