Federal Income Tax Archives

The Short-Term Rental Tax Rules

While short-term rentals have fallen out of favor as of late, they do still offer tax benefits. There are reasons why short-term rentals have more favorable tax treatment than long-term rentals. Short-term rentals often require substantially more active management than traditional long-term leases. Owners must handle frequent turnovers, maintain the property to hotel-like standards, and…

Strategic S Corp Conversion to Avoid Tax Basis Limitation

Time. We can’t stop it, but we can use it. We can use it to take advantage of compounding to grow our savings. We can use it to pay down debt to increase equity. And we can use it for tax planning. Time is one aspect of tax planning. It can help taxpayers avoid just…

Income Shifting to Reduce Tax for Real Estate Sale

Income shifting is a fundamental income tax planning concept. It involves strategically allocating income among related taxpayers to minimize the overall tax liability. This may be intended to use up tax attributes of one taxpayer (such as deductions or tax credits), take advantage of tax deferral options to delay paying taxes, or take advantage of…

Can a Co-Inheritor Do a 1031 Exchange?

Those who create wealth often accumulate assets to store the value of wealth they create. This includes assets that store value and produce additional income, such as real estate. In many cases, the wealth creator has put considerable time and effort into building their portfolio of investments. But when they die, those who inherit are…

When the IRS Comes Knocking: Addressing Tax Fraud

Tax fraud typically involves neglecting tax responsibilities, such as by not filing returns or evading tax payments, or engaging in deliberate actions to obstruct the IRS’s assessment or collection of taxes. The compliance problems that are later found to be tax fraud usually involve actions that pyramid over time. This timing issue arises as repeated…

The Stock Sale as a Sham Transaction

Taxpayers are continually seeking ways to avoid or minimize their tax liabilities. And rightfully so, as taxes take a significant amount of profit or gain from any deal or effort. Take the case of a lawsuit award. You sue someone and settle or win the case. There are nuances, but generally, you are usually taxed…

Limited Partners May be Subject to Self-Employment Tax

When we think of taxes, we often think of income taxes. But for business owners, they also have to contend with payroll and/or self-employment taxes. These other taxes can be substantial for businesses and their owners. This is why Congres and taxpayers have devised several ways to avoid these taxes. The rules are nuanced enough…

The Limited Augusta Rule for Self-Rentals

While many taxpayers want to pay less in tax and there are legitimate ways to do so, some of the tax planning concepts that are frequently discussed miss the mark. The so-called Augusta rule is often one of them. Tax planners often cite this rule and provide tax savings estimates based on unreasonable assumptions. This…

Taxation of Variable Prepaid Forward Contracts

Do you own a company and want to sell to de-risk your holdings but don’t want to pay tax now? And when you do sell, do you still want lower capital gains rates? That’s the most common goal for those considering tax planning. Capital gains rates are lower than ordinary income rates. Tax planning focuses…

Court Clarifies Tax Treatment of Loyalty Programs

Programs involving third-party vendors providing rewards, like hotels, airlines, and fuel companies, can amass substantial value over time. The term “substantial” is an understatement. “Massive” is more fitting. The tax law for these arrangements is not clear as it touches on concepts like trust funds, accounting methods, and redemption deductions. Given the size of the…