Tax Planning - Tax Planning: U.S. - Real Estate

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About OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
(Top Expert on this page)

Expertise
As an Enrolled Agent, I am fully capable of providing tax advice as it relates to personal and business income taxes. Enrolled Agents are the only Federally Authorized Tax Practitioners and are admitted to practice before all administrative functions of the IRS. My specialty is working with small business owners who file Schedule "C" and helping them to structure their business in such a way as to maximize as many tax advantages as possible. I also enjoy working with individuals who have both routine as well as complex tax situations. Members of the National Association of Enrolled Agents must complete a minimum of 90 hours of Continuing Professional Education in Taxation every three years. This puts us at a tremendous advantage when it comes to providing outstanding and up-to-date tax planning and advice. Although I am licensed to handle and do, in fact, work with Non-Profit Organization compliance (Form 990 series), Trust/Fiduciary Returns, and Estate & Gift Tax Returns, I prefer to concentrate on individuals and small business tax planning.

Experience
I have a 25 year background in financial services including tax, bookkeeping, insurance, real estate and securities. I was previously the Chief Financial Officer of a local and national franchise organization. I currently own my own individual and small business financial engineering firm where I work with nearly 500 individuals and small business owners in California, Texas, and Arizona, assisting them in all aspects of their tax and financial well-being.

Organizations
National Association of Enrolled Agents, California Society of Enrolled Agents, National Society of Accountants, National Association of Tax Professionals, National Society of Tax Professionals, American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers

Education/Credentials
Enrolled Agent, Admitted to Practice Before the IRS, Accredited Tax Preparer, CTEC Registered Tax Preparer, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor (since 1999), Sleeter Group Certified QuickBooks Consultant, Life & Disability Insurance Agent License (California, Texas, Maine), Real Estate Agent License (California), Series 7 General Securities Registered Representative, Many years of continuing education in all these fields

Past/Present Clients
http://www.betterbusinessventures.com/our_clients.html

You are here: Experts > Real Estate > Tax Planning: U.S. > Tax Planning

Subject	Date Asked	Expert

filing status	11/17/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: i've been married for 25 years and my wife has never worked during that time. i['ve always filed my ... A: Flip: If you file as "Married, filing separately" you will lose half of your standard deduction and ...
Tax on a Company Car	11/5/2009	Richard Stolp
Q: I am provided a car by my company and understand that I must pay tax on personnel use. Question; is ... A: So, I assume you are in sales. I would ask the other sales people how they do it. My experience says ...
capital gains	10/30/2009	Richard Stolp
Q: Mr. Stolp, My ex husband has recently refinanced our home so he could pay me off and put our home in ... A: You have two years to apply the profit from the sale of the house towards buying another house, but ...
Tax on Investment Gains	10/29/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: Im looking to buy a computer in order to research and trade more easily. I recently set myself up ... A: In that case, Bill, you are limited in your deduction. Your deduction would come in on Schedule A ...
Tax on Investment Gains	10/29/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: Im looking to buy a computer in order to research and trade more easily. I recently set myself up ... A: Bill: If you are in the business of trading (or your LP is in the business of trading) and it is a ...
energy efficiency tax credit	10/26/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: I am currently having a new heating system installed in my home and hoped to take advantage of ... A: It's always good to check with a tax professional rather than someone who may or may not know the ...
Father's Estate	10/17/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: New York State: Hi, I will be getting about $50,000 from my father's estate. I live in NY State. ... A: Shelley: You do not have a Federal taxable event when you inherit money. Any taxes would be paid ...
Tax on selling a car	10/16/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: I am considering "trading down". I have a cash offer of $25,500 from carmax for my old car. I can ... A: Jo: You don't say whether this is a personal use vehicle or for business use. Since you didn't ...
gift tax	10/8/2009	Richard Stolp
Q: My mother has some money she wants to give to me - about $400,000 - do I pay tax on this? If yes, ... A: You asked a lot of questions. Yes, your mother can give each of you the $12000. As far as filing ...
gift tax	10/8/2009	Richard Stolp
Q: My mother has some money she wants to give to me - about $400,000 - do I pay tax on this? If yes, ... A: You would have to pay taxes on any amount from her that is over $12,000 annually. If you are a ...
passive losses	10/2/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: I have taxable income (line43-1040) of $30,000 from wages only. I am a passive limited partner in a ... A: Rod: This is an excellent question. Here is the rule: As you have surmised, if you fully dispose ...
Self-Employment and Quarterly Tax Payments	9/28/2009	Richard Fritzler
Q: My last day at the corporation I work for will be 10/30/09. I will then be self-employed from 11/1 ... A: If you have already capped out SS, than you are definitely due to convert from contractor as an ...
Self-Employment and Quarterly Tax Payments	9/28/2009	Richard Fritzler
Q: My last day at the corporation I work for will be 10/30/09. I will then be self-employed from 11/1 ... A: That statement is made based upon the assumption of a January 1 start date. You are starting before ...
Business Special Assessment	9/25/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: We own a small business and have received a special assessment for road improvements. I understand ... A: Debbie: You didn't say whether the assessment was for your home (maybe your business works out of ...
1099	9/24/2009	Richard Stolp
Q: We are short selling our house for 80k and we might get 1099. 193k is what we owe. Should we just ... A: Sorry, I was out of town for a few days. I really can't give advice on this big a decision - but ...
Sold small business for a loss	9/22/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: In 2007 we bought 50% of a retail store for 120K. The business is structured as an LLC. In 2008 we ... A: Brian: I am assuming that you are being taxed as a partnership, but you may be taxed in another ...
Company Structure	9/21/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: Owen, Many thanks for your time. Wish to clarify just a point that you seem to have misunderstood, ... A: Ryan: You're welcome. Hope it helped somewhat. Please be sure to fill out the rating survey. ...
Business Structure	9/20/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: My wife (home maker) and I (retired corporate executive & professional engineer) are both Canadians. ... A: Ryan: It appears you have done quite a bit of research on the subject at hand. There are many ways ...
Business Structure	9/20/2009	Richard Fritzler
Q: My wife (home maker) and I (retired corporate executive & professional engineer) are both Canadians. ... A: You have a number of the facts correct. PHC, LLC can be taxed as a real corporation, taxes are ...
donating used car vs. private sale	9/18/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: I live in Massachusetts and am wondering how I can best evaluate whether to sell my 96 Corolla (for ... A: Tom: I'm happy to answer this question for you. Take the cash because it is worth more to you. ...
Avoid/Minimize Taxes on Cancelled Debt on Recourse Home Loan	9/15/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: I am going on a foreclosure and expected to finalize it by mid November since NOD has been filed ... A: Teatro: There are a few things at work here. First, is this your primary residence? If so, this ...
amount of federal tax due	9/1/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: I am withdrawing 50,000 from my IRA to purchase a home I am 60yrs so no penalty applies other than ... A: Candice: I will give you an estimate based on 2008's tax rates (which are substantially similar to ...
Stock Loss Write Off on Taxes	9/1/2009	Richard Stolp
Q: I had a little under $8K invested in stock with a company I used to work for. Last year the company ... A: Assuming you actually owned the stock (not an option), then you can claim the loss on the stock ...
amount of federal tax due	9/1/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: I am withdrawing 50,000 from my IRA to purchase a home I am 60yrs so no penalty applies other than ... A: Candice: It is nearly impossible for me to give you a figure for what your taxes would be without a ...
quarterly tax payments	8/28/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: I was a full-time employee of a company through Feb 2009, received only unemployment payments from ... A: Larry: There is no exemption for quarterly estimated payments, first year or otherwise, unless you ...
108(d)(3) determining insolvency	8/27/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: To avoid income on the cancellation of indebtedness, one exemption is where the tax payer is ... A: Steve: First, just to clarify, I'm not a CPA; I am an Enrolled Agent. Second, your original ...
108(d)(3) determining insolvency	8/27/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: To avoid income on the cancellation of indebtedness, one exemption is where the tax payer is ... A: Steve: One has to be careful in picking out specific points from a Tax Court case to support ...
108(d)(3) determining insolvency	8/27/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: To avoid income on the cancellation of indebtedness, one exemption is where the tax payer is ... A: Steve: Under Section 108 of Internal Revenue Code, 401(k)s and IRAs are included. For a helpful ...
Capital gains/losses	8/23/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: In July a stock fund that I held for 12.5 months sold for a $20,000 loss. Is it true that only ... A: Linda: It is true that you are limited to a $3,000 maximum deduction for capital losses each year. ...
Lease or finance electronics for business	8/21/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: I'm trying to figure out from a tax standpoint is it better to lease or finance electronics for my ... A: Jack: One of the factors to take into consideration would be what type of lease it is. There are a ...
Day Trader tax calculation	8/17/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: I am a day trader with LLC this year. My question is when I file income tax (I usually file it by ... A: Jim: As a day trader, since you're looking for simplification, the best arrangement for you would ...
Taxes when living outside of the US	8/11/2009	Richard Stolp
Q: Stolp: I am employed in California, but living in Colombia. I have not found a tax accountant that ... A: If I understand correctly you are living outside the US by choice, not because your employer ...
tax rate schedule	8/3/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: What are tax rate schedules used for? Can they be used to give someone an idea of what their income ... A: No; taxable income is a figure with a lot of adjustments. In short, it is your total income from ...
tax rate schedule	8/2/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: What are tax rate schedules used for? Can they be used to give someone an idea of what their income ... A: Danielle: As long as you know your TAXABLE income, tax rate schedules can, indeed, give you an idea ...
tax lien	8/1/2009	Richard Stolp
Q: I have a small business ( Corporation) in Texas - I am the only employee. I owe 941 taxes for a ... A: Have you spoken with a representative with the IRS? An Offer in Compromise is usually only accepted ...
Deferring collections	8/1/2009	Richard Stolp
Q: If the IRS has filed a tax lien on unpaid taxes and if you had entered into a repayment plan, but ... A: Usually the IRS only defers collections if you can't afford to pay. Is that your case? There are a ...
social security	7/27/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: I am a babysitter, and I don't file taxes because I don't make enough money to... My clients were ... A: OK. If I understand you correctly, since your parents can claim you on their tax return, the people ...
social security	7/24/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: I am a babysitter, and I don't file taxes because I don't make enough money to... My clients were ... A: Felicia: First off, I don't have enough information to properly answer your question. How old are ...
Accountant's Responsibility?	7/20/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: I have been using a CPA for several years to do my 1040 and Schedule C. He seems to be competent ... A: Jon: This is a fantastic question! I would love to find hundreds of small business owners like ...
EE Bonds	7/14/2009	OWEN S. ARNOFF, EA
Q: I have some EE bonds purchased in Feb of 1993 for my daughters college education. My eldest daughter ... A: Marshall: Answers below: a) Line 37 & 38 (1040 TY 2008) is your adjusted gross income (the line ...

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