Qualified Business Income

[Paul Passafiume]

This new QBI tax break is great but very confusing. Here's the deal. My main day job is as a 1099 IC doctor. I am actively involved in real estate investment and self manage my 11 units, interacting with tenants often. I definitely took the QBI for my real estate activity as I am actively involved, including in accounting for them, deposits, tenant interaction, even some maintenance or fielding the maintenance out (real estate in sole member LLC)

For 2018 taxes, do both jobs count as QBI? The physician job I am paid an hourly rate that includes malpractice. Once I deduct the malpractice and get my SEP, HSA, and other deductions, I fall below the married filing joint threshold of 315k. 

Any CPAs out here specialized in working with doctors? I do have my own CPA but he seems to be confused on this himself and told me he needs to research it. I am thinking about switching to a CPA who specializes in working with doctors. 

Can I take the 20% QBI deduction as a physician employed as an IC in my own name since that is my own trade? There seems to be some confusion as to whether healthcare is excluded from the QBI criteria....

[Justin Freeman]

@Paul Passafiume

You're spot on Paul, and congratulations for getting yourself educated on the law and the potential for imitations for "specified service trades or businesses."

At $300k income, MFJ, you dont have to concern yourself with wage limitations, or the limitations on the SSTB's.

To give your current accountant a little leeway, I would say in March/April of last year not a lot was known about who would or wouldnt get the deduction so the conservative planning option was not to assume a full 20% deduction. This is the same time frame lawyers were trying to split their businesses into 3 different companies to try and get a portion of the deduction (didn't end up working). Even some of the final regs didn't get released until last week, so it's been tough to plan for.