The people on stage should probably schedule a CPA appointment.
As discussed above, the 20 percent tax deduction under new 2018 tax code Section 199A is a very nice tax break for business owners, except for owners with high income who also fall into the out-of-favor group.
In general, the out-of-favor group includes lawyers, doctors, accountants, tax professionals, consultants, athletes, authors, securities traders, actors, singers, musicians, entertainers, and others.
Getting just a little more technical, the out-of-favor “specified service trade or business” group includes any trade or business:
- involving the performance of services in the fields of health, law, consulting, athletics, financial services, and brokerage services; or
- where the principal asset of such trade or business is the reputation or skill of one or more of its employees or owners; or
- that involves the performance of services that consist of investing and investment management trading, or dealing in securities, partnership interests, or commodities. For this purpose, a security and a commodity have the meanings provided in the rules for the mark-to-market accounting method for dealers in securities (Sections 475(c)(2) and 475(e)(2), respectively).
Notably, engineers and architects who had previously been in the out-of-favor professionals group somehow escaped the group with passage of this new law.
When you are a member of the out-of-favor group, your Section 199A deduction on your out-of-favor business is zero when you have taxable income of more than:
- $415,000 if married filing a joint return, or
- $207,500 filing as a single taxpayer.