The real estate boom appears to be over for now. Morgan Stanley predicts that house prices could fall by 10 percent by the end of 2024, perhaps twice as much in a worst-case scenario. Homeowners who purchased their homes at the top of the market could be in trouble, especially if the U.S. falls into […]

Do you owe self-employment tax on Airbnb rental income? That’s a good question. In Chief Counsel Advice (CCA) 202151005, the IRS opined on this issue. But before we get to what the IRS said, understand that the CCA’s conclusions cannot be cited as precedent or authority by others, such as you or your tax professional. […]

I see that you are using IRS mileage rates to deduct the cost of your business vehicle. I have a new tool that can tell us whether the mileage rates are a good deal for your taxes. With this tool, I look at the entire life of your vehicle, including any gain or loss on […]

As you likely know, the Section 1031 tax-deferred, like-kind exchange is one of the greatest wealth-building mechanisms for real estate investors. With Section 1031, you can avoid taxes on all your property upgrades during your lifetime and then pass the property to your heirs when you die. The heirs receive the property with a step-up […]

Sometimes debts can pile up beyond a borrower’s ability to repay, especially if we are heading into a recession. But lenders are sometimes willing to cancel (forgive) debts that are owed by financially challenged borrowers. While a debt cancellation can help a beleaguered borrower survive, it can also trigger negative tax consequences. Or it can […]

As you likely remember, the Section 1031 exchange allows you to sell a piece of appreciated real estate and defer all the taxes as long as you invest the entire proceeds in like-kind property. And then consider this: a cost segregation study allows you to separate qualifying real estate into components with shorter depreciable lives […]

You may have noticed that the IRS is in a bad way. It has a backlog of millions of unprocessed paper tax returns, and taxpayers can’t get through to the agency on the phone. Congress noticed and took action by passing a massive funding of the IRS in the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act. The […]

Are you 72 or older? If so, you must take a required minimum distribution (RMD) from your traditional IRA, SEP-IRA, or SIMPLE IRA by the end of the year. If you turn 72 this year, you can wait until April 1 of next year to take your first RMD—but you’ll also have to take your […]

Crowdfunding is a national and international phenomenon. Over $17 billion is raised yearly in North America through world-famous websites such as GoFundMe and Kickstarter. All this crowdfunding activity leads to an obvious question: Is the money raised this way taxable income for the recipients? You might be surprised to learn that the courts and the […]

Have you sold, or are you planning to sell commercial or rental property? To avoid immediately paying capital gains tax on your profit, you have options: • Deferring the capital gains tax using a Section 1031 exchange • Deferring the capital gains tax using a qualified opportunity zone fund With a Section 1031 exchange, you […]

The federal government wants you to go green if you own a commercial or residential rental building. The newly enacted Inflation Reduction Act extends and expands valuable tax credits for solar panels or other renewable energy installations and electric vehicle charger units. Also, the long-available accelerated tax deduction for commercial building energy improvements is now […]

At first glance, the corporate tax rules for forming an S corporation appear simple. They are not. Basic Requirements   Here is what your business must look like when it operates as an S corporation: The S corporation must be a domestic corporation. The S corporation must have fewer than 100 shareholders. The S corporation […]

Have you sold, or are you planning to sell commercial or rental property? To avoid immediately paying capital gains tax on your profit, you have options: Deferring the capital gains tax using a Section 1031 exchange Deferring the capital gains tax using a qualified opportunity zone fund With a Section 1031 exchange, you sell your […]

I was perusing the Internal Revenue Code (it’s one of the things I do) and started to think about the various sources of tax-free income. Here are the 11 that jumped out at me: Roth IRAs Social Security benefits up to the taxable limits Tax-free IRA withdrawals (on top of tax-free Social Security) Home sale […]

The President signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law on August 16, 2022. It contains some valuable tax credits for homeowners. When it comes to taxes, nothing is better than a tax credit since it is a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the taxes you must pay (unlike a tax deduction that only reduces your taxable income). […]

To date, 29 states have enacted pass-through entity (PTE) taxes that can enable owners of pass-through entities such as partnerships, multi-member LLCs, and S corporations to effectively get around the federal $10,000 limit on deducting state and local taxes (SALT). The 29 states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, […]

If you had W-2 employees in 2020 and/or 2021, you need to look at the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). As you likely know, it’s not too late to file for the ERC. And now is a good time to get this done. You can qualify for 2020 credits of up to $5,000 per employee and […]

There’s good and bad news if you’re in the market for an electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. The good news is that the newly enacted Inflation Reduction Act includes a wholly revamped tax credit for electric vehicles that starts in 2023 and continues through 2032. The bad news is that the credit, now called […]

All good things must come to an end. On December 31, 2022, one of the best tax deductions ever for businesses will end: 100 percent bonus depreciation. Since late 2017, businesses have used bonus depreciation to deduct 100 percent of the cost of most types of property other than real property. But starting in 2023, […]

You may have heard that the newly enacted Inflation Reduction Act includes an expanded tax credit for electric vehicles. Although this personal credit has gotten most of the publicity, the new law launched a new commercial clean vehicle credit—specifically for business-use electric vehicles. And it’s much better than the credit for personal-use electric vehicles. The […]

Do you qualify for the employee retention credit (ERC)? Did you claim it? It’s not too late. You can still amend your 2020 and 2021 payroll tax returns. Remember, this can be worth up to $5,000 per employee in 2020 and up to $7,000 per employee per quarter for the first three quarters of 2021, […]

Inflation is seldom a good thing. But when it comes to investing, the U.S. Treasury Department has an inflation opportunity that’s downright amazing. You can buy bonds that pay 9.62 percent—tax-deferred—with no downside risk, and with no state or local income taxes when you cash them in. If you buy now, you earn that 9.62 […]

Let’s say you’re considering converting your partnership into an S corporation. The reason might be to reduce exposure for you and the other owners to Social Security and Medicare taxes, which come in the form of the self-employment tax for partners. Specifically, each partner’s share of net partnership income is usually fully exposed to the […]

The Fed is finally taking aggressive action to fight inflation, but will it work? Where’s the stock market headed? Who knows? Real estate might be a good inflation hedge, but it’s a non-liquid asset and no sure thing. Clearly, this is not a great environment for investors or retirement savers. If you are thinking of […]

Is the mileage rate sticking it to you? Could you increase your tax deductions by switching from the IRS mileage rate to the actual-expense method? If so, you will be happy to learn you can make that switch. When you choose the mileage rate, you elect out of the actual-expense method and also elect out […]

You may have joined the Great Resignation, maybe temporarily or maybe for good. Or your non-working status might have nothing to do with the Great Resignation. For instance, you could be a stay-at-home parent. In any case, as a spouse with no tax-defined earned income, you might want to continue saving for retirement in a […]

Maybe the least popular change brought about by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was a first-ever cap on the federal personal income tax deduction for state and local taxes. From 2018 through 2025, the TCJA caps itemized deductions for state income taxes (or general sales taxes if elected instead of income taxes), state […]

Do you own investment property? What about a small business? Sooner or later, you will probably want to sell. One of the downsides of selling a business or investment property is the huge tax bill at the end. Profits are likely subject to the capital gains tax—perhaps at a much higher rate than you expect. […]

Here’s a question I received from one of my clients:   I will hire my 15-year-old daughter to work in my single-member LLC business, and I expect to pay her about $12,000 this year. Do I pay her through payroll checks and file a W-2?   My Answer   Yes. And W-2 payment is essential. […]

During much of 2020 and 2021, you may have qualified for the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). With the ERC, you found (or could find) tax credits of up to $26,000 per employee. That’s a lot. With 10 employees, that’s $260,000. Key point. If you have not claimed the ERC, you can amend your 2020 and […]