All Forum Posts by: Paul Passafiume

I want to be clear I was charged a total of 1526, not 1000. 

He itemized the bill. The 1000 was the "discounted" charge for individual and state income taxes plus the KY single member LLC filings.

We have some defensive CPAs here but I didn’t indicate the whole return was plug and play but it’s not like I handed him a wastebasket of receipts and said “do my taxes.”

We never discussed per hour rates nor how/if he’d bill for email questions. He certainly deserves a nice living but I still think he’s high.

The additional 526 was charged for additional email correspondence...I never asked for significant detail but he did provide detail. He listed 7 bullet points and the 526 was for 1.8 hours which seems a bit high in time but probably not too far off if he had to research answers. 

I also asked a couple questions about Trumps tax changes throughout the year expecting yes/no answers in email and he would tend to hit more detail in responses than I want. 

He works for a big firm in Louisville in very plush (read not cheap) downtown offices so I get it, but only thing we discussed a few years ago was it “should be under a grand” and last year’s return was but I bought 5 more units (one was a 4  plex) in 2017.

Also to be clear I have 9 units but technically only 6 property/addresses in addition to my personal home.

Thanks for the responses!

Ok, so I got my tax prep bill and I think its way high. For discolsure, my accountant had to file 5 forms:

1040 US tax ind return

1040-ES Estimated Tax

Kentucky Ind tax

Kentucky Est tax

Kentucky Single member LLC tax return

For that he charged me a flat fee of 1 grand. I thought it was a hair high but not awful. Where he really got me was billing for 1.8 hours for several emails we exchanged throughout the year. He hit me up for an additional $526 there.

Now, keep in mind I have nothing complicated but I do have two 1040s, one W2, and my miscellaneous income from 9 rental units. But each of those will be spelled out in PAINSTAKING detail on a form I filled out and I had itemized receipts of everything. My most complicated itemized deductions are my SEP IRA, HSA, and charitable deductions, but it is literally all numbers listed clearly on a ten page form I fill out, and it's literally plug and play for him.

Please advise if $1526 for tax filing and tax planning seems high compared to anyone else, especially in a "cheap state?"

Thanks!

Ok, so here is some info on me to help you decide. I am young and pretty aggressive. I am in the 33% tax bracket and real estate invest on the side. I have about 250k in a SEP IRA and a friend who is a builder who wants to invest in urban neighborhoods where millenials want to live...but banks are afraid of. I don't plan to tap retirement cash for 30 years and have liquid capital outside my SEP.

Has anyone lent anyone money from their SEP IRA? If this is set up right, are there any potential risks? How do you do it?

 Maxwell, I have four single family homes split between New Albany and Jeffersonville and those areas are booming. Both have really cleaned up their downtowns and both downtowns are now walkable little neighborhoods. Both have nice summer festivals and the walking Big Four Bridge and new east end bridge are a HUGE boon to Jeffersonville. Let me know when in town and I'd be happy to show you around. I used to live in FL. We love it here except this time of year!

I have a couple of Section 8 properties, but they are way under paying me. One of my units only pulls 495 and I even pay water on it, but tenant pays LG&E. The people who run Section 8 are simply ghetto. There's no nice way to put it. They don't answer calls.  My property is in rapidly gentrifying Shelby Park and is a large 2/1 but they I only get $495. I've been too lazy to fight them because my other rents are higher and the cap is 18% still. 

This might as well have been written in alien code, and I have many degrees.  The IRS should be ABOLISHED. 

I have a single member LLC....my accountant tells me all my tax deductions are taken in depreciations. For example, I spent about 160 grand in real estate in 2017 and probably 40 grand improving it ( I have exact numbers in tenantcloud.com) I collect about 50 grand a year in rent on these properties after general expected annual expenses (NOI). To make math simple, I spent 200k this year. I make 50k a year on it. Can I assume in 4 years, for IRS purposes, I will "make my investment back," and in the fith year, the IRS sees that 50k as additional income? I do real estate investing on the side.

So if I make 400k in my day job, and 50k in real estate income in year five, will the IRS treat me as having 450k in income, and thus tax 450k at the marginal rate for my income bracket? 

Thanks!

@Pedro Martins,

My bank is ok with it....they are the ones who advised I should do it. I guess it makes it easier to do secondary market financing. Not a big deal for that part.

I had flirted with First Capital. 

I am dealing with Citizens Union....they have a nice package and I'd like to go with them. If the mortgage lender suggested he had other clients do a QuitClaim at immediately after closing, I am not worried about a couple hundred bucks for a large deal.

Thoughts?

Investors,

Please help me. I am buying a multiplex in Louisville, KY. My bank wants me to buy it in my personal name since this allows me to get better (secondary market) rates. 

I have a KY LLC. I prefer all my properties stay in it due to liability (plus a I pay lots of annual fees on the LLC)

Has anyone bought a property in their name, then transferred it to their sole member LLC via Quitclaim Deed? Is this process easy? Any risk? How much will an attorney charge to do this, and what are the doc stamp/recording fees generally?

Thanks so much!