All Forum Posts by: Paul Allen

Any possibility of reimbursement by your health insurance?

In a related vein...

If your spouse has bad debt that the IRS will collect on (typically govt backed student loans in default or unpaid child support) there is a way to protect yourself without filing separately. It is called "Injured Spouse Relief". (A terrible name, I think, but I didn't choose it!)

Essentially, if your tax refund is going to be (or has been) garnished by the IRS to pay off a bad debt, you can file for Injured Spouse Relief to protect your part of the refund. You still file jointly, but the IRS calculates the amount of the refund that would be owed to the non-indebted spouse and refunds it. 

You could also file separately, but filing separately often negates many tax deductions and credits resulting in a lower refund. Injured Spouse Relief is usually the better deal.

Best of Luck with Your Real Estate Investing!

Read this book

Have you looked into financing the property instead of selling the stock? The bank would probably treat you better than 36.8%. 

Right?!  Don't blink around here - you might miss something important! 

The expenses of rehabbing before placing in service would be capitalized and depreciated, not deducted as expenses.

You're not alone. Many real estate investors (and other small business owners) struggle with keeping their books. I applaud your efforts to get it right!  

I might have the secret touch, though. Several people this year have brought me a box of disorganized receipts, statements, cancelled checks, luggage claim tickets, and candy wrappers. To fix it I say these magic words - "I am happy to organize that for you for $800."

Like magic those files return to my office the next week all organized.  :)

Best of Luck with Your Real Estate Investments!

I am not an accountant, but as a tax professional I frequently find myself in accounting/accounting tools conversations with clients. These two experiences with Quickbooks/QBO are common themes in those discussions:

1. Unmet expectations. The client purchased QBO expecting they would no longer have to do any bookkeeping/accounting. QBO was going to handle that for them. When they found out it doesn't, they get angry/annoyed. I try to tell them it's like putting a table saw in your garage and then getting angry because a week later there is nothing built. YOU still have to do it - the table saw just makes part of the job easier.

2. Overwhelm. I think accountants like (and frequently recommend) QBO because there is SO MUCH functionality. It can do lots and lots of things that accountants like/need. The rest of us just experience overwhelm from all the choices - many of which we don't understand. It was supposed to save time and make life easier and now there's just more confusion and frustration. AT LEAST I UNDERSTOOD MY SPREADSHEET!

'User-friendliness' depends on the user. What you need and how you prefer to interact.  Many software providers offer a free test drive.  Perhaps try a few out and see if any resonate with you more than QB/QBO.  Or you could try the QB tutorials. There are quite a few.

Best of Luck with Your Real Estate Investing!

Geez, I hope the recommendation when it was at $18 was to short it!

Since REIT dividends now get preferential tax treatment under Section 199A, are you trading REITs within your IRA as a tax hedge against capital gains?

Interesting thread. I'm a buy-and-holder, but I still enjoy a good trading discussion every now and then. Thanks for posting. Best of Luck with SNH!

You might also need a new financial advisor.