All Forum Posts by: Toby Johnston

If it helps at all, I am also a CPA and I agree on the interest tracing. Should be deductible on Schedule E against the rental income.

Sounds like you have an employee to me. It always comes down to a "facts and circumstances" test with the IRS normally taking the position that the person is an employee unless you can prove otherwise. I would sign up with a payroll company like ADP, Intuit Payroll, etc and start the process. If you are audited and lose, they will seek back taxes, penalties, and interest on the old years if they feel like the employee relationship existed. If you decide to keep treating as a contractor or have other contractors, don't forget to actually issue the 1099s. There are other fun penalties and possible disallowance of your expenses if you fail to file the 1099s.

Thanks Dawn and Roy. I just had to close out my browser and it is working now.

I updated my photo image for my profile this morning but it still shows an old one. It actually shows the updated image in my posts now but the old one on my profile still. It's been a few hours so I've allowed time for the update to occur. Is this a bug?

Thanks Brandon. I will definitely set some alerts.

Hello out there,

My name is Toby Johnston and I live in San Jose, California. I am a tax partner at Moss Adams, LLP where I work with Silicon Valley families, entrepreneurs, investors, etc as their tax advisor. So although I know a good deal about the tax side of real estate investing, I have a lot to learn on the investment side. My goal is to build a portfolio of income producing real estate, likely using multi-family properties to provide cash flow in retirement. Other than spending time with my wife and three daughters (including twins!), I love watching movies, sports (San Diego Chargers, Lakers, and BYU Cougars), and reading John Grisham books.

Like a lot of others who live in Silicon Valley, with a goal of purchasing cash flowing residential real estate, I am trying to figure out where to invest. My sense is that I need to look outside of my local area but I'm a little scared to try long-distance investing. Right now I own my own home and one rental which does great on appreciation (for now at least) but does not cash flow yet.

I look forward to meeting many of you and learning over time.