DECEMBER, 2017
Rental Property as a Business Yields Big Benefits
If your rental property activity meets the definition of a trade or business activity, then your rentals produce the best possible tax benefits. In general, you report your rental properties on Schedule E of your tax return. When your activity rises to the level of a business, you continue to report the rentals on Schedule E, but with the business classification, you qualify for four big benefits:
- ) Tax-favored Section 1231 treatment:
- ) Business use of an office in your home;
- ) Business (versus investment) treatment of meetings, seminars, and conventions; and
- ) Section 179 treatment of your business-use assets.
Section 1231
The two big tax benefits of Section 1231 treatment are that you can use Section 1231 losses as ordinary losses to offset ordinary income, and you use the Section 1231 gains as long-term capital gains. This gives you the best of both worlds: ordinary losses and long-term capital gains.
Home Office
You can claim the home-office deduction only for trade or business activities, not for investment activities. When your rental property activity meets the definition of a trade or business activity, you get this terrific deduction to offset your income.
Meetings, Seminars, and Conventions
Tax law grants no deduction for travel or other costs of attending a convention, seminar, or similar meeting unless the activity relates to the taxpayer’s trade or business. Thus, if your rental property is an investment, kiss goodbye those deductions for rental property conventions, seminars, and similar meetings.
Section 179 Expensing
With respect to rental properties and Section 179 expensing, you need to pay attention to the following two rules, which can impact your expensing. You may not claim Section 179 expensing on most assets used for residential rental properties. To qualify for Section 179 expensing, you must purchase and place the Section 179 property in use in the active conduct of your business.
Want to know more? Have some tax questions of your own? Get in touch with us and we’ll guide you thru the tax and accounting process.
Lock Down Vehicle Deductions with a Home Office
Using Children’s IRAs to Pay for College
Update: 2018 Health Insurance for S Corporation Owners
Create Cash by Using Antiques in Your Business
Cashing Out Real Estate Profits without Section 1031
Tax Reform and Rental Real Estate Deductions
Home Office with More Than One Business
Tax Reform Creates Taxes on Employee Fringe Benefit for Bicycles
Tax Reform Provides New 20% Deduction
The new 2018 Section 199A tax deduction that you can claim on your IRS Form 1040 is a big deal. There are many rules (all new, of course), but your odds as a business owner of benefiting from this new deduction are excellent.
How the 20% Deduction Works for a Specified Service Provider
Phaseout for New 20% Deduction
Preserve the Deduction with an S Corporation
Will your business operation create the 20 percent tax deduction for you? If not, and if that is due to too much income and a lack of (a) wages and/or (b) depreciable property, a switch to the S corporation as your choice of the business entity may produce the tax savings you are looking for.
Tax Reform Cuts Deductions for Employee Meals to 50 Percent
Tax Reform Destroys Entertainment Deductions for Businesses
Tax Reform Allows 100 Percent Deductions for Presentation Expenses
Tax Reform Allows Bigger Vehicle Deductions
Does Tax Reform Dislike Your Reputation or Skill?
Tax Reform Update on Business Meals with Clients and Prospects
Divorce? Alimony? Tax Reform Says Get Divorced Now—Don’t Wait!
Tax Reform: Planning for Your New 20 Percent Deduction
Avoid Being an IRS Target When Your Business Loses Money
How to Deduct Your Legal Fees after Tax Reform
Your Personal Home Is Not Your Tax Home
Reduce Self-Employment Taxes by Renting from Your Spouse
Hiring Your Children to Work on Your Rental Properties
Tax Planning for Snowbirds
Tax Reform Destroyed State and Local Tax Deductions—Fight Back
IRS Rules for Deducting Your Business Gym
Reduce Your Taxes by Making Your Spouse a Business Partner
Tax Reform Expands Your Section 179 Deduction Privilege
How the 90-Day Mileage Log Rule Works for You
Will Renting Your Home Destroy Your $250,000 Exclusion?
Be Alert to the TCJA Tax Reform Attack on IRA Recharacterizations
Tax Reform Changes Affecting Partnerships and LLCs and Their Owners
Changes to Your Tax-Free Supper Money
Convert Your Personal Vehicle to Business and Deduct up to 100 Percent
How Cost Segregation Can Turn Your Rental into a Cash Cow
Retirement Plan and IRA Rollover Advice
Tax Time Bomb: Passive Foreign Investment Companies
How to Find Your Section 199A Deduction with Multiple Businesses
Help Employees Cover Medical Expenses with a QSEHRA
Does Your Rental Qualify for a 199A Deduction?
New IRS 199A Regulations Benefit Out-of-Favor Service Businesses
Take Money Out of Your IRA at Any Age Penalty-Free
Drive Time Increases Odds of Deducting Rental Property Losses
Changes to Net Operating Losses After Tax Reform
IRS Says TCJA Allows Client and Prospect Business Meal Deductions
Tax Reform and the Cannabis Industry
Defining “Real Estate Investor” and “Real Estate Dealer”
Avoid the 1099 Prepaid-Rent Mismatch
Answers to Common Section 199A Questions
Avoiding the Kiddie Tax after Tax Reform
Tax Reform’s New Qualified Opportunity Funds
IRS Issues Final Section 199A Regulations and Defines QBI
IRS Clarifies Net Capital Gains in Final 199A Regulations
IRS Creates a New “Safe Harbor” for Section 199A Rental Properties
IRS Updates Defined Wages for New Section 199A Tax Deductions
Good News: Most Rentals Likely Qualify as Section 199A Businesses
How to Reimburse Medicare When You Have Fewer Than 20 Employees
What Can I Do If My K-1 Omits 199A Information?
Terminating Your S Corporation Election
Backdoor Roth IRA Opportunities Still Available After TCJA
Combine Home Sale with the 1031 Exchange
Know These Tax Rules If Your Average Rental Is Seven Days or Less
If you own a condominium, cottage, cabin, lake or beach home, ski lodge, or similar property that you rent for an “average” rental period of seven days or less for the year, you have a property with unique tax attributes.
Can the IRS Require Odometer Readings with the Mileage Rate?
Do you claim your business miles at the IRS optional rate? If so, imagine you are now being audited by the IRS for your business mileage. The IRS has requested odometer readings for your vehicle. You might wonder if the IRS can do this…
New Individual Coverage HRA Allows You to Reimburse Employees for Health Insurance
How to Deduct Assisted Living and Nursing Home Bills
Tax Issues of Converting Your Residence into a Rental Property
Congress Reinstates Expired Tax Provisions
The big five tax breaks that most likely impact your
Form 1040
Eight Changes in the SECURE Act You Need to Know
Kiddie Tax Changes
On December 19, 2019, Congress passed a bill that the president signed into law on December 20, 2019 (Pub. L. 116-94). The new law repeals the kiddie tax changes from the TCJA and takes you back to the old kiddie tax rules, even retroactively if you so desire.
Solo 401(k) Could Be Your Best Retirement Plan Option
What are My Self-Employed Tax Obligations?
New Stimulus Law Grants Eight Tax Breaks for 1040 Filers
2020 Year-End Tax Strategies for Marriage, Kids, and Family
Starting a New Business? Get Up to $100,000 in Tax-Free Money
Tax Code Offset Game
“Deduct 100 Percent of Your Business Meals under New Rules”
Last Minute 2020 Biz Deductions
The purpose of this post is to get the IRS to owe you money.
Of course, the IRS is not likely to cut you a check for this money (although in the right circumstances, that will happen), but you’ll realize the cash when you pay less in taxes.
Here are seven powerful business tax deduction strategies that you can easily understand and implement before the end of 2020.
Last Minute Year End Deductions for Married or Divorced people – Tax Strategies – Kiddie Tax
Last Minute Year End Deductions for Married or Divorced people – Tax Strategies – Kiddie Tax –
If you are thinking of getting married or divorced, you need to consider December 31, 2020, in your tax planning.
Here’s another planning question: Do you give money to family or friends (other than your children, who are subject to the kiddie tax)? If so, you need to consider the zero-taxes planning strategy.
#taxplanning #CPA #businessaccountant
Tax Implications of Investing in Precious Metal Assets
These days, some IRA owners and investors may be worried about being overexposed to equities. That could be you.
But the safest fixed income investments (CDs, Treasuries, and money-market funds) are still paying microscopic interest rates.
For example, when this was written, the 10-year Treasury was yielding about 1.92 percent. Ugh!
Meanwhile, the pandemic might or might not be coming to an end, the economy might or might not be okay, and inflation might or might not be controlled. Who knows?
In this uncertain environment, investing some of your IRA money in gold or other precious metals such as silver and platinum may be worth considering. Ditto for holding some precious metal assets in taxable form. This article explains the federal income tax implications. Here goes.