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Improving a struggling employee’s performance is a two-way street

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It’s easy to get frustrated when an employee is failing to produce the volume or quality of work you’re looking for. A business owner or department manager may even give in to the temptation to play the blame game, pointing a finger at the struggling worker and only exacerbating the situation.

In truth, performance improvement must be a two-way street. There’s no doubt that the individual in question must step up and do better. But, as an employer, you’ve got to provide information, tools and support to help his or her improvement efforts.

Map the route

To get started, before saying one word to the person, fully investigate the issue. This means first defining the nature and degree of the underperformance and then determining whether you’ve done the best job possible in helping the employee to be successful.

For example, when and how well was the employee trained? Someone hired years ago may have been taught to do a job differently than it now needs to be done. Also, is the employee aware that you consider his or her work subpar? Has anyone discussed the problem with the employee or put it in writing?

Staff members who aren’t sure whether they’re on the right track often wait for feedback, rather than proactively seeking guidance. That means you may need to act at the first sign an employee isn’t meeting expectations, rather than hoping the situation will remedy itself.

Embark on the journey

Once you’ve established what’s wrong, meet with the employee. Clearly and specifically state your performance concerns and let him or her know that your objective is to work together to find a solution.

After naming the specific performance issues, ask how you can help the employee turn around the situation, including some predetermined suggestions. There may be issues you aren’t aware of, such as tools that are in disrepair or missing, or poor lighting in the employee’s workspace. So be open to his or her input.

If the employee attributes the subpar performance to lack of clarity about expectations, the remedy might be as simple as weekly meetings with his or her manager to go over what needs to be accomplished. If the employee reports feeling overwhelmed and unable to prioritize tasks, you may need to provide additional training on organizational skills or better use of technology.

Work with the employee to create a performance improvement plan that includes specific goals and a timeline for achieving them. Then follow up regularly. If the goals and timeline are met, you’ll enjoy the benefits of having a more productive team member. If they aren’t met, then you need to consider what further action to take.

Take the trip

Employee retention isn’t about only strong compensation packages and companywide recognition. It’s also about making the effort to help struggling employees find success. When the person in question is, underneath it all, a good worker, it’s a trip well worth taking. Our firm can provide further information and ideas.

Do your employees a favor and remind them about their W-4s

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Employees don’t always fill out their W-4 forms accurately. For example, some may wrongly write “exempt” on the withholding portion of the form to ensure that no federal or state tax is withheld. Others may be inadvertently underwithholding because of recent tax law changes.

Although the employees themselves are liable for improperly completing their W-4s, you can do them a favor by reminding them of possible mistakes. After all, the IRS may eventually come calling on your organization if someone appears to be underwithholding.

Key questions

Here are some questions to ask when determining whether an employee can legitimately claim to be exempt from withholding:

Did the employee have a tax liability in the previous year? If the employee received a refund of all federal income tax paid (or had a right to a refund), he or she may be able to claim exempt status, depending on the answer to the next question.

Does the employee expect to have a tax liability this year? To legitimately claim to be exempt, the employee must be able to state that he or she had no tax liability last year and doesn’t expect to have a tax liability this year.

Also, an “exempt” W-4 is valid for only one year and expires in February of the following year. If your payroll includes employees who claim to be exempt, require them to fill out new W-4 forms annually.

TCJA impact

Because of the many changes wrought by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), and as you’re likely aware, earlier this year the IRS issued new withholding tables — and withholding amounts have generally dropped. The new tables are intended to work with current W-4 forms. However, just because you’re correctly following the withholding tables for an employee doesn’t mean the employee isn’t having too little (or too much) tax withheld.

Remind all employees that they should use the new IRS calculator (available at irs.gov) to determine whether the appropriate amount is being withheld. If it isn’t, they should submit a new W-4 to you to adjust their withholding. Employees who may be at risk for underwithholding include those who itemize deductions, who hold multiple jobs, or who have dependents age 17 or older.

More changes ahead

IRS Form W-4 is currently in a bit of a state of flux. A new version of the form is expected for 2019 that more clearly reflects the TCJA’s provisions. Some of the applicable rules for filing the form could change along with it. Our firm can keep you apprised of the latest news affecting W-4s and help you gather and verify the right information.

Small business owners: A SEP may give you one last 2017 tax and retirement saving opportunity

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Are you a high-income small-business owner who doesn’t currently have a tax-advantaged retirement plan set up for yourself? A Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) may be just what you need, and now may be a great time to establish one. A SEP has high contribution limits and is simple to set up. Best of all, there’s still time to establish a SEP for 2017 and make contributions to it that you can deduct on your 2017 income tax return.

2018 deadlines for 2017

A SEP can be set up as late as the due date (including extensions) of your income tax return for the tax year for which the SEP is to first apply. That means you can establish a SEP for 2017 in 2018 as long as you do it before your 2017 return filing deadline. You have until the same deadline to make 2017 contributions and still claim a potentially hefty deduction on your 2017 return.

Generally, other types of retirement plans would have to have been established by December 31, 2017, in order for 2017 contributions to be made (though many of these plans do allow 2017 contributions to be made in 2018).

High contribution limits

Contributions to SEPs are discretionary. You can decide how much to contribute each year. But be aware that, if your business has employees other than yourself: 1) Contributions must be made for all eligible employees using the same percentage of compensation as for yourself, and 2) employee accounts are immediately 100% vested. The contributions go into SEP-IRAs established for each eligible employee.

For 2017, the maximum contribution that can be made to a SEP-IRA is 25% of compensation (or 20% of self-employed income net of the self-employment tax deduction) of up to $270,000, subject to a contribution cap of $54,000. (The 2018 limits are $275,000 and $55,000, respectively.)

Simple to set up

A SEP is established by completing and signing the very simple Form 5305-SEP (“Simplified Employee Pension — Individual Retirement Accounts Contribution Agreement”). Form 5305-SEP is not filed with the IRS, but it should be maintained as part of the business’s permanent tax records. A copy of Form 5305-SEP must be given to each employee covered by the SEP, along with a disclosure statement.

Additional rules and limits do apply to SEPs, but they’re generally much less onerous than those for other retirement plans. Contact us to learn more about SEPs and how they might reduce your tax bill for 2017 and beyond.

Claiming bonus depreciation on your 2017 tax return may be particularly beneficial

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With bonus depreciation, a business can recover the costs of depreciable property more quickly by claiming additional first-year depreciation for qualified assets. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), signed into law in December, enhances bonus depreciation.

Typically, taking this break is beneficial. But in certain situations, your business might save more tax long-term by skipping it. That said, claiming bonus depreciation on your 2017 tax return may be particularly beneficial.

Pre- and post-TCJA

Before TCJA, bonus depreciation was 50% and qualified property included new tangible property with a recovery period of 20 years or less (such as office furniture and equipment), off-the-shelf computer software, water utility property and qualified improvement property.

The TCJA significantly expands bonus depreciation: For qualified property placed in service between September 28, 2017, and December 31, 2022 (or by December 31, 2023, for certain property with longer production periods), the first-year bonus depreciation percentage increases to 100%. In addition, the 100% deduction is allowed for not just new but also used qualifying property.

But be aware that, under the TCJA, beginning in 2018 certain types of businesses may no longer be eligible for bonus depreciation. Examples include real estate businesses and auto dealerships, depending on the specific circumstances.

A good tax strategy • or not?

Generally, if you’re eligible for bonus depreciation and you expect to be in the same or a lower tax bracket in future years, taking bonus depreciation is likely a good tax strategy (though you should also factor in available Section 179 expensing). It will defer tax, which generally is beneficial.

On the other hand, if your business is growing and you expect to be in a higher tax bracket in the near future, you may be better off forgoing bonus depreciation. Why? Even though you’ll pay more tax this year, you’ll preserve larger depreciation deductions on the property for future years, when they may be more powerful — deductions save more tax when you’re paying a higher tax rate.

What to do on your 2017 return

The greater tax-saving power of deductions when rates are higher is why 2017 may be a particularly good year to take bonus depreciation. As you’re probably aware, the TCJA permanently replaces the graduated corporate tax rates of 15% to 35% with a flat corporate rate of 21% beginning with the 2018 tax year. It also reduces most individual rates, which benefits owners of pass-through entities such as S corporations, partnerships and, typically, limited liability companies, for tax years beginning in 2018 through 2025.

If your rate will be lower in 2018, there’s a greater likelihood that taking bonus depreciation for 2017 would save you more tax than taking all of your deduction under normal depreciation schedules over a period of years, especially if the asset meets the deadlines for 100% bonus depreciation.

If you’re unsure whether you should take bonus depreciation on your 2017 return — or you have questions about other depreciation-related breaks, such as Sec. 179 expensing — contact us.