Category: Property

  • Paperwork You Can Toss After Filing Your Tax Return

    Paperwork You Can Toss After Filing Your Tax Return

    Once you file your 2022 tax return, you may wonder what personal tax papers you can throw away and how long you should retain certain records. You may have to produce those records if the IRS audits your return or seeks to assess tax. It’s a good idea to keep the actual returns indefinitely. But…

  • Get Your Piece of the Depreciation Pie with a Cost Segregation Study

    Get Your Piece of the Depreciation Pie with a Cost Segregation Study

    If your business is depreciating over a 30-year period the entire cost of constructing the building that houses your operation, you should consider a cost segregation study. It might allow you to accelerate depreciation deductions on certain items, thereby reducing taxes and boosting cash flow. And under current law, the potential benefits of a cost…

  • Need a New Business Vehicle? Consider a Heavy SUV

    Need a New Business Vehicle? Consider a Heavy SUV

    Are you considering buying or replacing a vehicle that you’ll use in your business? If you choose a heavy sport utility vehicle (SUV), you may be able to benefit from lucrative tax rules for those vehicles. Bonus depreciation Under current law, 100% first-year bonus depreciation is available for qualified new and used property that’s acquired…

  • Small Businesses: Cash in on Depreciation Tax Savers

    Small Businesses: Cash in on Depreciation Tax Savers

    As we approach the end of the year, it’s a good time to think about whether your business needs to buy business equipment and other depreciable property. If so, you may benefit from the Section 179 depreciation tax deduction for business property. The election provides a tax windfall to businesses, enabling them to claim immediate…

  • Why It’s Important to Plan for Income Taxes as Part of Your Estate Plan

    Why It’s Important to Plan for Income Taxes as Part of Your Estate Plan

    As a result of the current estate tax exemption amount ($11.58 million in 2020), many estates no longer need to be concerned with federal estate tax. Before 2011, a much smaller amount resulted in estate plans attempting to avoid it. Now, because many estates won’t be subject to estate tax, more planning can be devoted…

  • The 2019 Gift Tax Return Deadline Is Coming Up

    The 2019 Gift Tax Return Deadline Is Coming Up

    If you made large gifts to your children, grandchildren, or other heirs last year, it’s important to determine whether you’re required to file a 2019 gift tax return. And in some cases, even if it’s not required to file one, it may be beneficial to do so anyway. Who must file? Generally, you must file…

  • It’s a Good Time to Buy Business Equipment and Other Depreciable Property

    It’s a Good Time to Buy Business Equipment and Other Depreciable Property

    There’s good news about the Section 179 depreciation deduction for business property. The election has long provided a tax windfall to businesses, enabling them to claim immediate deductions for qualified assets, instead of taking depreciation deductions over time. And it was increased and expanded by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Even better, the…

  • Selling Your Home? Consider These Tax Implications

    Selling Your Home? Consider These Tax Implications

    Spring and summer are the optimum seasons for selling a home. And interest rates are currently attractive, so buyers may be out in full force in your area. Freddie Mac reports that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 4.14% during the week of May 2, 2019, while the 15-year mortgage rate was 3.6%. This…

  • Depreciation-Related Breaks on Business Real Estate

    Depreciation-Related Breaks on Business Real Estate

    Commercial buildings and improvements generally are depreciated over 39 years, which essentially means you can deduct a portion of the cost every year over the depreciation period. (Land isn’t depreciable.) But special tax breaks that allow deductions to be taken more quickly are available for certain real estate investments. Some of these were enhanced by…

  • Does Prepaying Property Taxes Make Sense Anymore?

    Does Prepaying Property Taxes Make Sense Anymore?

    Prepaying property taxes related to the current year but due the following year has long been one of the most popular and effective year-end tax-planning strategies. But does it still make sense in 2018? The answer, for some people, is yes — accelerating this expense will increase their itemized deductions, reducing their tax bills. But…