QBI (Qualified Business Income) Deduction

QBI, which includes income from partnerships, S corporations, sole proprietorships, and certain trusts, is the net amount of qualified items of income, gain, deduction, and loss from any qualified trade or business. This commonly pertains to write-offs for eligible retirement plan contributions, deductible self-employment taxes, and health insurance for self-employed individuals (such as SEP, SIMPLE, and qualified plan deductions).

What Is "Qualified Business Income"?

Qualified business income, or QBI, is by definition subject to the qualified business income deduction. A trade or business's qualifying business income is defined as "the net amount of qualified items of income, gain, deduction, and loss."

It often refers to your company's net profit. However, this also implies that not all types of business income are eligible for the deduction.

QBI Exclusions:

1. Items that should not be considered as taxable income.
2. Investment items like dividends, capital gains, or losses
3. Inappropriate assignment of interest income to a business or trade.
4. Wages earned
5. Warnings that are not directly related to doing business in the United States
6. Profits or losses resulting from commodity transactions or foreign exchange
7. Certain dividends and dividend replacement payments
8. Profit, loss, or deductions from contracts with fictitious principals
9. Unless they are received in conjunction with a trade or business, annuities
10. Remunerations that an S corporation disburses as reasonable compensation.
11. Amounts that a partnership has guaranteed to pay you
12. Payments made to a partner for work performed outside of their role as partners
13. Qualified dividends on REITs
14. PTP earnings

How To Qualify For The QBI Deduction?

If your combined taxable income in 2022, which includes both business and other income, does not exceed $170,050 for single filers or $340,100 for joint filers, you could qualify for a 20% deduction on your taxable business income. The thresholds increased in 2023 to $182,100 for single filers and $364,200 for joint filers.

But now is the time to act, if your income exceeds these caps.

Why? - Your eligibility to claim the pass-through deduction over certain thresholds is based on the specifics of your firm. The qualified business income deduction is tapered down for some organizations, so even if your company qualifies, there's a chance you won't get the whole 20% tax benefit.

How Qualified Business Income Deduction Works?

There are a few things to consider regarding the pass-through deduction:

1. Actually, there are two 20% values. Up to 20% of your taxable business income may be deducted as qualifying business income. Yet, it's also true that the pass-through deduction you claim cannot equal greater than 20% of your entire taxable income.

   Here’s how it works: As usual, you enter your Schedule C business income and costs. And you fill out Form 1040 as usual with your adjusted gross income. You don't begin computing this pass-through deduction until after that.

2. Even if you don't itemize, you can still claim the qualifying business income deduction. In other words, even if you take the standard deduction, you can still claim this deduction.