Smart Tax Strategy for Corporations: Use the Augusta Rule Wisely
What is the Augusta Rule? Here’s a valuable tax strategy, commonly known as the Augusta rule, that can help you generate tax-free income while claiming a legitimate business deduction. If you own a business structured as an S corporation, a C corporation, or a partnership, you may rent your personal residence to your business for […]
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 […]
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, […]
Section 1031 Exchanges or Qualified Opportunity Zone Funds?
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: With a Section 1031 exchange, you sell your property and invest all the proceeds inanother like-kind replacement property of equal or greater value. With a qualified opportunity fund, you […]
Tax Implications of Partnership Dissolution
As you consider winding down your partnership, here’s a concise overview of what you might expect under three typical scenarios of partnership dissolution. Scenario 1: One Partner Buys Out the Others If one partner buys out the others and continues the business, the exiting partners will likely recognize a capital gain or loss on the […]