TaxCoach Briefs:    April 8, 2010

Volume 5, Number 14

  • New Resource: Small Business Health Care Tax Credit
  • Member Q & A: How is SuperTable Different?
  • Member Call-In: Postcards and "Lumpy Mail"

****Attention TaxCoach members ****: Dominique Molina and I are hosting a teleseminar on Monday, April 12, at 4:00 PM EDT for those of you who want more information on the upcoming Certified Tax Coach™ academies in April and June. We'll be using the same GoToWebinar settings as for the TaxCoach Weekly member Call-In. Look for a reminder from GoToWebinar on Monday!

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NEW RESOURCE (EAL)
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SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH CARE TAX CREDIT

Earlier this week, Dominique and I hosted a Certified Tax Coach™ "case study" call. At the top of that session, one of our coaches asked what we were doing to to help employers take advantage of the new Small Business Health Care Tax Credit.

As it turns out, we had already started preparing a customizeable worksheet for you to use with your clients. This week we're pleased to add it to our healthcare reform resources, along with the Client Alert, customizeable summary of the act, and Powerpoint mini-seminar presentation that we've introduced since the new law passed. You'll find the worksheet in the Forms & Templates section within TaxCoach, as #21 under the "Implementation Guides" heading.

Joe Biden may not have the classiest mouth in Washington. But he's right that health care reform is a big f***ing deal. Just this week I've seen how healthcare costs eat into employers' budgets firsthand:

  • This morning, my colleague Tom Quigley from ClaimLinx and I spent two hours with managers from a company with 700 employees. We're going to show them how to cut their health care costs by over a million dollars a year. One of the owners told us at lunch that he realized his current insurance agent had just been "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic." (Tom's fee will be 20 percent of savings for the first three years - call him at 513-470-9440 to learn how you can earn the same fees with your clients.)

  • Monday night, I met with a client who's a "C" level officer at a Fortune 500 company. His company estimates that health care reform will cost them $200 million/per year - a hefty 8% of their $2.5 billion EBITDA. (Ironically, the "individual mandate " that requires all Americans to buy health insurance in 2014 lets them off the hook if it would cost more than 8 percent of their income. Do you think my client's Fortune 500 employer will be so lucky?)

The new small business credit is easy and fun to calculate. (!) It's available to employers who meet these three conditions:

  • 25 or fewer "Full Time Employees" (defined as full-time employees, plus part-time hours divided by 2,080, but excluding owners, their family members, and seasonal employees working less than 120 days/year)

  • $50,000 or less in average annual wages (total wages divided by total employees, rounded down to the nearest $1,000), and

  • Paying at least 50 percent of the single/employee-only premium (but not more than the "average premium for the small group market" in their state or area, as reported by the IRS on their web site beginning later this month).

If your client meets those conditions, they can claim an "initial credit" equal to 35 percent of premiums paid. (Nonprofit employers can claim an "initial credit" equal to 25 percent of premiums paid, minus the total of income and medicare taxes withheld from employees and employer Medicare taxes paid on their behalf.)

If the number of employees is greater than 10, subtract an amount equal to the initial credit, multiplied by (Total Employees - 10)/15.

If the average annual wage is above $25,000, subtract an amount equal to the intital credit multiplied by (Average Wage - $25,000)/$25,000.

If the number of employees is greater than 10 and the average annual wage is over $25,000, subtract both amounts.

Finally, employers must reduce their deduction for premiums paid by any allowable credit.

Remember a few paragraphs ago when I said the credit is easy and fun to calculate? I lied. But that's why we created the worksheet - to help you reinforce your value by walking your clients through that mess.

We realize that with April 15 looming ahead, you're probably not paying much attention to healthcare reform. But believe us when we tell you that your best clients are. The more you know about this monumental legislation, the more value you'll deliver to those clients. So keep your eyes peeled as we continue to analyze the new law.

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MEMBER Q & A (EAL)
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HOW IS SUPERTABLE DIFFERENT

Q: I loved the pricing presentation you delivered at last year's Roundtable. I see that this year's "SuperTable" is dedicated to pricing - will there really be enough new material to justify spending three days with you guys in new Orleans?

A: Keith and I heard more praise for the pricing segment than any other part of the Roundtables. So this year's "main event" is a full-day pricing presentation on Thursday, May 6.

The day-long presentation is an in-depth analysis of the concepts we introduced in the "Seven Secrets to Charging Premium Fees" teleseminar we hosted back in November and transcribed for the March and April Lineup:

  • Forget what everyone else charges
  • Change who you sell to
  • Change what you sell
  • Change how you sell it
  • Don't give it away
  • Always emphasize ROI
  • Get out of your own way

We'll be expanding each "secret" and dissecting it in detail. We'll lead group exercises and demonstrations, feature live member success stories, and provide template forms and worksheets to accompany each secret.

Finally, to tie it all together, we've prepared an interactive marketing plan to complete as we work through each secret. At the end of the day, you'll leave with your own customized marketing plan to start implementing as soon as you get home. That plan will only be available for SuperTable attendees - it won't be posted in the Playbook or All-Stars sections for general use.

I've said before that I don't understand why anyone would miss this. So run - don't walk - to register while seats are still available: www.TaxCoachSuperTable.com.

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MEMBER RESOURCE (KAV)
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MEMBER CALL-IN WITH ED AND KEITH

This week: "The Goodness" again, as usual. Very good attendance for a week before the filing deadline!

Here's an excerpt of questions and comments raised by callers this week, straight from the call log.

  • Do you have an Ohio legal resource in reference to converting a Physician from Professional Corp Status to Regular Corp Status, to take advantage of a Sub S election via tax coach
    [A: Each state has its own individual procedure for establishing and maintaining business entities - unfortunately, we're not set up to offer advice or referrals on state law questions, and we recommend you consult a local attorney for those issues. ]
  • I saw you used VistaPrint to send out postcards for SuperTable marketing. What is the pricing on something like that and can they give you mailing lists with it?
    [A: The pricing was very low, especially for color cards — something like 45c each, including addressing and postage. We provided our own member list in MS Excel. ]
    • You sent 'lumpy mail' with a different supertable offer. Who did you use and what is the pricing?
      [A: We used our local printer who also does the Lineup for us. Total cost each is about $3.50. I'd recommend finding your own tchotchkes first rather than having the printer do the searching. ]
    • What "lumpy mail"? Didn't receive any lumpy mail. Maybe because I've already signed up for Super Table??
      [A: Right. (See above!) Don't worry, there will be plenty of Mardi Gras beads available at the event! ]
  • I recently joined and was curious what most members charge for the initial plan.
    • I did a 10 minute Networking Presentation this morning (12 realtors) No projector, no handouts. . Final question was what do you charge for this tax plan? I stated 1 - $2,500. But we only do it if we know we can save you at least this. Nobody blinked :)
  • Can Dominnique give us some details on what continuing ed is included with the CTC program
  • post tax season, what is the best strategy for marketing tax planning to existing clients?
  • Have an attorney who is presently a one man show. I assume there would be a serious challenge to set him up as an S corp and limit him to a reasonable salary? Your thoughts would be welcomed
    • If officer takes $100k salary from S=-Corp, is it not more advantageous to stay SP. and take advantage of other strategies.
  • I have been trying to book a hotel for the CTC seminar in June and they don't have any special rates and say they don't know who AICTC is, can you let me know if any special rates exist. Thanks!
    [A: We've reserved a block at the Doubletree Hotel in San Diego/Del Mar, CA. Call them at 858-481-5900 and mention "Certified Tax Coach." ]
  • can you give the hotel number again for the super table!
    [A: It's the Le Richelieu on Chartres St. in the French Quarter, three blocks from the US Mint venue, 800-535-9653. Group name is TaxCoach Software Group, although at this date the discount on the block has expired and we can't guarantee the same low rate. ]
  • Where can I get Tax Coach Plan Training 101?
    [A: Your best bet is the Bonus Day (Wednesday) at the SuperTable in New Orleans, May 5, same content as Day 1 at the Roundtables last year. For self-study, use the Audio Guides, and the Marketing Guide and Seven Secrets To Charging Premium Fees in the Playbook, within TaxCoach. For mastering the advanced planning strategies, the Certified Tax Coach program is ideal. ]
  • Ed, as you know, I've been with Tax Coach for several months & yet I'm still a virgin on selling my 1st Tax Plan. Obviously it's a major "confidence" issue on my part. But I've already impemented (for free) almost ALL of the Tax Coach ideas with almost ALL OF MY EXISTING commercial clients. How do I now work on selling Tax Coach to those current commercial clients? How do I justify billing them for all the things I've been doing for free for all these years? And even more importantly, how do I break the hold that confidence has on me to move to new clients?
  • I did a comparative "What-If" tax return for a client that we had moved to an S-Corp from a partnership. The total tax difference looked rather large, but most of the difference was because Social Security and Medicare doesn't show up on the W-2 1040. What is the best way to explain that difference?
  • Have you heard anything about the requirement that 1099's will be distributed to all businesses regardless of business entity type
  • Content Idea: Can a husband/wife running their own business take advantage of the new 35% healthcare credit for companies with fewer than 10 employees earning avg salary of $25K or less, if the wife as 100% owner hires the husband and pays him a salary of $24K?
    [A: Unfortunately, family members don't count. ]

If you're looking for clarification on TaxCoach strategies or additional ways to profit from TaxCoach too, join us for the next call, on Wednesday April 14, at 1pm Eastern. Enter a question or just listen in on the repartee. Check the "Contact Us" button within TaxCoach for registration instructions.

While our elite members (All-Stars, Press Club, and Hall of Fame) can still schedule time directly with Ed as part of their coaching programs, we simply cannot answer marketing and tax-strategy questions via email or unscheduled calls.

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We can answer questions on using TaxCoach system features anytime. (Save marketing and tax strategy questions for Member Call-Ins.) For best response, email support@taxcoachsoftware.com.

Regards,

Ed Lyon
Keith VandeStadt
http://www.taxcoachsoftware.com/
(513) 321-2820

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