All Forum Posts by: Michael Plaks

 Correct. And it is not from the new tax bill. It has always been the case.

Correct - property taxes and mortgage interest for rentals are NOT affected 

Your attorney seems to contradict himself. He first says "must be prior to 1/1" and then says "the assessment date is 1/1". English is my second language, but it sounds to me like "prior to" requirement is NOT met.

@Terry Fox  I'm interested to hear what my colleagues think. My impression is that, strictly from the bill, this provision is debatable and will be eventually (hopefully, sooner rather than later) clarified in Regulations. Until then, I choose to interpret it as all Schedule Es qualify. You know - ask for forgiveness, not permission.

@Mark Zingale  There is nothing in the law that would indicate a different treatment for h/w QJVs. They are not, in fact, a different business structure, just a designation for SE Tax purposes. Until the IRS says otherwise, I assume they are treated just like all other pass-throughs and are eligible for the 20% deduction.

@Daniel McFadden  Nobody can "confirm" assertively at this early point. But our current understanding (I dare to speak on behalf of my peers) is that yes, you are eligible.

Sorry for the late response, Heidi. Prepayment of the personal residence taxes is pretty much standard recommendation, as long as the taxes have been assessed.

My blog's example was about prepaying taxes on the rentals. High-income landlords who do not qualify as "real estate professionals" (any full-time W2 employee would not qualify, for example) cannot claim losses from rentals. Let's say that after current expenses and depreciation, you already have a loss. If you prepay taxes, all you accomplish is increase this loss - which is already locked up. In this scenario, there is no benefit to prepay.

I'm always sure when I post. I'm not always right, but I'm always sure. :)

In this case - I'm also correct, and @Brandon Hall already cited the bill in the other thread. NON-residential only, however!

Texas is open. You will have to renounce your liberal agenda, but other than that...   :)

On a less radical note, you'd have to consider bunching up 2 years of deductions (property taxes & donations) into 1 year, every other year.

@Dido Zdrav

For tax purposes, it really does not matter who has the title. If it is used 100% for business, you can deduct it even if under personal name - as if it was a business vehicle. Both methods are available: mileage or actual expenses. Just make sure the business pays for everything. It's also a good idea to document that the company authorizes you to buy the vehicle, but the company will assume all costs.

But, as @Darren Sager mentioned, saving on insurance can backfire. Insurance can refuse your claim if the vehicle is used for business but insured as personal. Check with your insurance agent.

@Jeff Brower

There is a debate currently whether 2017 conversions can still be recharacterized in 2018, especially conversions done earlier in 2017. The law is not clear. We expect it will be clarified at some point.

@Amy Webber

It's a speculation. Nobody can give you a certain answer. It depends on number of miles now and in the future, cost of the truck etc. Rule of thumb is: if you're going to drive tons of miles for many years, then mileage might be better. But the only reliable way is to run numbers side-by-side, and it still won't be totally reliable because it will be based on projections.