In recent years, the residential real estate market has surged in many areas. That means many homes have greatly appreciated, and the $250,000 home sale gain exclusion ($500,000 for joint filers) isn’t always sufficient to protect a home sale from federal income taxes.
Advantages of Keeping Business Separate From Its Real Estate
Does your business require real estate for its operations? Or do you hold property titled under your business’s name? It might be worth reconsidering this strategy. Separating real estate ownership from the business may be a wise choice, with long-term tax, liability, and estate planning advantages.
Maximizing Returns: Tax Tips for Real Estate Dealers vs. Flippers
What is the Difference Between Real Estate Flippers and Dealers?
Tax advice for real estate dealers and real estate flippers are different, although their activities can overlap. Here’s a breakdown of the key differences between the two:
Understanding Taxes on Real Estate Gains
Let’s say you own real estate that has been held for more than one year and is sold for a taxable gain. Perhaps this gain comes from indirect real estate ownership via a pass-through entity such as an LLC, partnership, or S corporation. You may expect to pay Uncle Sam the standard 15% or 20% federal income tax rate that usually applies to long-term capital gains from assets held for more than one year.
Home Sale: Failure to Plan May Raise Your Tax Bill
As the saying goes, there’s nothing certain in life except for death and taxes. But when it comes to selling your home, proactive tax planning can help you reduce your federal income tax bill.
Addressing Concerns When Selling Your Home to an S Corporation
Want to make money by renting out your home? If done correctly, this can boost your cash flow with minimal effort. Selling your home to your S corporation is one of the best strategies. Here’s why it’s better than just converting your home to a rental property.
Using an IRA Withdrawal for a Qualified Home Purchase
Purchasing a home is an expensive proposition that leaves many would-be buyers feeling cash-strapped. If that’s you, you might be thinking about taking some money out of your traditional IRA to help fund the purchase. But should you? After all, a 10% penalty normally applies to IRA withdrawals before age 59 1/2. The good news is that there’s an exception to the penalty for certain home purchases, subject to a lifetime limit of $10,000.
Renting to Family Members
As rents continue to rise in many areas, you may decide to help your financially challenged family members by renting a property to them at a discount. But this can lead to the loss of significant tax deductions. Here’s a look at the tax treatment that applies when you rent to unrelated parties and how the rules change when you rent to relatives.
Defer a Current Tax Bill With a Like-Kind Exchange
If you’re interested in selling commercial or investment real estate that has appreciated significantly, one way to defer a tax bill on the gain is with a Section 1031 “like-kind” exchange. With this transaction, you exchange the property rather than sell it. Although the real estate market has been tough recently in some locations, there are still profitable opportunities (with high resulting tax bills) when the like-kind exchange strategy may be attractive.
For 199A Tax Deductions, Must Landlords Give 1099s to Vendors
The preamble to the Section 199A final regulations contains the following new sentence:
… taxpayers should consider the appropriateness of treating a rental activity as a trade or business for purposes of section 199A where the taxpayer does not comply with the information return filing requirements under section 6041.