taxes: Agent Lays the SmackDown on the IRS - 05/20/09 03:03 PM
Many of you have heard about how the IRS has been targeting Real Estate Agents, and challenging the status of a "real estate professional" for an Agent.
To give you a brief background without getting into the details - a "Real Estate Professional" is someone who "materially participates" in their real … (7 comments)
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taxes: 25 Minute Webinar this Friday - 04/22/09 03:29 PM
No one ever believes me about this webinar, and I don't blame them. I know it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, but convincing others is not such an easy task. So I'll leave it up to the pros!
… (0 comments)
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taxes: Real Estate Taxes - 04/15/09 01:17 PM
Last Minute Tax Tip - Real Estate Taxes
Taxes paid on property assessed by a local government or other taxing authority are deductible when paid.
Common fees include taxes paid to your city, county, or school district.
If you have a mortgage, usually the total amount is … (0 comments)
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taxes: Why You Should HIRE FAMILY MEMBERS - 04/14/09 03:42 PM
Last Minute Tax Tip - Hire Family Members to Manage Your Properties
Property management fees are fully deductible, so consider hiring someone that you don't mind paying, like a family member.
Obviously, the expense of your own labor cannot be written off, but that doesn't mean your spouse or children have … (17 comments)
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taxes: WALK AWAY FROM INVESTORS... and tell them to never come back - 04/14/09 02:07 PM
Investor Marketing Tip - WALK AWAY from investors
Click here for tips A-Z
Walk away from all your investor clients and prospects. Tell them you don’t need to do business with them. Your website can do it for you! Just don’t add anything of value to investors onto your website, and … (2 comments)
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taxes: Collecting in Advance - 04/13/09 03:27 PM
Last Minute Tax Tip - Collect Rent in Advance to Offset Loss Carryovers
One main benefit of owning rental property is being able report a loss, but some taxpayers cannot take advantage of this tax shelter due to high income loss limitations. Their losses get carried forward, and cannot get deducted … (0 comments)
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taxes: Traveling Away From Home - 04/12/09 01:09 PM
Last Minute Tax Tip - Traveling Away from Home
You can deduct the expense of traveling away from home if the primary purpose of the trip was to collect rental income or to manage, conserve, or maintain rental property.
You can also deduct expenses incurred while staying overnight when traveling … (3 comments)
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taxes: You can do WHAT with Health Insurance? - 04/08/09 02:28 PM
Last Minute Tax Tip - Making Health Insurance a Rental Expense
Costs to insure rental property are deductible, so depending on how you structure your rental business, you may be able to cover your life and medical insurance as part of the rental business.
Structuring your rental property as a … (0 comments)
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taxes: Pay your Kids, so they can Pay for Themselves! - 04/06/09 05:02 PM
Last Minute Tax Tip - Pay your Kids and Open their IRAs
If it looks like you will have a large taxable liability at the end of the year, it's not a bad idea to hire your kids to landscape your rentals.
You can pay your kids to do work … (9 comments)
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taxes: Owners can Sell Property to Themselves? - 04/05/09 01:37 PM
Last Minute Tax Tip - Sell Property to Yourself
Selling property to your own S-Corporation may be beneficial in some specific situations, like if you are trying to meet requirements for the two year rule ($250/500k exclusion), or if you are trying to take advantage of depreciation on appreciated property.
… (5 comments)
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taxes: Deductible Start-Up Expenses - 04/04/09 12:42 PM
Last Minute Tax Tip - Deductible Start-Up Expenses
Business start-up costs are generally capital expenditures, but you can elect to deduct up to $5,000 of business start-up costs incurred in 2008. The $5,000 deduction is reduced by the amount your total start-up costs exceed $50,000, and the remaining cost must be … (3 comments)
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taxes: Writing Off the Cost of Tenants - 04/02/09 01:13 PM
Last Minute Tax Tip - Deducting Tenant Utilities that the Landlord Pays
Utilities paid by the landlord for tenant use are fully deductible, provided that this is part of the rental agreement.
Landlords often incur expenses to light common areas or operate security systems on their properties. Other common … (5 comments)
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taxes: Amortizing Loan Costs - 04/01/09 03:58 PM
Last Minute Tax Tip - Loan Costs need to be Amortized
You can maximize your tax savings by deducting all of your loan costs. Loan costs do not add value to your property (like title charges), and must be amortized over the life of your loan (and not depreciated with the … (0 comments)
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taxes: Ordinary and Necessary Advertising Expenses - 03/31/09 02:45 PM
Last Minute Tax Tip - Ordinary and Necessary Advertising Expenses
Be sure to deduct any advertising expenses that are considered “ordinary and necessary” for your rental property.
Common expenses can be advertisements on the radio, in the newspaper, classified lists, and phone books. Other expenses may include the cost of … (6 comments)
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taxes: Deducting the Cost of Looking for Property While on Vacation - 03/30/09 08:35 PM
Last Minute Tax Tip - LOOKING for new property while on vacation
Be sure to deduct the cost of expenses incurred while looking for new property. Travel expenses in connection with the management of your investments are tax deductible if they are ordinary and necessary.
At least half of the … (4 comments)
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taxes: Last Minute Tax Tip - Minimizing Taxes using Sale Expenses - 03/26/09 04:45 PM
Last Minute Tax Tip - Minimize Taxable gain using Sale Expenses
Many real estate investors overlook deductions when they sell their property. If you sold your rental property for a gain, make sure to minimize taxes by accounting for sale expenses - like closing costs, which can be found on the … (0 comments)
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taxes: Last Minute Tax Tip - Rental income - 03/24/09 04:08 PM
Last Minute Tax Tip - Rental Income
The lower your rental income for the year, the less that you will owe in taxes. By minimizing your rental income, you can reduce your taxable liability.
This does not mean you should stop collecting rent, it just means you might not have … (8 comments)
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taxes: Expanded Tax Break for First Time Home Buyers - 02/25/09 01:56 PM
The IRS announced that taxpayers who qualify for the first-time homebuyer credit and purchase a home this year before December 1st can take the tax credit either on their 2008 tax returns this year or on their 2009 tax returns next year. They do not have to repay the credit, provided … (2 comments)
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taxes: TaxTip: Auto Expenses You can ACTUALLY Deduct - 03/26/08 04:05 PM
Many people do not take full advantage of deductions for
their vehicles, and many times it’s because they don’t know what they are
allowed to deduct.
Vehicle expenses paid exclusively for rental activity can be fully
deductible. Using the actual expense method instead of the
standard mileage rate might … (11 comments)
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taxes: FREE for Realtors, Turns Prospects into Clients... Marketing Couldn't be Easier! - 03/10/08 06:12 PM
What's in it for you? You
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When you provide your
clients with valuable services that go above and beyond, they are likely to use
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