Tag: real estate

Determining Basis of a Principal Residence

Selling your home? Understand ‘basis’ to save tax dollars.

Determining Basis of a Principal Residence
You are probably aware you may be able to claim itemized deductions on your income tax return for real estate taxes and home mortgage interest. Most other home ownership costs are not currently deductible. However, many of these costs will increase your “basis” in the home.

For instance, if part of the home qualifies as a home office or if you rent out a portion of the house, a higher basis translates into a larger annual depreciation deduction. A higher basis can also save tax dollars when you sell the home.

Gain Exclusion

The tax law allows an exclusion from income for the part of the gain realized on the sale of one’s home. The exclusion is $250,000 for single and $500,000 for most married taxpayers.

Some practitioners feel the amount of the exclusion makes keeping track of the basis in the home relatively unimportant. I disagree, as more homes are being sold for greater than $500,000, and more are being sold for gains approaching that amount.

Costs That Are Basis and Additions to Basis

To be able to prove the amount of your basis, you must keep accurate records of your purchase price, closing costs and other purchase expenses, and any later expenses that increase your basis.

Save receipts and other records for all improvements and additions made to your home. Since this is likely to continue for a long period, you should keep these documents together in a folder or binder with a summary list from which you can easily determine your basis at any time. When you eventually sell your home, your basis will establish the amount of your gain. The supporting documentation should be kept for at least three years after you file your return for the sale year.

The principal element in the basis of your home is its purchase price. If you contract to have your house built on land you own, the basis is the cost of the land plus the amount it cost you to complete the house. This includes the cost of labor and materials, or the amounts paid to the contractor, and any architect’s fees, building permit charges, utility meter and connection charges, and legal fees directly connected with building the home.

If you build all or part of the house yourself, basis includes the total amount it cost you to complete it. Basis will not include the value of your own labor, or any labor you didn’t pay for.

Costs That Don’t Add to Basis

Amounts spent on the home that do not add to either the value of the life of the property, but rather keep the property in good condition, are considered repairs, not improvements, and cannot be added to the basis of the property. Repairs include:

  • interior or exterior repainting,
  • fixing gutters or floors,
  • repairing leaks or plastering, and
  • replacing broken window panes.

However, an entire job is considered an improvement if items that would otherwise be considered repairs are done as part of extensive remodeling or restoration of the home.

The cost of appliances purchased for the home generally don’t add to basis unless the appliance is considered attached to the house. Thus, the cost of a built-in oven or range would increase basis. However, an appliance that can easily be removed, such as a television set or home entertainment center, would not.

Need Help Determining Your Home’s Tax Basis?

Put the Real Estate Tax Guy on your team. For additional information on the basis of your home, contact me at sfilip@krscpas.com or (201) 655-7411.

SALT Workarounds Squashed

$10k Limit on SALT Deductions Stands

On Tuesday the Treasury Department issued final regulations that officially prohibit high-tax states like SALT Workarounds SquashedNew Jersey, New York, and Connecticut from utilizing workarounds to evade the new $10,000 limit on state and local tax (“SALT”) deductions.

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act capped at $10,000 the amount of state and local tax payments that taxpayers could deduct from their federal returns.  In response, a number of state governments enacted or proposed workarounds to find a way to remove the economic pain of the cap.

In the workaround, a state resident could, instead of paying state property taxes, choose to donate to a state-created charitable fund, for example, $40,000. The resident would then get to write off the $40,000 as a charitable donation on his or her federal taxes and receive a state tax credit for some of that donation, easing the burden of the lower write-off for their SALT levy.

The regulations will allow taxpayers to receive a tax write-off equal to the difference between the state tax credits they receive and their charitable donations. That means the taxpayer who makes a $40,000 charitable donation to pay property taxes and receives a $25,000 state tax credit would only be entitled to a charitable write off of $15,000 on his or her federal tax bill.

The Treasury indicated it would continue to evaluate the issue and release further guidance if necessary.

We’ve got your back

With Simon Filip, the Real Estate Tax Guy, on your side, you can focus on your real estate investments while he and his team take care of your accounting and keep you up to speed on the latest tax developments. Contact him at sfilip@krscpas.com or 201.655.7411 today.

Real Estate in Your IRA: A Good Idea?

Real estate can be a great investment, and many people don’t know they can also put the property into their IRAs.

real estate and your iraHowever, they have to be careful: one small mistake and an IRA’s tax advantages disappear.

So what are the rules to follow to have a qualified real estate purchase?

  • You can’t mortgage the property.
  • You can’t work on the property yourself — you’ve got to pay an independent party to do any repairs.
  • You don’t get the tax breaks if the property operates at a loss. You can’t claim depreciation either.
  • All costs associated with the property must be paid out of your IRA and all income deposited into the IRA. You can find yourself in a bind if there isn’t enough cash in the IRA to deal with a major property expense.
  • You can’t receive any personal benefit from the property — you can’t live in it or use it in any way. It has to be strictly for investment purposes. So that vacation property you’re considering buying or a house to rent to your kids — not allowable.

More rules for real estate in IRAs

Any investment made by your IRA must be considered an arm’s-length transaction: You can’t use money in your IRA to buy or sell real estate to or from yourself or family members. You can’t receive any indirect benefit either — you can’t pay yourself or a family member to be the property manager.

For a traditional IRA, you must take required minimum distributions at 70 1/2 and that applies with real estate as well. It can be awfully hard to sell real estate off in portions, so then how do you cover the required distributions without cash? These are problems you need to solve before you start your retirement investing. However, you can roll over money from the sale of one property to the purchase of another without any tax consequences, inside the IRA.

Three more points to weigh when thinking about investing in real estate IRAs:

  • Your IRA cannot purchase a property that you currently own. IRS regulations don’t allow transactions that are considered self-dealing. They don’t allow your self-directed IRA to buy property from or sell property to any disqualified person — including yourself.
  • A real estate investment needs to be titled in the name of your IRA, not to you personally. All documents related to the investment must be titled correctly to avoid delays.
  • Real estate in an IRA can be purchased without 100 percent funding from your IRA. You can use undivided interest and partnering with others.

For more, see my post, “Using a Self-Directed IRA to Buy Real Estate.”

We’ve got your back

There are a lot of working parts to keep in mind if you want to hold real estate in your IRA, and it might not be right for everyone. With Simon Filip, the Real Estate Tax Guy, on your side, you can focus on your real estate investments while he and his team take care of your accounting and taxes. Contact him at sfilip@krscpas.com or 201.655.7411 today.

Understanding IRC Code Section 1033

Understanding IRC Code Section 1033Unfortunately, 2018 has been another year of major disasters due to hurricanes, fires, and floods. As taxpayers turn to the process of restoring property, some may be considering whether a 1033 exchange is more relevant than a 1031 exchange.

This blog entry examines some of the key aspects of the 1033 exchange.

What is an IRC 1033 exchange?

A section 1033 exchange, named for Section 1033 of the Internal Revenue Code, applies when you lose property through a casualty, theft or condemnation and realize gain from the insurance or condemnation proceeds. If your accountant or tax advisor believes you will realize gain from the insurance or condemnation proceeds, you may be able to defer that gain using a 1033 exchange.

Compared to IRC 1031

Internal Revenue Code Section 1031, commonly referred to as a “like-kind exchange,” does not allow a taxpayer to hold or benefit from the proceeds during the exchange period. It also requires the replacement property be identified within 45 days and acquired within 180 days after the closing of the relinquished property. If a taxpayer is deferring gain in a 1033 exchange, he can hold the proceeds until the acquisition of the replacement property and an intermediary is not required.

Replacement property

Another difference between a 1031 and a 1033 exchange is the standard that is used to limit what you can buy as replacement property. In general, the standard is more restrictive under 1033 than the like-kind standard under IRC 1031. Section 1033 provides the replacement property must be “similar or related in service or use” to the property that was lost in the casualty or condemnation. It is important to note the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 eliminated tax-deferred like-kind exchanges of personal property, but allows exchanges of business and investment real estate.

Time period

The time period allowed for the taxpayer to acquire the replacement property is much more liberal than Section 1031 exchanges. The period begins at the earlier of when the taxpayer first discovers the threat or imminence of condemnation proceedings or when the condemnation or other involuntary conversion occurs. The period ends either two or three years after the end of the tax year in which the conversion occurs. The time period is three years for real property held for business or investment and two years for all other property. If the taxpayer has lost property in a federally declared disaster area, Section 1033 gives the taxpayer a two year extension on the replacement period, granting a total of four years in which to replace the lost property.

Taxpayers having lost their property due to casualties or those facing condemnation should consult with their tax advisors to take advantage of the tax deferral afforded under Section 1033 if they wish to replace their lost property.

We’ve got your back

With Simon Filip, the Real Estate Tax Guy, on your side, you can focus on your real estate investments while he and his team take care of your accounting and taxes. Contact him at sfilip@krscpas.com or 201.655.7411 today.

 

Deeper Dive into Single Member Limited Liability Companies

Deeper Dive into Single Member Limited Liability CompaniesEntity classification

LLCs with two or more members can be treated as a partnership or corporation for tax purposes. An LLC with one owner or single member limited liability company (SMLLC) can choose to be treated as a corporation or a “disregarded entity.”

The member of a SMLLC who wishes to be treated as corporation for tax purposes must file either Form 8832 to be treated as a ‘C’ Corporation or Form 2553 to elect classification as an ‘S’ Corporation. Where an individual does not file Forms 8832 or 2553 to elect to be treated as a corporation, the IRS will treat the LLC as a disregarded entity and it will be taxed as a sole proprietorship.

Tax treatment

By default, the IRS treats a SMLLC as a “disregarded entity.” This means the IRS will not look at a SMLLC as an entity separate from its sole member for the purpose of filing tax returns. Instead, similar to a sole proprietorship, the IRS will disregard the SMLLC and the member will report income and expenses and pay taxes for the business as part of his or her own personal tax return. Taxable income or loss generated by an operating business will be reported on Schedule C, while rental income will be reported on Schedule E. Since the ultimate responsibility for paying taxes on income generated by a SMLLC is passed through to the member, this way of taxing profits is called pass-through taxation.

Profits earned

As a disregarded entity, if the SMLLC has taxable profits for a given year, the sole member is required to pay taxes on that profit, regardless of whether the profits are actually distributed to the member. It is not relevant whether a member of a SMLLC leaves the profits in the business bank account or withdraws the money. Regardless, all income or loss are reported by the SMLLC owner for income taxation.

Example

Steve’s SMLLC, which owns rental real estate, earned $25,000 this year after expenses and depreciation. Steve decides that he doesn’t need the money and will leave the entire $25,000 in his business checking account to use next year. Steve will have to report and pay tax on the full $25,000.

SMLLC to partnership

There are instances when a SMLLC ceases to be a disregarded entity. One instance this is accomplished is through the addition of one or more new members to the limited liability company. The LLC’s tax reporting after an additional member is admitted no longer is reflected on Schedules C or E of the former sole member. The entity has become a multi-member limited liability company and must obtain an Employer Identification Number and file a partnership return.

We’ve got your back

With Simon Filip, the Real Estate Tax Guy, on your side, you can focus on your real estate investments while he and his team take care of your accounting and taxes. Contact him at sfilip@krscpas.com or 201.655.7411 today.

Understanding the Mortgage Interest Deduction after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Understanding the Mortgage Interest Deduction after the Tax Cuts and Jobs ActThe TCJA modified the mortgage interest deduction for homeowners. Here’s what you need to know about the changes.

Home ownership has long been the American dream.  Mortgage loans have made it possible for the majority of American homeowners to afford buying a home. The government has encouraged home-ownership by offering tax breaks linked to mortgages, but recent changes in tax law changes how much a typical homeowner-taxpayer will benefit from the deductions. In 2018, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) changed the rules on how much mortgage interest can be deducted from taxable income.

Mortgage limits

Mortgage interest was one of the biggest deductions that tax law allowed. Unlike interest in borrowing for personal expenses, mortgage interest on a taxpayer’s residence can be deducted as an itemized deduction.

TCJA modified the mortgage interest deduction in several ways. The change that garnered the most attention was the reduction in the amount of interest that you’re allowed to deduct. Going forward, taxpayers will only be able to deduct interest on up to $750,000 of mortgage debt, down from $1 million under prior law.

The old $1 million mortgage limit is grandfathered in for existing mortgages, but if a taxpayer obtains a new mortgage post-TCJA, they will be subject to the lower limit. Taxpayers obtaining new mortgages exceeding $750,000are still eligible for a mortgage deduction, however, it will only be on the portion of interest attributable to the first $750,000 borrowing.

Home equity debt

Under old law, taxpayers could deduct interest on up to $100,000 of home equity debt. This allowed taxpayers to do whatever they wanted with the money, including paying down other types of debt (credit card, student loan, auto loans, etc.) or spending on things unrelated to their residence while still able to deduct the interest.

Tax reform under TCJA partially took away the ability to deduct interest on home equity debt. The interest is still tax deductible if the loan is used to buy, build, or improve your home and doesn’t bring the total outstanding mortgage above the new $750,000 limit. If the home equity debt was used for other purposes, it is no longer deductible. Unlike other changes, existing home equity loans were not grandfathered in.

Refinancing

It is important for taxpayers to understand how refinancing an existing mortgage will work for income tax purposes. When a taxpayer takes a mortgage to buy or build a home, it counts as home acquisition debt and is capped at $750,000. A mortgage for other purposes is treated as a home equity debt and now receives no interest deduction. When a taxpayer refinances a mortgage they originally counted as home acquisition debt, the refinanced mortgage will also count as home acquisition debt as long as it is in the same amount. If there is excess borrowed in the refinancing, the extra portion of cash pulled out will be treated as home equity debt, so that portion of the interest you pay won’t be deductible unless it is used to improve the home.

Key takeaways

  1. Interest payments are deductible on mortgage debt up to $750,000 (formerly $1 million).
  2. Deduction for other home equity debt (HELOCs and second mortgages eliminated (formerly $100,000).

With Simon Filip, the Real Estate Tax Guy, on your side, you can focus on your real estate investments while he and his team take care of your accounting and taxes. Contact him at sfilip@krscpas.com or 201.655.7411 today.

Real Estate FAQs from Last Month

Answers to real estate FAQs on 1031s and more

My team and I regularly receive questions on real estate-related topics. In this blog post, I answer some of those questions as they are important and others likely need the answers.

Realty Transfer Fee

Question: What is the realty transfer fee and who can expect to pay it?
Answers to this month's real estate FAQs
Answer:  The Realty Transfer Fee, also known as “RTF,” is a fee imposed by the State of New Jersey to offset the costs of tracking real estate transactions. Upon the transfer of the deed to the buyer, the seller pays the RTF, which is based upon the property sales price.

The RTF rate is a graduated rate and there are two different structures, depending on whether the total consideration is over or under $350,000.

It is important to note that a 1% fee must be paid by the buyer on all real estate transactions over $1 million in all commercial and residential property classes. This is also known as the “Mansion Tax.”

1031 Exchange Identification Rule

Question: What happens if you list three properties as replacement properties for your 1031 exchange, but all properties are no longer available?

Answer: One of the requirements of a 1031 exchange is taxpayers must identify a list of properties for potential purchase within 45 calendar days. Whichever property is ultimately purchased must be on this list. The rule allows taxpayers to identify three properties without limitation. Those listed are property that may be purchased, however not all are required to be purchased. If more than three properties are identified, the IRS rules become narrower and stringent.

The list can be changed an infinite amount of times until midnight of the 45th day. If the taxpayer is beyond the 45th day, the list is unchangeable and only properties listed can be chosen to complete the exchange. If the properties are not available after the 45th day, a 1031 exchange cannot be completed and the transaction is not eligible for deferral under Code Section 1031.

Section 179 Expensing

Question: Did the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) change 179 expensing for rental property owners?

Answer: A provision of the tax code, commonly known as Section 179 deduction, allows taxpayers to deduct the entire cost of eligible property in the first year it is placed in service. For rental real estate owners, eligible property includes the majority of improvements to the interior portion of a nonresidential building, provided the improvement is put to use after the date the building was placed in service

The TCJA expanded the definition of eligible property to include expenditures for nonresidential roofs, HVAC equipment, fire protection and alarm systems, and security systems.

We’ve got your back

Have a burning real estate question? Email me and I’ll answer it in an upcoming post.

The New Tax Law and Business Interest Expense

The New Tax Law and Business Interest Expense

The tax legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Act) places a new limit on the amount of interest expense businesses can deduct on their tax returns. This new limit will punish over-leveraged companies and discourage companies from becoming too leveraged.

Starting in 2018, businesses can only deduct interest based upon a formula contained within the act.

Business Interest Deduction

Under the new tax law, a business’s net interest expense deduction is limited to 30 percent of EBITDA (Earnings before Income Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization). Beginning in 2022 the net interest expense deduction limitation is 30 percent of EBIT (Earnings before Income Taxes).

Businesses with average annual gross receipts of $25 million or less for the prior three years are exempt from this provision. The amount of business interest not allowed as a deduction for any taxable year is treated as business interest paid or accrued in the succeeding taxable year. Business interest may be carried forward indefinitely, subject to certain restrictions.

Real Estate Exception

Real estate is both illiquid and capital intensive, making leverage and the ability to deduct interest important to the industry.  A real property trade or business can elect out of the net interest expense deduction limitations if they use the Alternative Depreciation System (ADS) to depreciate business-related real property.

Taxpayers electing to use the real estate exception to the interest limit must depreciate real property under longer recovery periods prescribed by ADS. Those recovery periods are 40 years for nonresidential property, 30 years for residential rental property, and 20 years for qualified interior improvements. This is compared to recovery periods of 39 years for nonresidential property, 27.5 years for residential rental property, and 15 years for qualified interior improvements.

Application to Partnerships

Most real estate investment vehicles are structured as pass-through entities. The limitations on current interest expense is applied at the operating entity level, and any allowable deduction is included in the non-separately stated income or loss on each partner’s Form K-1. However, any disallowed interest will be carried forward at the partner level.

Aggregation Rules

In groups of related entities, it appears aggregation rules will apply in determining whether the $25 million gross receipts threshold has been exceeded. Additional guidance is anticipated on calculations of the limitation as well as explanations as to how this section will interact with other sections of the Internal Revenue Code.

We’ve Got Your Back

Rather than guessing at how the business interest rules apply to your situation, why not let the experts at KRS CPAs help? Check out the New Tax Law Explained! For Real Estate Investors page and then contact partner Simon Filip at sfilip@krscpas.com or 201.655.7411 for a complimentary initial consultation.

The Tax Act and the Real Estate Industry

The Tax Act and the Real Estate IndustryTax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”)

On December 20, 2017 Congress passed the most extensive tax reform since 1986, which was subsequently signed into law by President Trump. Included in the TCJA are changes to the Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) that impact taxpayers engaged in the real estate business, and those who otherwise own real estate.

Individual tax rates

The TCJA lowers the marginal (top tax bracket) tax rate applicable to individuals from 39.6% to 37%. The net investment income tax (NIIT) and Medicare surtax of 3.8% and 0.9%, respectively, remain. The reduction in tax rates is not permanent like the corporate tax rate reduction, and is scheduled to expire after 2025. The tax rates applicable to long-term capital gains of individuals remains at 15% or 20%, depending on adjusted gross income (AGI).

Deduction for qualified business income of pass-through entities

The TCJA creates a new 20% tax deduction for certain pass-through businesses. For taxpayers with incomes above certain thresholds, the 20% deduction is limited to the greater of (i) 50% of the W-2 wages paid by the business, or (ii) 25% of the W-2 wages paid by the business, plus 2.5% of the unadjusted basis, immediately after acquisition, of depreciable property (which includes structures, but not land).

Pass-through businesses include partnerships, limited liabilities taxed as partnerships, S Corporations, sole proprietorships, disregarded entities, and trusts.

The deduction is subject to several limitations that are likely to materially limit the deduction for many taxpayers. These limitations include the following:

  • Qualified business income does not include IRC Section 707(c) guaranteed payments for services, amounts paid by S corporations that are treated as reasonable compensation of the taxpayer, or, to the extent provided in regulations, amounts paid or incurred for services by a partnership to a partner who is acting other than in his or her capacity as a partner.
  • Qualified business income does not include income involving the performance of services (i) in the fields of, among others: health, law, accounting consulting, financial services, brokerage services, or any trade or business where the principal asset of such trade or business is the reputation or skill of one or more of its employees or owners, or (ii) consisting of investing or investment management, trading, or dealing in securities, partnership interests or commodities.
  • Qualified business income includes (and, thus, the deduction is applicable to) only income that is effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the United States.
  • The deduction is limited to 100% of the taxpayer’s combined qualified business income (e.g., if the taxpayer has losses from certain qualified businesses that, in the aggregate, exceed the income generated from other qualified businesses, the taxpayer’s deduction would be $0).

Interest expense deduction limitation

For most taxpayers, TCJA disallows the deductibility of business interest to the extent that net interest expense exceeds 30% of Earnings before Income Taxes Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) for 2018 through 2022, or Earnings before Income Taxes (EBIT) beginning in 2022. An exemption from these rules applies to certain taxpayers with average annual gross receipts under $25 million.

A real property trade or business can elect out of the new business interest disallowance by electing to utilize the Alternative Depreciation System (ADS). The ADS lives for nonresidential, residential and qualified improvements are 40, 30, and 20 years, respectively.  All of which are longer lives, resulting in lower annual depreciation allowances.

Immediate expensing of qualified depreciable personal property

The TCJA includes generous expensing provisions for acquired assets. The additional first year depreciation deduction for qualified depreciable personal property (commonly known as Bonus Depreciation) was extended and modified. For property placed in service after September 27, 2017 and before 2023, the allowance is increased from 50% to 100%. After 2022, the bonus depreciation percentage is phased-down to in each subsequent year by 20% per year.

Expansion of Section 179 expensing

Taxpayers may elect under Code Section 179 to deduct the cost of qualifying property, rather than to recover the costs through annual depreciation deductions. The TCJA increased the maximum amount a taxpayer may expense under Section 179 to $1 million, and increased the phase-out threshold amount to $2.5 million.

The Act also expanded the definition of qualified real property eligible for the 179 expensing to include certain improvements to nonresidential real property, including:

  • Roofs
  • Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Property
  • Fire Protection and Alarm Systems
  • Security Systems

We’ve got your back

The new tax code is complex and every taxpayer’s situation is different, especially when real estate is involved – so don’t go it alone! Contact me at sfilip@krscpas.com or 201.655.7411 to discuss tax planning and your real estate investments under the TCJA.

An Update: Real Estate Professionals and Passive Losses

Dreaded Passive Losses

An Update: Real Estate Professionals and Passive LossesA passive loss from a real estate activity occurs when your rental property’s expenses exceeds its income. The undesirable consequence of passive losses is that a taxpayer is only allowed to claim a certain amount of losses on their tax return each year.

When income is below $100,000, a taxpayer can deduct up to $25,000 of passive losses. As income increases above $100,000, the $25,000 passive loss limitation decreases or “phases out.” The phase out is $0.50 for every $1 increase in income. Once income increases above $150,000, taxpayers are completely phased out of deducting passive losses.

Rentals are passive, unless they aren’t

The general rule is that all rental activities are, by definition, passive. However, the Internal Revenue Code created an exception for certain professionals in the real estate business.

Who is a real estate professional?

As discussed in a previous post, for income tax purposes, the real estate professional designation means you spend a certain amount of time in real estate activities.

According to the IRS, real estate professionals are individuals who meet both of these conditions:

1) More than 50% of their personal services during the tax year are performed in real property trades or businesses in which they materially participate and

2) they spend more than 750 hours of service during the year in real property trades or businesses in which they materially participate.

Any real property development, redevelopment, construction, reconstruction, acquisition, conversion, rental, operations, management, leasing, or brokerage trade or business qualifies as real property trade or business.

Can I qualify as a real estate professional?

I get these questions quite often from taxpayers:  Do I qualify as a real estate professional?  If not, how can I qualify?

There have been many cases that appear in front of the Tax Court where a taxpayer argues they qualify as a real estate professional and the IRS has disallowed treatment and subjects the taxpayer to the passive activity loss rules of Code Sec. 469.

A recent case held that a mortgage broker was not a real estate professional (Hickam, T.C. Summ. 2017-66). The taxpayer was a broker of real estate mortgages and loans secured by a real estate. Although the taxpayer held a real estate license, he did not develop, redevelop, construct, reconstruct, operate, or rent real estate in his mortgage brokerage operation.

The taxpayer argued that his mortgage brokerage services and loan origination services should be included for purposes of satisfying the real estate professional test. The Court held that the taxpayer’s mortgage brokerage services and loan origination services did not constitute real property trades or businesses under Code Sec. 469(c)(7)(c).

We’ve got your back

If you invest in real estate, it can be difficult to keep track of tax laws and how they impact you. At KRS CPAs, we stay on top of all the laws – especially the changes under the new tax reform – and can help you avoid tax problems. Contact me at sfilip@krscpas.com or 201.655.7411 for a complimentary initial consultation.