Archives for September 2018

Why is Personal Goodwill Good for Closely Held Corporation Shareholders?

September 17, 2018 by Frank Vari, JD. MTax, CPA

Personal Goodwill is a popular planning tool for sellers of closely held C Corporations. This timely article explains this often misunderstood and improperly applied tax planning technique.

In our practice, we see a number of closely held C corporations with shareholders either actively looking to sell and/or examining the possibilities of selling their business.[1] Many of these shareholders are actively engaged in these businesses and many have been so engaged for long periods of time. These businesses include, but are not limited to, legal and CPA practices, insurance agencies, medical practices, and other similar entities where the shareholder’s relationships are integral to the business and customer relationships.

What we also see are a potential buyer’s general avoidance of closely held C corporation share purchases largely for tax reasons.[2] The buyer’s primary tax reason is often goodwill.[3] As an asset buyer, they will enjoy the tax amortizable goodwill generally resulting from an asset purchase.

For the seller, a C corporation share sale allows them to enjoy lower preferential capital gain tax rates. On the other hand, an asset sale results in double taxation. The asset sale proceeds are first taxed at the C corporation level and again at the individual shareholder level when the sale proceeds are distributed. However, in practice, a C corporation share buyer can be difficult to find which forces sellers to look for ways to lower their tax bill.

For the C corporation shareholder facing a corporate asset sale and the selling shareholder has a strong relationship with his or her customers forming the basis of the business itself, attributing goodwill to the shareholder instead of the business may result in substantial tax savings to the seller. In essence, the buyer is making two separate purchases. First, the assets of the business are purchased from the C corporation and, second, the personal goodwill from the shareholder.

The concept that personal goodwill is a separate transferable asset in a corporate asset sale is not new or terribly unique.[4] In general, to establish personal goodwill, one must support the premise that the goodwill’s value is attributable to the continued presence and/or abilities of a certain person and that this person is the legal owner of this goodwill and, as such, is the only person who can sell or transfer it. The taxpayer must successfully demonstrate that the value of their personal relationships was far more valuable than the business entity itself without them. If you envision a long time CPA practice with one primary member who built and sustained the practice you can see where this is quite often the case.

The primary issue with using personal goodwill as part of a business asset sale is that it relies almost exclusively on facts and circumstances. This means that all relevant facts must be understood and addressed under the prism of tax case law and that the transaction must be supported by adequate supporting documentation in order to withstand audit. Make no mistake, these transactions are quite frequently audited and the IRS is often successful when favorable facts, misapplied law, and adequate documentation are lacking.

As far as facts and circumstances, the IRS places the burden of proof on the taxpayer to demonstrate the valid separation of corporate goodwill from individual goodwill. How, in general is this done? In the seminal case of Martin Ice Cream v. Commissioner[5], the selling shareholder of an ice cream distributor successfully claimed that he had built his distribution business on the foundations of his personal relationships with supermarket owners and, further, that his relationships were still considerably valuable to the business at the time of sale. One very key fact in Martin was that the selling shareholder had never transferred his personal goodwill to the corporation via an employment agreement or covenant not to compete. That was, and is, a very significant fact (more about that later). As a result, this personal goodwill was valued separately and was deemed to be sold separately for tax purposes. Later cases continue to apply this same logic.

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As noted in Martin and related authority, the existence of an employment agreement or covenant not to compete agreement, or the lack therof, can significantly impact a personal goodwill analysis.[6] These agreements can be fatal to a personal goodwill position especially where these contracts either restrict the seller’s activities outside of those benefiting the business and/or transferring their goodwill to the business itself.

In one landmark case[7], a dentist sold his C corporation practice that he had built and maintained for years. He took the position that his personal goodwill was integral to the business and was his to sell separately to the buyer. Points well taken, but the dentist had executed a covenant not to compete with his corporation where he was restricted from practicing with fifty miles of his corporate practice’s location. In this case, the IRS was victorious by arguing that, by virtue of this agreement, his goodwill with his existing patients was almost nil as they would likely not travel over fifty miles to retain him as their dentist. Even though the dentist, as sole shareholder, could have renounced this agreement prior to the sale he failed to do so. The bottom line here is to understand all of the facts and especially any written agreements that could impact the value of personal goodwill and that a little upfront planning goes a long way.

What must a practitioner do to ensure the tax benefits of a personal goodwill sale are realized and will withstand IRS audit scrutiny? Here are some hallmarks of a successful personal goodwill analysis:

Begin any personal goodwill analysis in advance of any sale discussion. This is easier said than done but trying to perform a thoughtful analysis during the timeline of negotiations is difficult and inherently dangerous particularly when the detailed analysis of historical data is required.
Thoroughly understand the history and the substance of the personal relationships involved in the business. Facts and circumstances are often unclear and documentation can be ambiguous. It is absolutely essential that time and effort be taken to understand all of the facts and that they are appropriately documented. You never want facts to come out during audit that you did not address and/or fully consider their impact.
Understand the authority around personal goodwill. This is especially true of authority that addresses your specific facts and circumstances that you are relying upon to support your personal goodwill position. As with facts, you never want the IRS for any taxing authority to outline negative authority that you’ve not previously evaluated.
Discover and understand any existing legal agreements, written, oral, or otherwise that impact the position that the shareholder’s personal goodwill belongs exclusively to them and that this goodwill is a considerably valuable asset at the time of the sale. Is it possible that you need a lawyer’s opinion that the goodwill does not belong to the corporation and is exclusively the shareholder’s transferable legal property? If you do, please proceed in that direction.
Have the buyer separately contract with the selling shareholder for the purchase of their personal goodwill. This contract should be as separate and distinct as possible from the corporate asset purchase and should recognize the personal goodwill as separate and distinct from any corporate goodwill.
Obtain a separate independent valuation of the seller’s personal goodwill. This valuation should be performed in accordance with Generally Accepted Valuation Principles and should properly measure both the value and ownership of the goodwill.
One should also consider performing an overall valuation of the entire business asset values including and excluding the selling shareholder’s personal goodwill. You may want to do this to ensure that the asset values support the economic value of the transaction. For those that have performed IRC 1060 asset value allocations, one knows that although those allocations are binding on the taxpayers, they are not binding on the IRS per the longstanding Danielson[8] This valuation can provide valuable substance to the transaction.
Analyze securing a covenant not to compete agreement with the buyer contemporaneous with the sale. Properly constructed, this helps support the position that the seller had a valuable asset that the business requires to maintain its value.
Raise the personal goodwill issue with the potential buyer early in the process. The buyer will likely need time to consider it with their advisors and its simply bad practice not to raise it if it will be the seller’s course of action.

Personal goodwill is a popular planning tool and is very effective at lowering a selling shareholder’s tax bill when the facts are right and the transaction is properly structured and supported. Understanding these rules and practices will make sure your clients can enjoy this valuable tool with minimal risk.

[1] This may also apply to S corporation with earnings and profits or an S corporation subject to the built-in gains tax.

[2] There are also driving legal concerns particularly avoiding legacy legal issues around the selling corporation. This is especially often true of smaller closely held corporations.

[3] Other tax reasons include a “stepped up” basis in depreciable assets and avoiding any undisclosed tax liabilities within the selling corporation.

[4] see Thompson v. Thompson , 576 So.2d 267 (Fla. 1991); Martin Ice Cream Co. v. Commissioner, 110 TC 189 (1998); Norwalk, TC Memo 1998-279.

[5] id.

[6] see Kennedy, T.C. Memo. 2010-206.

[7] Howard v. US, 106 AFTR2d 2010-5533 (DC WA, 2010).

[8] Commissioner v. Danielson, 378 F.2d 771 (3d Cir. 1967); see also Peco Foods, Inc., T.C. Memo. 2012-18.

Frank J. Vari, JD, MTax, CPA is the practice leader of FJV Tax which is a CPA firm specializing in complex international and U.S. tax planning. FJV Tax has offices in Wellesley and Boston. The author can be reached via email at frank.vari@fjvtax.com or telephone at 617-770-7286/800-685-2324. You can learn more about FJV Tax at fjvtax.com.

Foreign Derived Intangible Income Deduction – Tax Reform’s Overlooked New Benefit for U.S. Corporate Exporters

September 17, 2018 by Frank Vari, JD. MTax, CPA

Frank J. Vari, JD, MTax, CPA

This article has been previously published in the Tax Adviser magazine published by the American Society of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) in the August, 2018 edition.

The newly enacted U.S. tax act has ushered in a number of new rules and, to strategic tax planners, new opportunities. This new opportunity is a preferential tax rate for U.S. C corporations that sell goods and/or provide services to foreign customers. Qualifying income is subject to a rate of approximately 13% which is even lower than the new 21% corporate rate. This new opportunity is IRC §250(a) containing the Foreign Derived Intangible Income (FDII) deduction.

FDII is intended to operate in tandem with newly enacted IRC §951A describing Global Intangible Low-Tax Income (GILTI). GILTI is a new category of income for U.S. taxpayers owning a Controlled Foreign Corporations (CFC). GILTI, similar to the existing Subpart F provisions, is a deemed income inclusion. The interaction of these rules, a benefit for the use of intangible property in the U.S. via FDII and a deemed income inclusion for using intellectual property outside the U.S. via GILTI, has been referred to as a “carrot and a stick” approach to taxing intellectual property on a global basis. However, if the taxpayer does not own a CFC, meaning it has no GILTI exposure, it secures all the carrots without worrying about any stick.

The bottom line is a new benefit to U.S. C corporations for using U.S. based intangible property that they’ve owned all along. Even better, they don’t have to patent, copyright, or even identify the intangible property as the benefit is derived from a deemed return on assets calculation. Because FDII is intertwined with GILTI, many believe it is simply an international tax provision and fail to see the benefits to U.S. exporters with no foreign operations.

The Benefit

The FDII benefit itself is not difficult to understand. FDII produces an effective tax rate, based on the newly enacted 21% corporate tax rate, as follows:

13.125% for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 and before January 1, 2026

16.406% for tax years beginning after December 31, 2025

Even with reduced corporate tax rates, it is still a benefit well worth pursuing.

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The Calculation

The FDII calculation is rather complex but it can be summarized in steps. First, the U.S. corporation’s gross income is determined and then reduced by certain items of income including any foreign branch income. This amount is further reduced by deductions allocable to such income bringing about deduction eligible income.

Second, any foreign portion of such income is established. This includes any income derived from a sale of property or certain services to a foreign person for foreign use. Please note that here a “sale” is defined very broadly and includes any lease, license (including royalties), exchange, or other disposition. Foreign use is any use, consumption, or disposition which is not within the United States.

Third, the foreign sales and services income from step two above is reduced by expenses properly allocated to such income. The result is foreign derived income.

Fourth, the corporation’s deemed intangible income is determined. This is the excess of the corporation’s foreign derived income less 10% of its qualified business asset investment (QBAI). QBAI is the average of the corporation’s adjusted basis in its tangible property used to produce the deduction eligible income. For this purpose, adjusted basis is determined using straight line depreciation and an annual average using quarterly measures.

For example, assume a domestic C corporation produces widgets for a foreign customer that are used outside of the U.S. The corporation earned $100,000 in deduction eligible income and $20,000 of foreign derived income. QBAI is $120,000 (calculated separately) which results in deemed intangible income of $88,000 ($100,000 foreign derived income less 10% of QBAI, i.e., $12,000). FDII is $17,600 or the deemed intangible income of $88,000 multiplied by the ratio of foreign derived income to deduction eligible income (20% or $20,000/$100,000). The FDII deduction is $6,600 (FDII of $17,600 at a corporate tax rate of 37.5%).

The Corporation is then allowed to deduct 37.5% of FDII against its taxable income. The upshot is taxable FDII of $1,000 and a tax liability of $210 which is an effective tax rate of 13.125% on the FDII of $1,600 and a $126 tax savings.

Deduction Eligible Income	$100,000
Foreign Derived Income	$20,000

QBAI	$120,000

Foreign Derived Income	$20,000
Less: QBAI Exemption (10% of $120,000)	$12,000
Deemed Intangible Income	$88,000

FDII ($88,000 x ($20,000/$100,000))	$17,600

Taxable FDII (FDII less 37.5%)	$11,000
Corporate Tax (21% Rate)	$2,310
FDII Effective Tax Rate ($210/$1,600)	13.125%
FDII Savings	$1,386

Please do note that the benefit is subject to a taxable income limitation which means the FDII deduction cannot reduce taxable income below zero. Likewise, there is no benefit if deemed intangible income is zero or less.

The taxpayer may take a foreign tax credit against any taxes levied upon the foreign derived income if it otherwise qualifies. The credit will only apply to the taxable FDII within the general limitation basket matching the FDII but all of the associated foreign tax credits should remain available for credit.

Taxpayers wishing to utilize FDII benefits should be aware of rules regarding the involvement of related parties. FDII applies to sales or services rendered to related foreign persons provided that the property is either resold or used in the sale of other property to an unrelated foreign person. Thus, the sale of goods, the provision of services, and the license of intangible property to related foreign persons may yield FDII-eligible income. In the case of services, the related party may not provide substantially similar services to persons in the U.S. or FDII benefits can be limited or eliminated entirely. Service industry corporations should explore these rules in more detail.

The benefits only apply to property sold or services rendered for foreign use. On its face, this appears quite simple. However, the taxpayer must be very careful to support this as special rules apply here. For example, property sold to an unrelated foreign person is not treated as sold for foreign use if it is further manufactured or modified within the United States even if the property is only used outside the U.S. Likewise, services provided to an unrelated person located within the United States are not treated as “foreign use” even if the other person uses such services in providing services outside the United States. Both of these results can be favorably changed with planning but one must make sure their entire supply chain qualifies.

Beneficiaries

The clear beneficiary of these new provisions are U.S. based corporate exporters of goods and services with no CFC ownership. These corporations have long suffered higher tax rates than their multinational competitors who have had the ability to move intellectual property outside of the U.S. to lower tax jurisdictions. FDII is a big step toward eliminating their competitor’s tax advantage. Furthermore, because FDII does not involve intangible asset identification, it avoids cumbersome and expensive valuation and segregation studies as well as complex legal and tax intellectual property undertakings.

The bigger winners will certainly include technology corporations including software developers, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and similar industries. These corporations generate foreign sales including FDII eligible licensing and royalty income with minimal tangible assets. These types of industries generally also produce higher margins which will further increase the FDII benefits.

Issues to Consider

FDII only pertains to C corporations for now. This includes U.S. subsidiaries of foreign-based multinationals that are taxed as C corporations. However, FDII excludes S corporations, REITs, partnerships, LLCs, and individuals.

As of the date of this article, FDII lacks any technical guidance via regulations or otherwise. The IRS has not issued a Notice or other guidance on FDII as they have on other parts of tax reform. A technical corrections bill affecting FDII will be issued but it’s difficult to speculate on when, what it will contain, and in what form it will become law. However, one may reasonably speculate that FDII could be expanded to include pass-throughs and individuals to alleviate some of the corporate centric aspects of the entire act that have drawn scrutiny.

It is possible that FDII will be contested by our foreign trade partners as an impermissible tax benefit. Practitioners who recall the journey of DISC to FSC to ETI will be able to see the clear parallels here. The good news is that if this does occur, it will likely take years to resolve any international tribunal litigation and, in the event FDII is deemed to be illegal, the IRS is unlikely to claw back benefits that have already been claimed by U.S. taxpayers.

Conclusion

FDII is certainly a gift to U.S. C corporations that export goods and services but do not own a CFC. This is particularly true for technology companies with higher margins and limited tangible assets. As with any new comprehensive tax law, uncertainties abound and guidance is limited but there is no doubt that FDII is a benefit worth pursuing.