You May Be Surprised at the Tax Ramifications

Article Highlights: 

• Schedule C vs. Schedule E 
• Rentals of Less Than15 Days 
• Rentals of 7 Days or Less 
• Rentals of 8 to 30 Days 
• An exception to the 30-Day Rule 

If you are among the many taxpayers renting your first or second home using rental agents or online rental services that match property owners with prospective renters, such as Airbnb, VRBO and HomeAway, then you should know the IRS has special rules related to short-term rentals. 

When property is rented for short periods, special (and sometimes complex) taxation rules come into play, which can make the rents excludable from taxation; other situations may force the rental income and expenses to be reported on Schedule C (as opposed to Schedule E).  If you have been renting your home or second home for short periods of time, here is a synopsis of the rules governing short-term rentals so you can prepare yourself for the upcoming tax season. 

• Rented for Fewer Than 15 Days During the Year: If you rent your property for fewer than 15 days during the tax year, the rental income is not reportable, and the expenses associated with that rental are not deductible. However, interest and property taxes are still deductible as itemized deductions on your Schedule A. 
• Rented for an Average of 7 Days or Less: Under normal circumstances, rentals are treated as passive activities, which are reported on a Schedule E, and net profit from the rental activity is not subject to self-employment tax. But the special rules treat short-term rentals averaging 7 days or less as a trade or business similar to that of a hotel or motel, with the income and expenses reported on Schedule C, and the profits are subject to both income tax and self-employment tax. 
• Rented for an Average of 8 to 30 Days: Even rentals for longer than 7 days are treated as a trade or business when substantial personal services are provided to the short-term tenant. Substantial services are those that are primarily for your tenant's convenience, such as regular cleaning, changing linen, or maid service. Substantial services do not include the furnishing of heat and light, the cleaning of public areas, trash collection, and such. 

When extraordinary services are provided, the rental is treated as a trade or business and reported on Schedule C regardless of the average rental period. However, it would be extremely rare for this to apply to short-term rentals of your home or second home. 

• Exception to the Significant Services Rule – If the personal services provided are similar to those that generally are provided in connection with long-term rentals of high-grade commercial or residential real property (such as the cleaning of public areas and trash collection), and if the rental also includes maid and linen services at a cost of less than 10% of the rental fee, then the personal services are neither significant nor extraordinary for the purposes of the 30-day rule. 

A loss from this type of activity, even when reported on your Schedule C as a trade or business, is still treated as a passive activity loss and can only be deducted against passive income. The $25,000 loss allowance that applies to some Schedule E rentals is not available for rental activities reportable on Schedule C. 

It is important that you keep a record of not only the rental income from each tenant but also the duration of each rental, so the average rental term for the year can be determined. If you have questions about your rental activities, please give this office a call.

Article Highlights:

If you're like most taxpayers, you find yourself with an ominous stack of "homework" around TAX TIME! Pulling together the records for your tax appointment is never easy, but the effort usually pays off in the extra tax you save! When you arrive at your appointment fully prepared, you'll have more time to: 

Choosing Your Best Alternatives - The tax law allows a variety of methods of handling income and deductions on your return. Choices you make as you prepare your return often affect not only the current year but future returns as well. Topics these choices relate to including: 

• Sales of property - If you're receiving payments on a sales contract over a period of years, you can sometimes choose between reporting the whole gain in the year you sell or over a period of time as you receive payments from the buyer. 
• Depreciation - You're able to deduct the cost of your investment in certain business properties. You can either depreciate the costs over a number of years; or, in certain cases, deduct them all in one year. 

Where to Begin? Preparation for your tax appointment should begin in January. Right after the New Year, set up a safe storage location, such as a file drawer, cupboard, or safe. As you receive pertinent records, file them right away, before you forget or lose them. Make this a habit, and you'll find your job a lot easier on your appointment date. Other general suggestions to prepare for your appointment include: 

• Segregate your records according to income and expense categories. File medical expense receipts in one envelope or folder, mortgage interest payment records in another, charitable donations in a third, etc. If you receive an organizer or questionnaire to complete before your appointment, fill out every section that applies to you. (Important: Read all explanations and follow instructions carefully. By design, organizers remind you of transactions you may otherwise miss.) 
  
  
• Call attention to any foreign bank account, foreign financial account, or foreign trust in which you have an ownership interest, signature authority, or controlling stake. We also need to know about foreign inheritances and ownership of foreign assets. In short, bring any foreign financial dealings to our attention so we know if you have any special reporting requirements. The penalties for not making and submitting required reports can be severe. 
  
  
• If you acquired your health insurance through a government Marketplace you will receive Form 1095-A, issued by the Marketplace that will include information needed to complete your return. In addition, you will need to provide proof of insurance to avoid a penalty or qualify for one of the many exemptions from the penalty. If you received a hardship penalty exemption from the Marketplace you will have been issued an exemption certificate number (ECN). That number must be included on your tax return. The 1095-A and ECN documentation need to be included with the other material you bring to your appointment. If your insurance coverage was through an employer, and the employer issued Form 1095-B, 1095-C or a substitute form detailing your coverage, bring it to the appointment. 
  
  
• Keep your annual income statements separate from your other documents (e.g., W-2s from employers, 1099s from banks, stockbrokers, etc., and K-1s from partnerships). Be sure to take these documents to your appointment, including the instructions for K-1s!
  
  
• Write down questions so you don't forget to ask them at the appointment. Review last year's return. Compare your income on that return to your income in the current year. A dividend from ABC stock on your prior-year return may remind you that you sold ABC this year and need to report the sale, or that you haven't yet received the current year's 1099-DIV form. 
  
  
• Make sure you have social security numbers for all your dependents. The IRS checks these carefully and can deny deductions and credits for returns filed without them.
   
• Compare deductions from last year with your records for this year. Did you forget anything? 
  
  
• Collect any other documents and financial papers that you're puzzled about. Prepare to bring these to your appointment so you can ask about them. 

Accuracy Even for Details - To ensure the greatest accuracy possible in all detail on your return, make sure you review personal data. Check name(s), address(es), social security number(s) and occupation(s) on last year's return. Note any changes for this year. Although your telephone numbers and e-mail address aren't required on your return, they are always helpful should questions occur during return preparation. 

Marital Status Change - If your marital status changed during the year, if you lived apart from your spouse or if your spouse died during the year, list dates and details. Bring copies of prenuptial, legal separation, divorce or property settlement agreements, if any, to your appointment. If your spouse passed away during the year, you should have a copy of his or her trust agreement or will available for review.

Dependents - If you have qualifying dependents, you will need to provide the following for each (if you previously provided us with items 1 through 3 you will not need to supply them again): 

For anyone other than your child to qualify as your dependent, they must pass five strict dependency tests. If you think one or more other individuals qualify as your dependents (but you aren't sure), tally the amounts you provided toward their support vs. the amounts they provided. This will simplify the final decision. 

Some Transactions Deserve Special Treatment - Certain transactions require special treatment on your tax return. It's a good idea to invest a little extra preparation effort when you have had the following transactions: 

• Sales of Stock or Other Property: All sales of stocks, bonds, securities, real estate and any other property need to be reported on your return, even if you had no profit or loss. List each sale, and have purchased and sale documents available for each transaction. 
  
  The purchase date, sale date, cost, and selling price must all be noted on your return. Make sure this information is contained in the documents you bring to your appointment. 
  
  
• Gifted or Inherited Property: If you sell the property that was given to you, you need to determine when and for how much the original owner purchased it. If you sell the property you inherited, you need to know the original owner's death-date and the property's value at that time. You may be able to find this on estate tax returns or in probate documents; otherwise, ask the executor. 
  
  
• Reinvested Dividends: You may have sold stock or a mutual fund in which you participated in a dividend reinvestment program. If so, you will need to have records of each stock purchase made with the reinvested dividends. 
  
  
• Sale of Home: The tax law provides special breaks for home sale gains, and you may be able to exclude up to $500,000 of the gain from your primary home if you file a married joint return and meet certain ownership, occupancy, and holding period requirements. The maximum exclusion is $250,000 for others. Since the cost of improvements made in your home can also be used to reduce any gain, it is good practice to keep a record of them. The exclusion of gain applies only to a primary residence; so keeping a record of improvement to other property, such as your second home, is important. Be sure to bring a copy of the sale documents (usually the closing escrow statement). 
  
  
• Purchase of a Home: Be sure to bring a copy of the final closing escrow statement if you purchased a home. 
  
  
• Vehicle Purchase: If you purchased a new plug-in electric car (or cars) this year, you may qualify for special credit. Please bring the purchase statement to the appointment with you. 
  
  
• Home Energy-Related Expenditures: If you installed a solar-electric system on your home or second home, please bring the details of the purchase and manufacturer's credit qualification certification to your appointment. You may qualify for a substantial energy-related tax credit. 
  
  
• Identity Theft: Identity theft is rampant and can impact your tax filings. If you have reason to believe that your identity has been stolen, please contact this firm as soon as possible. The IRS provides special procedures for filing if you have had your identity stolen. 
  
  
• Car Expenses: Where you have used one or more automobiles for business, list the expenses of each separately. The government requires your total mileage, business miles, and commuting miles for each business use of your car to be reported on your return, so be prepared to have those numbers available. If you were reimbursed for mileage through an employer, know the reimbursement amount and whether it is included in your W-2. 
  
  
• Charitable Donations: You must substantiate cash contributions (regardless of amount) with a bank record or written communication from the charity showing the name of the charitable organization, date and amount. 
  
  Unreceipted cash donations put into a "Christmas kettle," church collection plate, etc., are not deductible. For clothing and household contributions, items donated must generally be in good or better condition, and items such as undergarments and socks are not deductible. You must keep a record of each item contributed that indicates the name and address of the charity, date, and location of the contribution, and a reasonable description of the property. Contributions valued under $250 and dropped at an unattended location do not require a receipt. For contributions above $500, the record must also include when and how the property was acquired and your cost basis in the property. For contributions above $5,000 and other types of contributions, please call this office for additional requirements. 

If you have questions about assembling your tax data prior to your appointment, please give this office a call.

Article Highlights: 

From time to time, the owner of a small business will purchase equipment, office furnishings, vehicles, computer systems, and other items for use in the business. How to deduct the cost for tax purposes is not always an easy decision because there are a number of options available, and the decision will depend upon whether a big deduction is needed for the acquisition year or more benefit can be obtained by deducting the expense over a number of years using depreciation. The following are the write-off options currently available. 

• Depreciation – Depreciation is the normal accounting way of writing off business capital purchases by spreading the deduction of the cost over several years. The IRS regulations specify the number of years for the write-off based on established asset categories, and generally for small business purchases the categories include 3-, 5- or 7-year write-offs. The 5-year category includes autos, small trucks, computers, copiers, and certain technological and research equipment, while the 7-year category includes office fixtures, furniture, and equipment. 
  
  
• Material & Supply Expensing – IRS regulations allow certain materials and supplies that cost $200 or less, or that have a useful life of less than one year, to be expensed (deducted fully in one year) rather than depreciated. 
  
  
• De Minimis Safe Harbor Expensing – IRS regulations also allow small businesses to expense up to $2,500 of equipment purchases. The limit applies per item or per invoice, providing a substantial leeway in expensing purchases. The $2,500 limit is increased to $5,000 for businesses that have an applicable financial statement, generally large businesses. 
  
  
• Routine Maintenance – IRS regulations allow a deduction for expenditures used to keep a unit of property in the operating condition where the business expects to perform the maintenance twice during the class life of the property. Class life is different than a depreciable life. 
  
  

  Depreciable Item	Class Life	Depreciable Life
  Office Furnishings	10	7
  Information Systems	6	5
  Computers	6	5
  Autos & Taxis	3	5
  Light Trucks	4	5
  Heavy Trucks	6	5

  
  
  
• Unlimited Expensing – The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in December 2017 includes a provision allowing 100% unlimited expensing of tangible business assets (except structures) acquired after September 27, 2017, and through 2022. Applies when a taxpayer first uses the asset (can be new or used property). 
  
  
• Bonus Depreciation – The tax code provides for a first-year bonus depreciation that allows a business to deduct 50% of the cost of the newest tangible property if it is placed in service during 2017. The remaining cost is deducted over the asset's depreciable life. The 50% rate applies for new property placed in service prior to September 28, 2017, and, by-election, to new or used property, acquired and first put into use by the taxpayer after September 27, 2017, and before December 31, 2017. 
  
  
• Sec 179 Expensing – Another option provided by the tax code is an expensing provision for small businesses that allows a certain amount of the cost of tangible equipment purchases to be expensed in the year the property is first placed into business service. This tax provision is commonly referred to as Sec. 179 expensing, named after the tax code section that sanctions it. The expensing is limited to an annual inflation-adjusted amount, which is $510,000 for 2017 and $1 million for 2018. To ensure that this provision is limited to small businesses, whenever a business has purchases of property eligible for Sec 179 treatment that exceeds the year's investment limit ($2,030,000 for 2017 and $2.5 million for 2018), the annual expensing allowance is reduced by one dollar for each dollar the investment limit is exceeded. 
  
  An undesirable consequence of using Sec. 179 expensing occurs when the item is disposed of before the end of its normal depreciable life. In that case, the difference between normal depreciation and the Sec. 179 deduction is recaptured and added to income in the year of disposition. 
  
  
• Mixing Methods – A mixture of Sec. 179 expensing, bonus depreciation and regular depreciation can be used on a specific item, allowing just about any amount of write-off for the year for that asset. 

For some individual taxpayers, the alternative minimum tax (AMT) may be a concern. Bonus depreciation and Sec. 179 expensing are not preference items, and therefore their use will not trigger an AMT add-on tax. However, the difference between 200% MACRS depreciation, if claimed, and 150% MACRS depreciation is a preference item for AMT and could cause or add to the AMT tax