Taxes

Investors: Lower Your Taxes – Here’s How

by Jeff Brown | November 29, 2011

We’re in the back stretch of 2011, which bodes well for folks contemplating some tax related moves. Here are some suggestions you may want to put into your own arsenal. Though basic in nature, I’ve learned most tax preparers definitely aren’t proactive in digging for tax savings beyond the normal deductions. You’ll notice a common [...]

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Real Estate Investing

How to Automate Your Real Estate Bookkeeping

by Andrew C. MacDonald | May 16, 2011

One of the least popular tasks for many real estate investors is bookkeeping. Whether or not it is your cup of tea, I have a couple simple tips for automating the process so you can free up your time for some of the other tasks you like better. This system isn’t quite fully automated, but [...]

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Real Estate

Considerations for April 15, 2011 Tax Deadline

by Clint Coons | March 19, 2011

As we approach April 15, 2011, our call volume dramatically increases. Individuals desperately seeking to reduce their 2010 tax liability inundate my firm with deduction related questions. Ironically, like asset protection planning that begins upon notice of a lawsuit, tax planning for 2010 should have begun over a year ago; but alas, such is the [...]

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Taxes

2010 Small Business Act: You Have Been Drafted by the IRS

by Clint Coons | October 7, 2010

In the off chance you missed your IRS draft notice I thought I would remind everyone of their new responsibilities. As you know, the United States has run up a huge deficit and spending is no where near under control. In an effort to appear as if steps are being taken to to address the [...]

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Taxes

How You Should Handle the IRS (and how to get an accountant)

by Jason Hanson | September 5, 2010

Last week I got a letter in the mail from the IRS. Of course, when I saw the envelope I thought two things: “Crap, I’m getting audited” and “crap, I owe them more money.” When I opened the envelope there were several documents, which I didn’t really understand (or have the patience to understand) and [...]

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Real Estate Investing

Don’t Get Double Taxed! Never Do This with your Corporation

by Clint Coons | August 17, 2010

A dilemma every real estate investor who buys and sells property for short term gain faces, is how to proceed if the property does not sell. Most of my clients understand the importance of using a corporation for their short term investing to avoid the dreaded “dealer” classification. This usually requires the utilization of a [...]

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Taxes

The Basics of “Real Estate Professional” Status for Tax Purposes

by J Scott | August 4, 2010

One of the biggest challenges real estate investors face is keeping the profits that they earn from their investments. Just like any other business, the IRS is going to want to take as big a chunk of your profits as possible, and knowing how to use the system to your advantage will help you keep [...]

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Foreclosures

Here Come The 1099-Cs Turning YOUR Short Sale Into A Big Headache

by Charles Feldman | January 13, 2010

If you are like the small, but growing army of folks who have dumped their homes back on the banks in a short sale—and are feeling pretty good that you managed to get the bank to forgive all that debt you owed—stand-by! The IRS is about to dump an even bigger one on YOU! Ever [...]

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Commentary

Blame California. (But Don’t Be Afraid To Invest Here).

by Florence Foote | January 12, 2010

Californians have gotten used to being blamed for many ills. Some years ago, the good people of our neighbor state to the north were said to have erected billboards declaring “Don’t Californicate Oregon.” Sadly, many Californians understood exactly what they were talking about, and far from being insulted, were none too crazy that our own [...]

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Real Estate Investing

Tax Free Income From Your Real Estate Investment Success

by Jeff Brown | January 12, 2010

How often have you heard or read somebody declare that when you retire, your tax rate will go down? The third rail, at least when I’ve written about it, is the 401k — which might be the best designed transfer of private wealth to government coffers ever. One might gently ask the question, “How’s that been [...]

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Economy

67% Say $8,000 Tax Credit is Likely to Incent them to Buy a Home

by Steve Heideman | February 24, 2009

Okay, so despite Josh and my best efforts, we only had 6 people answer our poll through twitter. Therefore, this is by no means a large sampling fit to discern the efficacy of the tax credit, but I liked the headline–Catchy isn’t it? Of those who voted, 4 said it would incent them and 2 [...]

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Blogs

Taxes: Blood From A Stone

by Richard Warren | November 10, 2008

Tax the rich, tax the rich! We can have everything if we just tax the rich. One question: how do we define rich? Would the top ten percent of income earners be considered the rich? The top ten percent already pay 71% of all Federal taxes despite only earning approximately 39% of all pre-tax [...]

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Blogs

New Twist on the Dilemma of City vs. Suburbs

by Bea Chenowitz | November 15, 2006

For city dwellers with children, there is always this dilemma of whether one should move to the suburbs. The case for the suburbs is pretty cut and dry: there are the obvious lifestyle reasons such as more space for children to run around, and also financial ones, like being able to send kids to great [...]

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