Deductions for Self-Employed

[Catch22PGM]

I have a CPA asking for advice on completing the tax returns for a client who has a cash balance plan (I thought that was a CPA's area of expertise, but I digress). Plan sponsor is a LLC filing as a sole-proprietor. The CPA wants to know how much of the cash balance contribution applies to the owner and how much applies to employees. He is also asking if it is appropriate to report the owners "portion" of the contribution on Schedule 1 of the 1040 while the amount applicable to employees will be reported on his Schedule C.

1. Is it proper to report part of the cash balance contribution on Schedule 1 instead of reporting it all on the Schedule C?

2. If the answer to #1 is yes, how do we break down the cash balance contribution between the owner and employees?

I am neither an expert on tax returns nor an expert on DB plans. I tried to figure this out from Publication 560 and it does say "Sole proprietors and partners deduct contributions for themselves on line 15 of Schedule 1" but I'm not certain if that is referring to just DC plans.

 

[C. B. Zeller]

1. Yes

2. There is no mandated method, any reasonable method should be fine. A reasonable method might be to allocate the contribution in proportion to the pay credits earned for the year.

[Catch22PGM]

Thank you C.B.  I was thinking of using the % of pay credits as a breakdown so the confirmation is greatly appreciated.