Avoid Costly Tax Mistakes with Vacation Home Rentals
If you own a vacation home or rent out a second property, there’s a tax case you should know about—one that could save you thousands of dollars in lost deductions. The tax case shows the benefits of proactive tax planning when you own a vacation home or rent out a second property. Charles M. Akers […]
Boost Your Tax Benefits with Section 179 for Commercial Rentals
With bonus depreciation declining to 40 percent this year, Section 179 expensing is a powerful alternative. It allows you to deduct up to the full cost of personal property and eligible improvements in the year you place them in service. For 2025, the maximum deduction is $1.25 million, with phaseouts beginning at $3.13 million. Eligible […]
How to Avoid Unwanted Partnership Tax Status
Suppose you’re involved in a real estate or investment venture with one or more other parties, perhaps co-owning property or collaborating on a business project. In that case, you might think you’re simply sharing ownership. But the IRS may see it differently. Without proper precautions, your arrangement could be classified as a partnership for federal […]
Tax-Free Home Sale: Home Sale Exclusion, When and Why to Report it to the IRS
You’re probably aware that when you sell your home, you may exclude up to $250,000 of your gain from tax if you’re unmarried (or married, filing separately) and $500,000 if you are married and file jointly. To claim the whole exclusion, you must have owned and lived in your home as your principal residence for an […]
Real Estate Professional Status & Passive Losses
Deducting your rental property tax losses against your other income is tricky, as you likely know. You have to get the tax law to treat you—say, a computer engineer—as a tax-code–defined real estate professional (IRS publication 925 discusses passive activity and At-Risk Rules and page 8 further explains Real Estate Professional Status). Let’s say you […]
Avoiding the Self-Rental Trap
Let’s say you own a building. Now, let’s say that you rent this building to your business. With no tax planning, you have a self-rental, and that So, there you have it: a self-rental to your business with no tax planning, you will get the worst of both worlds. Yikes! Solution But wait—there’s a solution […]
Your Guide to Real Estate Options
Real estate options and leases with purchase options can enhance your real estate investment profits. Here’s a concise guide to help you navigate the potential pitfalls and maximize your returns. Stand-Alone Purchase Option A stand-alone purchase option can be highly profitable. Here’s how it works: Lease with Option to Buy This approach offers several financial […]
Tax Deductions for Raw Land Investments
Purchasing raw (unimproved) land can be a great way to get into real estate investing. Raw land is ordinarily cheaper than land with buildings and other improvements. Moreover, you don’t have the expense of handling building maintenance and other upkeep, not to mention the headaches of dealing with tenants if you rent improved property. But […]
“Real Estate Investor” Vs. “Real Estate Dealer”
Great news! You can have both investor and dealer properties in your real estate portfolio. This distinction is significant for tax purposes. Here’s a snapshot of the potential tax differences between real estate investor and dealer properties: Suppose you profit $90,000 from a property sale: That’s a potential savings of $24,597 in taxes for investors! […]
Cost Segregation: What Is It & When Should You Use It?
One significant tax benefit of owning residential rental property or non-residential commercial or investment property is depreciation—a deduction you get without spending any additional money. But regular depreciation for real property is slow. Residential rental property is depreciated over 27.5 years and non-residential property over 39 years, providing a relatively small deduction each year. Fortunately, […]