Looking for some tax advice. Been in the Air Force a little over 11 years and currently own one SFR in SC. we've only been renting out for about two years now buy intend on building our portfolio once we return to the States I'm 2019. Ever since I joined in 2006, my wife and I have filled our yearly income taxes through TurboTax online and it's been pretty easy. We have two children which have qualified us for the EIC every year until this past year. Apparently our rental online pushed us over the qualifying income. Though I've certainly had confidence in Turbo Tax when filling prior to owning an income property...I can't say the same holds true now. I just feel as though there is always something I am missing...Tax credit, write offs, etc. out of curiosity I plan on paying someone specialized in this area to file our taxes this year and hopefully go back a couple years to review for missed credits. any advice or insight on this topic? Thanks guys. Jeff

Do you use turbo tax premier

Jeffrey,

I'd definitely get in touch with a CPA with Real Estate experience.  I started working with one last year and within a few weeks, we found deductions that I'd missed in the previous years's returns and wouldn't have accounted for going forward.  The money I was refunded after amending my previous year's return more or less paid for his fees for the first year and now I have a tax pro on my team that I can hit up any time with questions.  I still prepare my returns (personal choice), but he was super flexible in coming up with a plan and service that works for me.

He's pretty active on these forums, but I don't want to violate any BP rules or norms, so feel free to send me a message and I can pass along his info.

Hi Jeffrey -
If you decide to you use a CPA/Tax professional this year - once of the first things he is going to ask for is to see the prior year return. The reason for this is to account for any carryforwards. Looking at the prior year return also allows him to understand your situation easier than to ask you 100 questions.

Mention to him that you prepared your returns using turbo tax and you are unsure of any missed deductions/credits. He can take a quick look and provide you his opinion.

If you select a tax preparer - please make sure he understands real estate investing and is familiar with the tax rules in where you live and invest(SC).

Thanks gentlemen!

Hello all, I am in the same boat as @Jeffrey Grootaert regarding the tax situation. What is your recommendation for finding a honest and solid CPA with RE experience?

NAEA.org is a decent place to start searching. 

There is a natural tendency to conflate 'CPA' with 'tax expert'. There are other tax professionals who are not CPAs, and there are CPAs who are not competent tax professionals. In fact, I got into this business because I got tired of pointing out the errors my CPA was making on my tax return. It was only costing me $800 to teach the man how to do taxes.

There is also a tendency to want to sit across the desk from your tax pro. Technology makes this optional now. I complete and file tax returns for people in Iraq and Afghanistan without ever seeing them. With real estate investments you might want someone with deep knowledge of the state where your properties are located, but if your properties are located in multiple states (common with military members) getting someone with deep knowledge of multiple states will present its own challenges.

Keep looking for a pro, though. I have found errors on 100% of the self-prepared returns landlords have brought me to review. In all but one case it has been in the taxpayer's favor to amend.

Best of Luck with your investing!

Definitely contact an accountant that is familiar with real estate investing.