Real Estate

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.

Read more

Russo CPA Tax Tip Article Image: Mouse Trap snapped closed on U.S. dollar pile

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.

Read more

Two parent, 2 kids and 2 grand parents in a kitchen. The father holds the youngest child up in the air.

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.

Read more

Russo CPA Boost Your Home Improvements with Tax Credits

Boost Your Home Improvements with Tax Credits

For many homeowners, summer means it’s time to tackle home improvement projects. By investing in certain energy-efficient updates, taxpayers not only can lower their power bills but also can score some tax breaks.

Read more

Defer a Current Tax Bill With a Like-Kind Exchange

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.

Read more

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.

Read more