Activity Feed › Discussion Forums › Business, Finance & Legal › New tax law
A’s final decision will be what I can enter into TurboTax…………lol
- Posted by: Jim Frame
The IRS released rules today that strengthen the interpretation that surveyors will be allowed to take the deduction. There are two key points:
1. The legislation specifically disallows the deduction for “any trade or business where the principal asset of such trade or business is the reputation or skill of one or more of its employees or owners.” It’s conceivable that a land surveyor could be categorized as such.
2. The legislation specifically names engineers and architects as allowed, but surveyors aren’t mentioned, which meant that surveyors might be lumped into the category of consulting, which is specifically disallowed.
However, today’s 247-page ruling notice includes the following that addresses item 1:
If Congressional intent was to exclude all service businesses, Congress clearly could have drafted such a rule. Accordingly, the final regulations retain the proposed rule limiting the meaning of the reputation or skill clause to fact patterns in which an individual or RPE is engaged in the trade or business of receiving income from endorsements, the licensing of an individual??s likeness or features, and appearance fees.
It also addresses item 2:
The performance of services in the field of consulting does not include the performance of services other than advice and counsel
I think we’re good.
Jim,
I am having a hard time understanding what you wrote above as what you quoted seems to go against what you are saying. My layman’s reading of the initial wording that came out last summer appeared favorable to surveying. But the final IRS guidance published 1/18/2019 on the Sec. 199A issue say they specifically exclude Engineering and Architecture firms from the definition of “Consulting Businesses”.
Any new thoughts?
thanks, Jim
Log in to reply.