Weighing the pluses and minuses of HDHPs + HSAs for businesses
March 19, 2025
Will your company be ready to add a health insurance plan for next year, or change its current one? If so, now might be a good time to consider your options. These things take time.
A popular benefits model for many small to midsize businesses is sponsoring a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) accompanied by employee Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). Like any such strategy, however, this one has its pluses and minuses.
Ground rules
HSAs are participant-owned, tax-advantaged accounts that accumulate funds for eligible medical expenses. To own an HSA, participants must be enrolled in an HDHP, have no other health insurance and not qualify for Medicare.
In 2025, an HDHP is defined as a plan with at least a $1,650 deductible for self-only coverage or $3,300 for family coverage. Also in 2025, participants can contribute pretax income of up to $4,300 for self-only coverage or $8,550 for family coverage. (These amounts are inflation-adjusted annually, so they’ll likely change for 2026.) Those age 55 or older can make additional catch-up contributions of $1,000.
Companies may choose to make tax-deductible contributions to employees’ HSAs. However, the aforementioned limits still apply to combined participant and employer contributions.
Participants can make tax-free HSA withdrawals to cover qualified out-of-pocket medical expenses, such as physician and dentist visits. They may also use their account funds for copays and deductibles, though not to pay many types of insurance premiums.
Pluses to ponder
For businesses, the “HDHP + HSAs” model offers several pluses. First, HDHPs generally have lower premiums than other health insurance plans — making them more cost-effective. Plus, as mentioned, your contributions to participants’ HSAs are tax deductible if you choose to make them. And, overall, sponsoring health insurance can strengthen your fringe benefits package.
HSAs also have pluses for participants that can help you “sell” the model when rolling it out. These include:
- Participants can lower their taxable income by making pretax contributions through payroll deductions,
- HSAs can include an investment component that may include mutual funds, stocks and bonds,
- Account earnings accumulate tax-free,
- Withdrawals for qualified medical expenses aren’t subject to tax, and the list of eligible expenses is extensive,
- HSA funds roll over from year to year (unlike Flexible Spending Account funds), and
- HSAs are portable; participants maintain ownership and control of their accounts if they change jobs or even during retirement.
In fact, HSAs are sometimes referred to as “medical IRAs” because these potentially valuable accounts are helpful for retirement planning and have estate planning implications as well.
Minuses to mind
The HDHP + HSAs model has its minuses, too. Some employees may strongly object to the “high deductible” aspect of HDHPs.
Also, if not trained thoroughly, participants can misuse their accounts. Funds used for nonqualified expenses are subject to income taxes. Moreover, the IRS will add a 20% penalty if an account holder is younger than 65. After age 65, participants can withdraw funds for any reason without penalty, though withdrawals for nonqualified expenses will be taxed as ordinary income.
Expenses are another potential concern. HSA providers (typically banks and investment firms) may charge monthly maintenance fees, transaction fees and investment fees (for accounts with an investment component). Many companies cover these fees under their benefits package to enhance the appeal of HSAs to employees.
Finally, HSAs can have unexpected tax consequences for account beneficiaries. Generally, if a participant dies, account funds pass tax-free to a spouse beneficiary. However, for other types of beneficiaries, account funds will be considered income and immediately subject to taxation.
Powerful savings vehicle
The HDHP + HSAs model helps businesses manage insurance costs, shifts more of medical expense management to participants, and creates a powerful savings vehicle that may attract job candidates and retain employees. But that doesn’t mean it’s right for every company. Please contact us for help assessing its feasibility, as well as identifying the cost and tax impact.
© 2025
Your business can set up an educational assistance plan that can give each eligible employee up to $5,250 in annual federal-income-tax-free and federal-payroll-tax-free benefits. These tax-favored plans are called Section 127 plans after the tax code section that allows them. Plan basics Sec. 127 plans can cover the cost of almost anything that constitutes education, including graduate coursework. It doesn’t matter if the education is job-related or not. However, you can choose to specify that your Sec. 127 plan will only cover job-related education. Your business can deduct payments made under the Sec. 127 plan as employee compensation expenses. To qualify for this favorable tax treatment, the education must be for a participating employee — not the employee’s spouse or dependent. Also, the plan generally can’t cover courses involving sports, games or hobbies. If the employee is a related party, such as an employee-child of the owner, some additional restrictions apply that are explained below. Plan specifics Your Sec. 127 plan: 1. Must be a written plan for the exclusive benefit of your employees. 2. Must benefit employees who qualify under a classification scheme set up by your business that doesn’t discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees or employees who are dependents of highly compensated employees. 3. Can’t offer employees the choice between tax-free educational assistance and other taxable compensation, like wages. That means the plan benefits can’t be included as an option in a cafeteria benefit program. 4. Doesn’t have to be prefunded. Your business can pay or reimburse qualifying expenses as they’re incurred by an employee. 5. Must give employees reasonable notification about the availability of the plan and its terms. 6. Can’t funnel over 5% of the annual benefits to more-than-5% owners or their spouses or dependents. Payments to benefit your employee-child You might think a Sec. 127 plan isn’t available to employees who happen to be children of business owners. Thankfully, there’s a loophole for any child who’s: Age 21 or older and a legitimate employee of the business, Not a dependent of the business owner, and Not a more-than-5% direct or indirect owner. Avoid the 5% ownership rule To avoid having your employee-child become disqualified under the rules cited above, he or she can’t be a more-than-5% owner of your business. This includes actual ownership (via stock in your corporation that the child directly owns) plus any attributed (indirect) ownership in the business under the ownership attribution rules summarized below. Ownership in your C or S corporation business is attributed to your employee-child if he or she: 1) owns options to acquire more than 5% of the stock in your corporation, 2) is a more-than-5% partner in a partnership that owns stock in your corporation, or 3) is a more-than-5% shareholder in another corporation that owns stock in your corporation. Also, a child under age 21 is considered to own any stock owned directly or indirectly by a parent. However, there’s no parental attribution if the child is age 21 or older. Ownership attribution for an unincorporated business What about an unincorporated business? You still have to worry about ownership being attributed to your employee-child under rules analogous to the rules for corporations. This includes businesses that operate as sole proprietorships, single-member LLCs treated as sole proprietorships for tax purposes, multi-member LLCs treated as partnerships for tax purposes or partnerships. Payments for student loans Through the end of 2025, a Sec. 127 plan can also make tax-free payments to cover principal and interest on any qualified education loan taken out by a participating employee. The payments are subject to the $5,250 annual limit, including any other payments in that year to cover eligible education expenses. Talent retention Establishing a Sec. 127 educational assistance plan can be a good way to attract and retain talented employees. As a bonus, the plan can potentially cover your employee-child. Contact us if you have questions or want more information. © 2025
Members of the sandwich generation — those who find themselves simultaneously caring for aging parents while supporting their own children — face unique financial and emotional pressures. One critical yet often overlooked task amid this juggling act is estate planning. How can you best handle your parents’ financial affairs in the later stages of life? Consider incorporating their needs into your estate plan while tweaking, when necessary, the arrangements they’ve already made. Let’s take a closer look at four critical steps. 1. Make cash gifts to your parents and pay their medical expenses One of the simplest ways to help your parents is to make cash gifts to them. If gift and estate taxes are a concern, you can take advantage of the annual gift tax exclusion. For 2025, you can give each parent up to $19,000 without triggering gift taxes or using your lifetime gift and estate tax exemption. The exemption amount for 2025 is $13.99 million. Plus, payments to medical providers aren’t considered gifts, so you can make such payments on your parents’ behalf without using any of your annual exclusion or lifetime exemption amounts. 2. Set up trusts There are many trust-based strategies you can use to assist your parents. For example, if you predecease your parents, your estate plan might establish a trust for their benefit, with any remaining assets passing to your children when your parents die. Another option is to set up trusts during your lifetime that leverage your $13.99 million gift and estate tax exemption. Properly designed, these trusts can remove assets — together with all future appreciation in their value — from your taxable estate. They can provide income to your parents during their lives, eventually passing to your children free of gift and estate taxes. 3. Buy your parents’ home If your parents have built up significant equity in their home, consider buying it and leasing it back to them. This arrangement allows your parents to tap their home’s equity without moving out while providing you with valuable tax deductions for mortgage interest, depreciation, maintenance and other expenses. To avoid negative tax consequences, pay a fair price for the home (supported by a qualified appraisal) and charge your parents fair-market rent. 4. Plan for long-term care expenses The annual cost of long-term care (LTC) can easily reach six figures. Expenses can include assisted living facilities, nursing homes and home health care. These expenses aren’t covered by traditional health insurance policies or Social Security, and Medicare provides little, if any, assistance. To prevent LTC expenses from devouring your parents’ resources, work with them to develop a plan for funding their health care needs through LTC insurance or other investments. Don’t forget about your needs As part of the sandwich generation, it’s easy to lose sight of yourself. After addressing your parents’ needs, focus on your own. Are you saving enough for your children’s college education and your own retirement? Do you have a will and power of attorney in place for you and your spouse? With proper planning, you’ll make things less complex for your children so they might avoid some of the turmoil that you could be going through. Contact us for additional planning techniques if you’re a member of the sandwich generation. © 2025
Today’s companies have several kinds of tax-advantaged accounts or arrangements they can sponsor to help employees pay eligible medical expenses. One of them is a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA). Under an HRA, your business sets up and wholly funds a plan that reimburses participants for qualified medical expenses of your choosing. (To be clear, employees can’t contribute.) The primary advantage is that plan design is very flexible, giving you greater control of your “total benefits spend.” Plus, your company’s contributions are tax deductible. How flexible are HRAs? They’re so flexible that businesses have multiple plan types to choose from. Let’s focus on one in particular: excepted benefit HRAs (EBHRAs). 4 key rules Although traditional HRAs integrated with group health insurance provide significant control, they’re still subject to mandates under the Public Health Service Act (PHSA), which was amended by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This means you must deal with prohibitions on annual and lifetime limits for essential health benefits and requirements to provide certain preventive services without cost-sharing. Because employer contributions to EBHRAs are so limited, participants’ accounts under these plans qualify as “excepted benefits.” Therefore, these plans aren’t subject to the ACA’s PHSA mandates. Any size business may sponsor an EBHRA, but you must follow certain rules. Four of the most important are: 1. Contribution limits. In 2025, employer-sponsors may contribute up to $2,150 to each participant per plan year. You can, however, choose to contribute less. You can also decide whether to allow carryovers from year to year, which don’t count toward the annual limit. 2. Qualified reimbursements. An EBHRA may reimburse any qualified, out-of-pocket medical expense other than premiums for: Individual health coverage, Medicare, and Non-COBRA group coverage. Premiums for coverage consisting solely of excepted benefits can be reimbursed, as can premiums for short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI). However, under certain circumstances, federal agencies may prohibit small employer EBHRAs in some states from allowing STLDI premium reimbursement. (Contact your benefits advisor for further information.) 3. Required other coverage. Employer-sponsors must make other non-excepted, non-account-based group health plan coverage available to EBHRA participants for the plan year. Thus, you can’t also offer a traditional HRA. 4. Uniform availability. An EBHRA must be made available to all similarly situated individuals under the same terms and conditions, as defined and provided by applicable regulations. Additional compliance matters An EBHRA’s status as an excepted benefit means it’s not subject to the ACA’s PHSA mandates (as mentioned) or the portability and nondiscrimination rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). However, EBHRAs are subject to HIPAA’s administrative simplification requirements. This includes the law’s privacy and security rules unless an exception applies — such as for certain small self-insured, self-administered plans. In addition, like traditional HRAs integrated with group health insurance, EBHRAs sponsored by businesses are generally subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). This means: Reimbursement requests must comply with ERISA’s claim and appeal procedures, Participants must receive a summary plan description, and Other ERISA requirements may apply. Finally, EBHRAs must comply with ERISA’s nondiscrimination rules. These ensure that benefits provided under the plan don’t disproportionately favor highly compensated employees over non-highly compensated ones. Many factors to analyze As noted above, the EBHRA is only one type of plan your company can consider. Others include traditional HRAs integrated with group health insurance, qualified small employer HRAs and individual coverage HRAs. Choosing among them — or whether to sponsor an HRA at all — will call for analyzing factors such as what health benefits you already offer, which employees you want to cover, how much you’re able to contribute and which medical expenses you wish to reimburse. Let us help you evaluate all your benefit costs and develop a strategy for health coverage that makes the most sense for your business. © 2025
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Suppose you’re thinking about setting up a retirement plan for yourself and your employees. However, you’re concerned about the financial commitment and administrative burdens involved. There are a couple of options to consider. Let’s take a look at a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) and a Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE). SEPs offer easy implementation SEPs are intended to be an attractive alternative to “qualified” retirement plans, particularly for small businesses. The appealing features include the relative ease of administration and the discretion that you, as the employer, are permitted in deciding whether or not to make annual contributions. If you don’t already have a qualified retirement plan, you can set up a SEP just by using the IRS model SEP, Form 5305-SEP. By adopting and implementing this model SEP, which doesn’t have to be filed with the IRS, you’ll have satisfied the SEP requirements. This means that as the employer, you’ll get a current income tax deduction for contributions you make on your employees’ behalf. Your employees won’t be taxed when the contributions are made but will be taxed later when distributions are received, usually at retirement. Depending on your needs, an individually-designed SEP — instead of the model SEP — may be appropriate for you. When you set up a SEP for yourself and your employees, you’ll make deductible contributions to each employee’s IRA, called a SEP-IRA, which must be IRS approved. The maximum amount of deductible contributions you can make to an employee’s SEP-IRA in 2025, and that he or she can exclude from income, is the lesser of 25% of compensation or $70,000. The deduction for your contributions to employees’ SEP-IRAs isn’t limited by the deduction ceiling applicable to an individual’s contributions to a regular IRA. Your employees control their individual IRAs and IRA investments, the earnings on which are tax-free. You’ll have to meet other requirements to be eligible to set up a SEP. Essentially, all regular employees must elect to participate in the program, and contributions can’t discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees. But these requirements are minor compared to the bookkeeping and other administrative burdens associated with traditional qualified pension and profit-sharing plans. The detailed records that traditional plans must maintain to comply with the complex nondiscrimination rules aren’t required for SEPs. And employers aren’t required to file annual reports with the IRS, which, for a pension plan, could require the services of an actuary. The required recordkeeping can be done by a trustee of the SEP-IRAs — usually a bank or mutual fund. SIMPLE plans meet IRS requirements Another option for a business with 100 or fewer employees is a Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE). Under these plans, a SIMPLE IRA is established for each eligible employee, with the employer making matching contributions based on contributions elected by participating employees under a qualified salary reduction arrangement. The SIMPLE plan is also subject to much less stringent requirements than traditional qualified retirement plans. Or, an employer can adopt a SIMPLE 401(k) plan, with similar features to a SIMPLE IRA plan, and avoid the otherwise complex nondiscrimination test for traditional 401(k) plans. For 2025, SIMPLE deferrals are allowed for up to $16,500 plus an additional $3,500 catch-up contribution for employees age 50 or older. Unique advantages As you can see, SEP and SIMPLE plans offer unique advantages for small business owners and their employees. Neither plan requires annual filings with the IRS. Contact us for more information or to discuss any other aspect of your retirement planning. © 2025
If you’re considering making asset transfers to your grandchildren or great grandchildren, be sure your estate plan addresses the federal generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax. This tax ensures that large estates can’t bypass a round of taxation that would normally apply if assets were transferred from parent to child, and then from child to grandchild. Because of the complexity and potential tax liability, careful estate planning is essential when considering generation-skipping transfers. Trusts are often used as a strategic vehicle to allocate the GST tax exemption amount effectively and ensure that assets pass tax-efficiently to younger generations. ABCs of the GST tax The GST tax applies at a flat 40% rate — in addition to otherwise applicable gift and estate taxes — to transfers that skip a generation. “Skip persons” include your grandchildren, other relatives who are more than one generation below you and unrelated people who are more than 37½ years younger than you. There’s an exception, however, for a grandchild whose parent (your child) predeceases you. In that case, the grandchild moves up a generation and is no longer considered a skip person. Even though the GST tax enjoys an annual inflation-adjusted lifetime exemption in the same amount as the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption (currently, $13.99 million), it works a bit differently. For example, while the gift and estate tax exemption automatically protects eligible transfers of wealth, the GST tax exemption must be allocated to a transfer to shelter it from tax. 3 transfer types trigger GST tax There are three types of transfers that may trigger the GST tax: A direct skip — a transfer directly to a skip person that is subject to federal gift and estate tax, A taxable distribution — a distribution from a trust to a skip person, or A taxable termination — such as when you establish a trust for your children, the last child beneficiary dies and the trust assets pass to your grandchildren. The GST tax doesn’t apply to transfers to which you allocate your GST tax exemption. In addition, the GST tax annual exclusion — which is similar to the gift tax annual exclusion — allows you to transfer up to $19,000 per year (for 2025) to any number of skip persons without triggering GST tax or using up any of your GST tax exemption. Transfers to a trust qualify for the annual GST tax exclusion only if the trust 1) is established for a single beneficiary who’s a grandchild or other skip person, and 2) provides that no portion of its income or principal may be distributed to (or for the benefit of) anyone other than that beneficiary. Additionally, if the trust doesn’t terminate before the beneficiary dies, any remaining assets will be included in the beneficiary’s gross estate. If you wish to make substantial gifts, either outright or in trust, to your grandchildren or other skip persons, allocate your GST tax exemption carefully. Turn to us for answers regarding the GST tax. © 2025
At first glance, the word “concentration” might seem to describe a positive quality for any business owner. You need to concentrate, right? Only through laser focus on the right strategic goals can your company reach that next level of success. In a business context, however, concentration can refer to various aspects of your company’s operations. And examining different types of it may help you spot certain dangers. Evaluate your customers Let’s start with customer concentration, which is the percentage of revenue generated from each customer. Many small to midsize companies rely on only a few customers to generate most of their revenue. This is a precarious position to be in. The dilemma is more prevalent in some industries than others. For example, a retail business will likely market itself to a relatively broad market and generally not face too much risk related to customer concentration. A commercial construction company, however, may serve only a limited number of clients that build, renovate or maintain offices or other facilities. How do you know whether you’re at risk? One rule of thumb says that if your biggest five customers make up 25% or more of your revenue, your customer concentration is generally high. Another simple measure says that, if any one customer represents 10% or more of revenue, you’re at risk of having elevated customer concentration. In an increasingly specialized world, many businesses focus solely on specific market segments. If yours is one of them, you may not be able to do much about customer concentration. In fact, the very strength of your company could be its knowledge and attentiveness to a limited number of buyers. Nonetheless, know your risk and explore strategic planning concepts that may help you mitigate it. If diversifying your customer base isn’t an option, be sure to maintain the highest level of service. Look at other areas There are other types of concentration. For instance, vendor concentration refers to the number and types of vendors a company uses to support its operations. Relying on too few vendors is risky. If any one of them goes out of business or substantially raises prices, the company could suffer a severe rise in expenses or even find itself unable to operate. Your business may also be affected by geographic concentration. This is how a physical location affects your operations. For instance, if your customer base is concentrated in one area, a dip in the regional economy or the arrival of a disruptive competitor could negatively impact profitability. Small local businesses are, by definition, subject to geographic concentration. However, they can still monitor the risk and explore ways to mitigate it — such as through online sales in the case of retail businesses. You can also look at geographic concentration globally. Say your company relies solely or largely on a specific foreign supplier for iron, steel or other materials. That’s a risk. Tariffs, which have been in the news extensively this year, can significantly impact your costs. Geopolitical and environmental factors might also come into play. Third, stay cognizant of your investment concentration. This is how you allocate funds toward capital improvements, such as better facilities, machinery, equipment, technology and talent. The term can also refer to how your company manages its investment portfolio, if it has one. Regularly reevaluate risk tolerance and balance. For instance, are you overinvesting in technology while underinvesting in hiring or training? Study your company As you can see, concentration takes many different forms. This may explain why business owners often get caught off guard by the sudden realization that their companies are over- or under-concentrated in a given area. We can help you perform a comprehensive risk assessment that includes, among other things, developing detailed financial reports highlighting areas of concentration. © 2025
Once your 2024 tax return is in the hands of the IRS, you may be tempted to clear out file cabinets and delete digital folders. But before reaching for the shredder or delete button, remember that some paperwork still has two important purposes: Protecting you if the IRS comes calling for an audit, and Helping you prove the tax basis of assets you’ll sell in the future. Keep the return itself — indefinitely Your filed tax returns are the cornerstone of your records. But what about supporting records such as receipts and canceled checks? In general, except in cases of fraud or substantial understatement of income, the IRS can only assess tax within three years after the return for that year was filed (or three years after the return was due). For example, if you filed your 2022 tax return by its original due date of April 18, 2023, the IRS has until April 18, 2026, to assess a tax deficiency against you. If you file late, the IRS generally has three years from the date you filed. In addition to receipts and canceled checks, you should keep records, including credit card statements, W-2s, 1099s, charitable giving receipts and medical expense documentation, until the three-year window closes. However, the assessment period is extended to six years if more than 25% of gross income is omitted from a return. In addition, if no return is filed, the IRS can assess tax any time. If the IRS claims you never filed a return for a particular year, a copy of the signed return will help prove you did. Property-related and investment records The tax consequences of a transaction that occurs this year may depend on events that happened years or even decades ago. For example, suppose you bought your home in 2009, made capital improvements in 2016 and sold it this year. To determine the tax consequences of the sale, you must know your basis in the home — your original cost, plus later capital improvements. If you’re audited, you may have to produce records related to the purchase in 2009 and the capital improvements in 2016 to prove what your basis is. Therefore, those records should be kept until at least six years after filing your return for the year of sale. Retain all records related to home purchases and improvements even if you expect your gain to be covered by the home-sale exclusion, which can be up to $500,000 for joint return filers. You’ll still need to prove the amount of your basis if the IRS inquires. Plus, there’s no telling what the home will be worth when it’s sold, and there’s no guarantee the home-sale exclusion will still be available in the future. Other considerations apply to property that’s likely to be bought and sold — for example, stock or shares in a mutual fund. Remember that if you reinvest dividends to buy additional shares, each reinvestment is a separate purchase. Duplicate records in a divorce or separation If you separate or divorce, be sure you have access to tax records affecting you that your spouse keeps. Or better yet, make copies of the records since access to them may be difficult. Copies of all joint returns filed and supporting records are important because both spouses are liable for tax on a joint return, and a deficiency may be asserted against either spouse. Other important records to retain include agreements or decrees over custody of children and any agreement about who is entitled to claim them as dependents. Protect your records from loss To safeguard records against theft, fire or another disaster, consider keeping essential papers in a safe deposit box or other safe place outside your home. In addition, consider keeping copies in a single, easily accessible location so that you can grab them if you must leave your home in an emergency. You can also scan or photograph documents and keep encrypted copies in secure cloud storage so you can retrieve them quickly if they’re needed. We’re here to help Contact us if you have any questions about record retention. Thoughtful recordkeeping today can save you time, stress and money tomorrow. © 2025
With summer fast approaching, you might be considering hiring young people at your small business. If your children are also looking to earn some extra money, why not put them on the payroll? This move can help you save on family income and payroll taxes, making it a win-win situation for everyone! Here are three tax benefits. 1. You can transfer business earnings Turn some of your high-taxed income into tax-free or low-taxed income by shifting some business earnings to a child as wages for services performed. For your business to deduct the wages as a business expense, the work done by the child must be legitimate. In addition, the child’s salary must be reasonable. (Keep detailed records to substantiate the hours worked and the duties performed.) For example, suppose you’re a sole proprietor in the 37% tax bracket. You hire your 17-year-old daughter to help with office work full-time in the summer and part-time in the fall. She earns $10,000 during the year (and doesn’t have other earnings). You can save $3,700 (37% of $10,000) in income taxes at no tax cost to your daughter, who can use her $15,000 standard deduction for 2025 (for single filers) to shelter her earnings. Family taxes are cut even if your daughter’s earnings exceed her standard deduction. That’s because the unsheltered earnings will be taxed to her beginning at a 10% rate, instead of being taxed at your higher rate. 2. You may be able to save Social Security tax If your business isn’t incorporated, you can also save some Social Security tax by shifting some of your earnings to your child. That’s because services performed by a child under age 18 while employed by a parent aren’t considered employment for FICA tax purposes. A similar but more liberal exemption applies for FUTA (unemployment) tax, which exempts earnings paid to a child under age 21 employed by a parent. The FICA and FUTA exemptions also apply if a child is employed by a partnership consisting only of his or her parents. Note: There’s no FICA or FUTA exemption for employing a child if your business is incorporated or is a partnership that includes non-parent partners. However, there’s no extra cost to your business if you’re paying a child for work you’d pay someone else to do. 3. Your child can save in a retirement account Your business also may be able to provide your child with retirement savings, depending on your plan and how it defines qualifying employees. For example, if you have a SEP plan, a contribution can be made for up to 25% of your child’s earnings (not to exceed $70,000 for 2025). Your child can also contribute some or all of his or her wages to a traditional or Roth IRA. For the 2025 tax year, your child can contribute the lesser of: His or her earned income, or $7,000. Keep in mind that traditional IRA withdrawals taken before age 59½ may be hit with a 10% early withdrawal penalty tax unless an exception applies. (Several exceptions exist, including to pay for qualified higher-education expenses and up to $10,000 in qualified first-time homebuyer costs.) Tax benefits and more In addition to the tax breaks from hiring your child, there are nontax benefits. Your son or daughter will better understand your business, earn extra spending money and learn responsibility. Contact us if you have any questions about the tax rules in your situation. Keep in mind that some of the rules about employing children may change from year to year and may require your income-shifting strategies to change too. © 2025
President Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement of global tariffs caught businesses, as well as foreign countries and worldwide financial markets, off guard. While the president has long endorsed the imposition of tariffs, many businesses expected him to take a targeted approach. Instead, Trump rolled out a baseline tariff on all imports to the United States and higher tariffs on certain countries, including some of the largest U.S. trading partners. (On April 9, Trump announced a 90-day pause on some reciprocal tariffs, with a 10% baseline tariff remaining in effect for most countries and a 145% tariff on imports from China.) The tariff plan sent businesses, both large and small, scrambling. Even companies accustomed to dealing with tariffs have been shaken because this round is so much more extensive and seemingly subject to change than those in the past. Proponents of tariffs say they can be used as a negotiating tool to get other countries to lower their tariffs on U.S. imports, thereby leveling the global trade playing field. They also argue that if domestic and foreign companies relocate to the United States, it’ll create jobs for Americans, fuel construction industry growth and provide additional tax revenue. Since more changes are expected as countries and industries negotiate with the administration for reduced rates and exemptions, some degree of uncertainty is likely to prevail for at least the short term. In the meantime, businesses have several areas they should focus on to reduce the tariff hit to their bottom lines. 1. Financial forecasting No business should decide how to address tariff repercussions until they’ve conducted a comprehensive financial analysis to understand how U.S. and retaliatory tariffs will affect costs. You might find, for example, that your business needs to postpone impending plans for capital asset purchases or expansion. Modeling, or scenario planning, is often helpful during unpredictable periods. Begin by identifying all the countries involved in your supply chain, whether you deal with them directly or through your suppliers, and the applicable tariffs, whether you’re importing or exporting goods. You can then develop a model that projects how different sourcing scenarios might play out. The model should compare not only the costs of foreign vs. domestic options but also the resulting impact on your pricing, labor costs, cash flow and, ultimately, profitability. This information can allow you to build contingency plans to help reduce the odds of being caught flat-footed as new developments unfurl. Modeling can provide valuable guidance if you’re considering reshoring your operations. Of course, reshoring isn’t a small endeavor. Moreover, U.S. infrastructure may not be adequate for your business needs. Manufacturers also should note the shortage of domestic manufacturing workers. According to pre-tariff analysis from the National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. manufacturing industry could require some 3.8 million jobs by 2033, and more than 1.9 million may go unfilled. 2. Pricing Perhaps the most obvious tactic for companies incurring higher costs due to tariffs is to pass the increases along to their customers. It’s not that simple, though. Before you raise your prices, you must take into account factors such as your competitors’ pricing and how higher prices might affect demand. The latter is especially critical for price-sensitive consumer goods where even a small price jump could undermine demand. Consumers have already been cutting back on spending based on rising fears of inflation and a possible recession. Price increases, therefore, are better thought of as a single component in a more balanced approach. 3. Foreign Trade Zones You may be able to take advantage of Foreign Trade Zones (FTZs) to minimize your tariff exposure. In these designated areas near U.S. ports of entry, a company can move goods in and out of the country for operations (including assembly, manufacturing and processing) but pay reduced or no tariffs. Tariffs are paid when the goods are transferred from an FTZ into the United States for consumption. While in the zone, though, goods aren’t subject to tariffs. And, if the goods are exported, no tariff applies. Note: Trump already has narrowed some of the potential benefits of FTZs, so avoid making them a cornerstone of your tariff strategy. 4. Internal operations If your company’s suppliers are in high-tariff countries, you can look into switching to lower-cost suppliers in countries that have negotiated lower tariffs. You may not be able to escape higher costs stemming from tariffs, but you can take steps to cut other costs by streamlining operations. For example, you could invest in technologies to improve efficiency or trim worker hours and employee benefits. You also should try to renegotiate contracts with suppliers and vendors, even if those relationships aren’t affected by tariffs. Such measures might make it less necessary to hike your prices. You can control your overall costs as well by breaking down departmental silos so the logistics or procurement department isn’t making tariff-related decisions without input from others. Your finance and tax departments need to weigh in to achieve the optimal cost structures. 5. Tax planning Maximizing your federal and state tax credits is paramount in financially challenging times. Technology investments, for example, may qualify for Section 179 expensing and bonus depreciation (which may return to 100% in the first year under the upcoming tax package being negotiated in Congress). Certain sectors may benefit from the Sec. 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit or the Sec. 48D Advanced Manufacturing Investment Credit. Several states also offer tax credits for job creation, among other tax incentives. This may be a wise time to consider changing your inventory accounting method, if possible. The last-in, first-out (LIFO) method assumes that you use your most recently purchased materials first. The cost of the newer, pricier items is charged first to the cost of goods sold, boosting it and cutting both your income and taxes. Bear in mind, though, that LIFO isn’t permitted under the International Financial Reporting Standards and is more burdensome than the first-in, first-out method. 6. Compliance Regardless of the exact percentages of U.S. and retaliatory tariffs, you can count on tighter scrutiny of your compliance with the associated rules and requirements. These probably will become more complicated than they’ve been in the past. For example, expect greater documentation requirements and shifting rules for identifying an item’s country of origin. The higher compliance burden alone will ramp up your costs — but the costs of noncompliance could be far greater. Stay vigilant The tariff landscape is rapidly evolving. You need to monitor the actions by the Trump administration, the responses of other countries and how they affect your business operations. You may have to pivot as needed to keep costs low (by reshoring or switching to suppliers in low-tariff countries). If you don’t have the requisite financial expertise on staff to keep up with it all, we can help. Contact us today about how to plan ahead — and stay ahead of the changes. © 2025