Archive for Real Estate

Exclusion of Gains In Excess of Passive Losses On Sale of Rental Property

If a taxpayer converts a personal residence to rental property, he can deduct expenses against rental income. The basis for depreciation is the lesser of the adjusted basis or fair market value at the date it is converted to rental property. If the taxpayer does not materially participate in and actively manage the property, the losses from rentals are treated as passive losses and cannot be deducted in the current year. They are suspended and carried forward and can offset rental income of future years but any resulting loss is not deductible and is carried forward.

If a taxpayer continues to have non deductible passive losses, they accumulate and can be offset against the gain on the sale of the property. If the gain on the sale exceeds the cumulative non deductible losses, a question arises as to whether the gain is taxable and Read More

Written by | Posted in Real Estate • Tax Deductions

Canadians With US Rental Property – What Are The Cross-Border Tax Implications?

Canadians earning income from US rental property can be fraught with unexpected tax problems, which could severely hurt their after-tax return on investment. It is important to consult a cross-border tax professional before the purchase to understand all the US and Canadian tax implications of owning US rental property and to make the best decision for their situation on the right structure to own and finance the purchase of US rental property.

This is the first of a series of articles on the cross-border tax considerations of investing in US rental property. If you are planning to purchase US rental property, you need to have some basic understanding of the following US and Canadian tax law before you can make a sound decision on how you should own and finance the purchase of US rental property. Read More

Written by | Posted in Corporate • Estate Planning Tax • Income Tax • Individual • International • North America • Partnership • Real Estate

The Basics of Canadian “Departure Tax”

When an individual, who was resident in Canada for tax purposes, ceases to be resident in Canada, there is generally a deemed disposition of assets owned by that individual at their fair market value. Any resulting deemed gain must be reported on the final tax return filed as a resident.

This is commonly called “departure tax”. However, unlike the kind of “departure tax” that is levied at some airports, there is no tax official in Canada waiting to collect it when the Canadian expat leaves. Rather, it is calculated and payable as part of the normal income tax filing.

This article will provide an outline of the key points in relation to the “Departure Tax”. Read More

Written by | Posted in Expatriate • Individual • International • North America • Real Estate

Canada-US Cross-Border Tax Issues When Winding-Up a Subsidiary

Canadian corporations form US Subsidiaries, and US Corporations form Canadian Subsidiaries, all the time.

What are the cross-border tax implications when those subsidiaries are wound-up? This article will provide an overview of those implications.

Winding-up a US Subsidiary (“USco”) of a Canadian Corporation (“Canco”)

For US tax purposes, proceeds received on the wind-up of USco are generally not treated as a dividend, and hence no U.S. withholding tax should apply.

Rather, such amounts would generally represent proceeds from the shares which should Read More

Written by | Posted in Capital Gains • Corporate • International • North America • Real Estate

US Tax Issues – Ownership of Real Property Abroad

When purchasing a real property overseas, there are situations when it may prove advantageous or even necessary to do so through an offshore corporation, rather than owning the property individually. It is crucial to understand that this can also have significant US tax consequences for US persons. Fortunately, “checking the box” on Form 8832 provides a possible solution to this problem, taking advantage of the protections provided by the corporate entity while avoiding many of its tax repercussions.

Benefits of Corporate Ownership

Investment in real property through a vehicle offering limited liability, as opposed to direct ownership, offers numerous protections. Should any legal claims arise, such as in the case of tenant injury when renting out property owned through a corporation, the liability of Read More

Written by | Posted in Real Estate

How Canada Taxes Real Estate Gains of Non-Residents

Like many countries. Canada taxes non-residents who realize gains on real estate located within its borders(1).

This will be true whether the real estate is capital property that is held for the purposes of earning from rental or a business; capital property held for personal use; or inventory of a business (e.g. where it is held for resale).

This article will focus on situations where the real estate is capital property.

The Income Tax Act (“the Act”) provides that non-residents are subject to tax in Canada on taxable gains from the “disposition” (which can include sales, as well as other events deemed to be dispositions, such as death) of “taxable Canadian property” (“TCP”)(2). TCP Read More

Written by | Posted in Capital Gains • International • Real Estate

Americans Earning Rental Income In Canada Have To Carefully Follow The Rules!

Many Americans hold interests in income-producing properties in Canada. In many cases, when they acquire them, they do not obtain proper advice regarding the Canadian tax implications and requirements.

This can be quite costly-in the absence of following certain procedures, an American resident earning rents from Canadian real estate can be subject to a 25% Canadian tax on GROSS rents (that is, no deduction for related expenses). This can apply even if no profit is being earned from renting the property.

As a general rule, a non-resident who earns rents for the use of Canadian real estate is subject to 25% tax on the gross rents under Part XIII of the Income Tax Act (“the Act”). This Read More

Written by | Posted in International • Real Estate

Holding Canadian Vacation Properties In A US Entity Avoids Exposure To Canadian Taxes On Death

Many Americans hold interests in vacation or recreational properties in Canada. Often such properties are intended to be passed on from generation to generation.

Canada taxes U.S. residents on capital gains from the sale or other disposition of Canadian real estate, even if such real estate is held for recreational or vacation purposes.

Canada’s ability to tax U.S. residents on gains from the disposition of Canadian real estate is recognized in Article XIII(3) of the Canada-U.S. Tax Convention (“the Treaty”)

In addition, when a U.S. resident dies owning Canadian real estate, that individual will generally be deemed to have disposed of the property immediately before his or her death Read More

Written by | Posted in International • North America • Real Estate

Recent Important IRS And Court Rulings

1. If an employer offers both a FSA and a HSA, the IRS indicated that a participant covered by a health FSA during the year, solely as a result of a carryover, cannot make payments to a HSA during the year. This is the case even for months of the year after the balance of the FSA is fully liquidated.

2. Low income earners receive a refundable tax credit to purchase health insurance through an exchange. If the taxpayer is married, they must file a joint return to claim the credit. But the IRS said it will allow victims of domestic abuse to file separately if the victim is not living with his or her spouse at the time their return is filed.

3. To be able to deduct passive losses, the Tax Court previously ruled that real estate Read More

Written by | Posted in IRS • Real Estate • Tax Policy

The Senate Finance Committee Passes Tax Extenders For 2014 & 2015

On April 3rd, the Senate Finance Committee overwhelmingly approved the Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency Act of 2014 (hereinafter “EXPIRE”) with a strong bipartisan vote, setting the stage for Congress to address. The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to have its own extension package later this month. To that end and as a caveat, it is not certain whether any or all of these incentives will become law.

The bill extends many long awaited business tax extenders that originally expired on December 31, 2013 and modifies other certain tax provisions. Some of the key temporary tax benefits in this EXPIRE bill includes:

• 50% Bonus Depreciation & §179 Expensing Thresholds Return: The 50% bonus Read More

Written by | Posted in Federal • R&D Credit Services • Real Estate • Tax Provision/Tax Reporting

Filing Season And Rental Activities

A regular area for Tax Court litigation for the past few years involves individuals with a few rental properties deducting the losses from them under the theory they are real estate professionals (using a special rule of section 469(c)(7)). These individuals usually have jobs outside of the real estate profession and do not devote more hours than in their other employment to the rentals. They clearly do not qualify for the special rule. Yet, they claim the loss (rate her than carrying it forward) and then after losing during the Internal Revenue Service audit, they go to Tax Court and lose. Why? A better way to challenge would be to try to get Congress to change the law. Perhaps trying to convince Congress to increase the income limit so they could use up to $25,000 of the loss currently (under a modified section 469(i)). Read More

Written by | Posted in Audit • IRS • Property Tax • Real Estate

Form Over Substance – Go For Two

Our firm receives questions on a regular basis from taxpayers and their CPA’s alike regarding businesses that provide both services and tangible personal property. In most states, tangible personal property is subject to sales tax while the sales of services is not. Alternatively, a similar question comes in with real property improvement contractors that sell some tangible personal property, some installation, and some real property contracts with installation. The question is even more pressing in the case in which the taxpayer is a real property improvement company that has significant sales to tax-exempt or governmental entities. The issue remains the same, how does the taxpayer exempt the service or minimize the sales tax ramifications in their business?

In this simple example, consider an interior design company. In most states the sale of Read More

Written by | Posted in Real Estate • Sales/Use Tax
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