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)).
In accordance with Circular 230 Disclosure
Annette Nellen, CPA, Esq., is a professor in and director of San Jose State University’s graduate tax program (MST), teaching courses in tax research, accounting methods, property transactions, state taxation, employment tax, ethics, tax policy, tax reform, and high technology tax issues.
Annette is the immediate past chair of the AICPA Individual Taxation Technical Resource Panel and a current member of the Executive Committee of the Tax Section of the California Bar. Annette is a regular contributor to the AICPA Tax Insider and Corporate Taxation Insider e-newsletters. She is the author of BNA Portfolio #533, Amortization of Intangibles.
Annette has testified before the House Ways & Means Committee, Senate Finance Committee, California Assembly Revenue & Taxation Committee, and tax reform commissions and committees on various aspects of federal and state tax reform.
Prior to joining SJSU, Annette was with Ernst & Young and the IRS.
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