I finished my taxes

[Jason Malabute]

I just finished preparing my own personal taxes (LLC tax returns included). IT TOOK ME HOURS! Many people would be impressed that I do my own taxes and the money saved because I don't have to pay another professional tax preparer. However, I'll be the first one to tell you it's not worth it. As an entrepreneur you got to be able to think bigger. Yes, I saved a couple of thousands of dollars by preparing my own taxes, but I could have used those couple of hours to generate more deals that is worth more than a couple thousands. As entrepreneurs we need to learn how to buy time. Time is more valuable than money because you can always make back lost money, but you never get back lost time . Moreover, I'm pretty sure I can outsource the tax preparation to someone who enjoys tax work than I do. In other news as a CPA I need to tell you guys about the power of "depreciation" . Let's just say I'm going to get a nice little refund because of depreciation. Depreciation is a free gift from the government. An additional business expense that didn't have to actually spend cash on. That is one of the many perks of owning real estate.

[Joe Splitrock]

Originally posted by @Jason Malabute:

I just finished preparing my own personal taxes (LLC tax returns included). IT TOOK ME HOURS! Many people would be impressed that I do my own taxes and the money saved because I don't have to pay another professional tax preparer. However, I'll be the first one to tell you it's not worth it. As an entrepreneur you got to be able to think bigger. Yes, I saved a couple of thousands of dollars by preparing my own taxes, but I could have used those couple of hours to generate more deals that is worth more than a couple thousands. As entrepreneurs we need to learn how to buy time. Time is more valuable than money because you can always make back lost money, but you never get back lost time . Moreover, I'm pretty sure I can outsource the tax preparation to someone who enjoys tax work than I do. In other news as a CPA I need to tell you guys about the power of "depreciation" . Let's just say I'm going to get a nice little refund because of depreciation. Depreciation is a free gift from the government. An additional business expense that didn't have to actually spend cash on. That is one of the many perks of owning real estate.

 More importantly, how do you know you saved money? A good tax professional would likely find deductions or tax strategies that you never considered. That could be a net savings. 

Also, I think your perception that "depreciation is a free gift from the government" is misunderstanding what depreciation is. When you purchase a property, it is an expense. Unlike other business expenses, the government doesn't let you claim the full purchase price of a property in the year you purchase. Instead they force you to take a portion of it over 27.5 years (or whatever the depreciation period is for what you are depreciating). If you paid cash for a property, you would have to wait 27.5 years to claim your full expense - not a gift in my opinion. On top of that, depreciation is taxed when you sell the property! That "free gift" is not free at all. Yes you can exchange into another property and delay taxes, but the only way to avoid them is to die. Not the best deal in my opinion. 

I love using depreciation, but it is not a gift and it is not free is all I am saying. 

I agree with you that a real estate professional should spend time on deals and leave taxes to the professionals. It is not always a matter of "can I do it" but rather "is it the best use of my skills and time to do it"?