Real estate investors regularly pursue new ventures that require substantial upfront investments before generating any revenue. A successful investor might purchase land for a luxury resort, spend hundreds of thousands on architectural plans and permits, and begin construction on facilities designed to serve paying customers. These early expenditures represent legitimate business development costs, incurred with……
Tag: Tax
Converting a House to Rental Use
One of the more popular ways to build wealth with real estate is to buy a house with a loan, move into it, fix it up, and then borrow against the higher value of the property to obtain a down payment for a second house. The trick is often to add sweat equity to increase……
Income Tax Due for Business Use of Employee Tax Withholding
Business owners facing cash flow challenges sometimes look to available funds to keep operations running. When those funds include employee tax withholdings that should be remitted to the IRS, the IRS has a number of tools at its disposal to recover the withheld but un-remitted funds. For the most part this includes pursuing the business……
Can Judge-Made Doctrine Override Tax Deductions Allowed by Congress?
The tax code provides specific rules for when taxpayers can claim deductions for losses. These are rules enacted by Congress. There are other so-called “judicial doctrines” that allow the courts to override the rules set by Congress. There are several of these that frequently come up in tax disputes, such as the economic substance doctrine……
How to Identify Physical Injury from Vague Settlement Agreements
Business owners and independent contractors sometimes receive legal settlements to resolve disputes. While most settlement proceeds must be reported as taxable income, payments for physical injuries or physical sickness can be excluded under specific sections of the tax code. This exemption can significantly impact the amount of tax due. The tax consequences focus on the……
Are Energy Investment Tax Credits Subject to Passive Activity Rules?
There are a number of benefits for investing in renewable energy projects. The energy investment tax credits is one such benefit. Given the specialized nature of energy projects, these tax credits are often sold to taxpayers as investments by firms that organize and operate these investments. After making the investment and receiving allocation notices from……
Can Self-Employed Taxpayers Deduct the Value of Their Own Time?
Small business owners and self-employed professionals often spend countless hours developing products, services, or processes that enhance their business operations. A construction contractor might spend weekends designing custom software to track job costs. An engineer might devote evenings to developing a proprietary modeling program. In these situations, many entrepreneurs wonder: if they had hired someone……
Distributions From Forfeited IRA are Not Taxable
You commit a crime, you are convicted, and you do your time. Then the IRS steps in to collect taxes. The IRS takes your assets to pay the tax that arose from your criminal activity. As part of this, the IRS seizes your IRA funds. Are you responsible for paying income taxes on the IRA……
Do FBAR Penalties Die With the Taxpayer?
When someone has an undisclosed foreign bank account that the government has not yet assessed penalties for and they die, can the government still pursue the penalties? The answer hinges on a fundamental legal classification that courts are actively debating—are FBAR penalties primarily punitive fines or remedial damages? If FBAR penalties are primarily punitive, they……