Real Estate – Home Sales Overview #101
Over the years, you’ve made capital improvements to your primary residence, you’ve used the property for at least 2 years out of a period of at least 5 years, and have sold it. What happens after you’ve sold your home at a profit? This brief details the tax...
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Real Estate – Mortgage-Related Expenses, #102
Your home can be a shelter in more ways than one. However, in order to qualify for all of the tax benefits associated with home ownership, you must itemize your deductions, and use the long version of the Form 1040. New for 2007: mortgage insurance...
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Real Estate – Rent vs. Own, #103
Small-business owners often struggle with the question of whether they should lease or buy their facility. This brief contains some pointers to help you reach a decision.
Renting and Leasing
Rental payments for the place you do business often can be deducted as a business expense. Rent is any amount you pay for the use of property you do not own. In general, you can deduct rent as an expense only if the rent…
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Real Estate – Like-Kind Exchanges #104
A like-kind exchange is based on the theory that if you own equity in one piece of property (most commonly real estate), and you swap it for equity in another, there should be no taxable event. The transaction should trigger capital gains treatment only if you...
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Real Estate – Conservation Easements #105
In an effort to preserve the nation’s heritage, Congress allowed an income tax deduction for property owners who give up certain rights of ownership to maintain their land or buildings for future generations. The gift of a so-called conservation easement is a...
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Real Estate – Seller Financing
In a down housing market, seller financing and concessions can help sell a home and get the seller a few tax breaks in the process. Seller financing can lessen the tax brunt of a sale, as taxes are due only as principal is received. Two of...
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Real Estate – Reverse Mortgages #107
In the midst of the overall troubles of the mortgage industry, there is a certain product that is holding very steady in terms of production—reverse mortgages. These loans provide an option for seniors who wish to borrow money based on their home’s equity and can represent some attractive opportunities...
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Deducting Mortgage-Related Expenses #108
Your home can be a shelter in more ways than one. The IRS establishes dozens of specific guidances on exactly which mortgage-related expenses can be deducted from annual taxes. Special circumstances notoriously surround the complex transactions behind paying a mortgage, but sorting out the necessary...
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Home-Equity Loans #109
Home-equity loans and home-equity lines of credit are often popular among small business owners looking to leverage their equity for business interests or to pay off bills or send a child to college. However, you need to be careful how you manage the equity in your home. A home-equity loan enables you to take illiquid wealth and make it liquid, but it’s important...
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Taxes on Mortgage Debt Forgiveness #110
The economic downturn left hundreds of thousands of homeowners underwater, and current efforts to minimize losses include measures that forgive portions of the outstanding mortgage debt. A law passed in 2007 makes debt forgiven on primary mortgages exempt from federal taxable earnings, but the law omitted some mortgages...
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