All Forum Posts by: Matthew Cervoni

My business partner & I will plan on attending! Sounds like a great idea! 

Who are the people in the podcast world that are an inspiration to the Bigger Pockets Podcast? I'd be curious who you got ideas from in the early days and how that has changed now with such a large following! 

This is our last Tuesday Tip before BPCON2022, which we are so excited for! 

This week we wanted to visit an area of common concern for clients who use third-party payment processors like Venmo. After the American Rescue Plan Act, passed in 2021, the reporting threshold for payments on these platforms went down to $600. 

Many people are worried that this means the payments they receive from friends & family will now be taxed. While that is an understandable fear, the bill did not change what types of payments are considered taxable income. 

The bill specifically requires reporting of payments that accumulate to $600 or more from goods and services, so if you are only receiving from friends & family you should not receive a 1099-K. (If you do, you may be able to reach out to the platform and ask to file a correction, or at least document your transactions so that if the IRS comes asking, you will be prepared.)

If you are running a business and collecting payments on a third-party payment processor, the best practice is to set up a business profile to keep personal and business payments separate. While there are fees associated with a business profile, it ensures your business collections match the 1099-K that will be filed. Also, those fees are a deductible business expense! 

Lastly, it is common practice for small business owners to not report collections from third-party payment processors like Venmo. While that will be harder to get away with due to the new legislation, we also want to remind you that reporting business income is not only the right thing to do, but it can help with your ability to get loans in the future. 

 @Maria Dominguez Congrats on the first 4 doors! I think it is wise to seek out an accountant even with a smaller portfolio to have some peace of mind that everything is set up correctly. 

I think some important considerations in your search would include an accountant who makes it a priority to get back to clients timely, embraces new technology, and invests in real estate themselves. 

Good accountants can seem expensive, but if they can save you from accounting headaches and help you with options to lower your tax bill it should pay for itself. 

Best of luck in your search! 

I think this is a great idea! I am someone who likes to spend periods of the year in different/new cities and Airbnb or other short term rental rates keeps me from doing this more.

As a landlord, if I am still getting quality tenants at fair market rents (or better) I think everything would be fine. I guess I would have to pay a cleaning fee like an airbnb does after each 3-6 month period and I would be concerned about a property I have in an HOA and section of Nashville that does not allow short term rentals. I'm not sure how long a tenant has to stay to get around these rules.

 So glad to hear this! 

 I am so sorry to hear about this, and it happens all too often! We do roughly 5-7 discovery calls a week and about half of them say their accountant is unresponsive, rude, or behind and keeps saying "I'll get to it." 

To any accountants that see this post, it is simply unacceptable to treat clients like this. It's not impossible to have an engagement that does not work out for you, but there is a right way to close a business relationship and ghosting people is the opposite of that. 

@Erin Mullaney As you move forward with accounting services, I think some green flags to look for are: keeps up with the most current technology (if you aren't familiar, a good sign is that they are excited to show you how their processes save you money/time/headache/etc), has a qualified team beneath them (not a one-person operation), and has a clear process for communication with clients that is spelled out in their service proposal and engagement letter. 

 As someone who LOVES coffee, I think the duo (option 3) would be best since there can be 6 guests. Provides convenience if most are not coffee drinkers, but a larger pot if all 6 guests are like me. 

I guess a secondary option might be just doing the drip. I know those machines can be way cheaper and I've had mine for many years with use practically every morning. 

As we near the end of Q3, don't forget a powerful non-cash deduction, tracking your miles! This year, business miles between Jan 1 - June 30 are deductible at 58.5 cents per mile. From June 30 - Dec 31, business miles are deductible at 62.5 cents per mile (an increase made to reflect the change in gas prices, Announcement 2022-13).

The easiest way to track your miles is through Mile IQ or, if you are a Quickbooks Online user, the Quickbooks Mobile App. You can also keep track by hand on a spreadsheet or paper document by recording the date, address to and from, amount of miles traveled, business purpose, and the vehicle used.

Remember, commuting miles between your home and office building are not considered business miles.

Another important factor is your long-term goals for the property. If you plan to sell the property in just a few years, you need to also take into account depreciation recapture in the cost side of your analysis.