• Our Firm
  • Practice Areas
    • Business Entities
    • Charitable Planning
    • Employee Benefits/ERISA
    • Estate and Gift Taxes
    • Estate Planning
    • Income Tax Law
    • Mergers and Acquisitions
    • Non-Profit/Tax Exempt
    • Probate/Estate Admin.
    • Tax Controversies
    • Wills and Trusts
  • Attorneys
    • Robert E. August
    • Jonathan R. Colao
    • Phillip J. Martin
    • Keith G. Meacham
    • W. Verne McGough, Jr.
    • Andrew D. Merline
    • David A. Merline, Jr.
    • Marie Monroe
    • J. Aaron Nelson, Jr.
    • Douglas B. O’Neal
    • David M. Thompson
  • Firm News
  • Resources
  • call Us Today
    864.242.4080
Merline & Meacham, PA
Contact Us

Do you want to withdraw cash from your closely held corporation at a low tax cost?

November 9, 2020
by Merline & Meacham, PA
Resources

Owners of closely held corporations are often interested in easily withdrawing money from their businesses at the lowest possible tax cost. The simplest way is to distribute cash as a dividend. However, a dividend distribution isn’t tax-efficient, since it’s taxable to you to the extent of your corporation’s “earnings and profits.” And it’s not deductible by the corporation.

Other strategies

Fortunately, there are several alternative methods that may allow you to withdraw cash from a corporation while avoiding dividend treatment. Here are five strategies to consider:

  • Capital repayments. To the extent that you’ve capitalized the corporation with debt, including amounts that you’ve advanced to the business, the corporation can repay the debt without the repayment being treated as a dividend. Additionally, interest paid on the debt can be deducted by the corporation. This assumes that the debt has been properly documented with terms that characterize debt and that the corporation doesn’t have an excessively high debt-to-equity ratio. If not, the “debt” repayment may be taxed as a dividend. If you make future cash contributions to the corporation, consider structuring them as debt to facilitate later withdrawals on a tax-advantaged basis.
  • Compensation. Reasonable compensation that you, or family members, receive for services rendered to the corporation is deductible by the business. However, it’s also taxable to the recipient(s). This same rule applies to any compensation (in the form of rent) that you receive from the corporation for the use of property. In both cases, the compensation amount must be reasonable in terms of the services rendered or the value of the property provided. If it’s considered excessive, the excess will be a nondeductible corporate distribution.
  • Loans. You can withdraw cash tax free from the corporation by borrowing money from it. However, to prevent having the loan characterized as a corporate distribution, it should be properly documented in a loan agreement or note. It should also be made on terms that are comparable to those in which an unrelated third party would lend money to you, including a provision for interest and principal. Also, consider what the corporation’s receipt of interest income will mean.
  • Fringe benefits. You may want to obtain the equivalent of a cash withdrawal in fringe benefits, which aren’t taxable to you and are deductible by the corporation. Examples include life insurance, certain medical benefits, disability insurance and dependent care. Most of these benefits are tax-free only if provided on a nondiscriminatory basis to other corporation employees. You can also establish a salary reduction plan that allows you (and other employees) to take a portion of your compensation as nontaxable benefits, rather than as taxable compensation.
  • Property sales. You can withdraw cash from the corporation by selling property to it. However, certain sales should be avoided. For example, you shouldn’t sell property to a more than 50%-owned corporation at a loss, since the loss will be disallowed. And you shouldn’t sell depreciable property to a more than 50%-owned corporation at a gain, since the gain will be treated as ordinary income, rather than capital gain. A sale should be on terms that are comparable to those in which an unrelated third party would purchase the property. You may need to obtain an independent appraisal to establish the property’s value.

Minimize taxes

If you’re interested in discussing any of these ideas, contact us. We can help you get the most out of your corporation at the lowest tax cost.

© 2020

Share
Previous Post
Estate planning and your art collection
Next Post
Name the right person as executor to help ensure your planning objectives are carried through
Categories
  • News
  • Resources
  • Uncategorized

Greenville Office

812 East North Street, Greenville, SC 29601

Phone: 864.242.4080

Fax: 864.242.5758

Columbia Office

190 Knox Abbott Drive, Suite 3B, Cayce, SC 29033

Phone: 803.814.0027

Fax: 803.658.4732

Quick Links
  • Our Firm
  • Practice Areas
  • Attorneys
  • Firm News
  • Resources
  • Contact
FOLLOW US
Facebook
LinkedIn
CONTACT US TODAY

    Copyright Merline & Meacham, PA © 2022. All Rights Reserved.

    This website is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney/client relationship.

    Digital Partner - WebSpeak Media

    • Our Firm
    • Practice Areas
      • Business Entities
      • Charitable Planning
      • Employee Benefits/ERISA
      • Estate and Gift Taxes
      • Estate Planning
      • Income Tax Law
      • Mergers and Acquisitions
      • Non-Profit/Tax Exempt
      • Probate/Estate Admin.
      • Tax Controversies
      • Wills and Trusts
    • Attorneys
      • Robert E. August
      • Jonathan R. Colao
      • Phillip J. Martin
      • Keith G. Meacham
      • W. Verne McGough, Jr.
      • Andrew D. Merline
      • David A. Merline, Jr.
      • Marie Monroe
      • J. Aaron Nelson, Jr.
      • Douglas B. O’Neal
      • David M. Thompson
    • Firm News
    • Resources