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November 2009 |  BY MICHAEL M. SMITH, ESQ., CPA, DONALD L. ARIAIL, CPA, DBA, MICHAEL EVANS, ESQ. |  Article

In the current real estate climate of decreased property values and excess inventories, many rental property owners are facing reduced cash flows due to vacancies. At the same time, the fair market value of their property may be close to or even less than the amount owed on the mortgage (“upside down”).

November 2009 |  BY DAVID W. RANDOLPH, PH.D. |  Article

Despite the recent downturn in the American housing market, one of the highestvalue assets owned by most taxpayers remains their home. While many taxpayers have seen the value of their home decline, those in locales where home values have remained relatively strong—such as parts of some Southern and Midwestern states—could still realize a gain upon the sale of their home.

November 2009 |  BY EDWARD J. SCHNEE, CPA, PH.D. |  Article

A district court held that a partnership’s reported capital loss stemming from nonperforming loans lacked economic substance and denied the claimed tax benefits. D. Andrew Beal owned a bank that was in the business of acquiring nonproducing loans (NPLs) at extreme discounts. With an associate and China Cinda Asset Management Co., a Chinese “bad bank,” Beal formed Southgate Master Fund LLC (Southgate) to invest in Chinese NPLs.

November 2009 |  Article

On Friday, President Obama signed into law a bill that includes changes to the firsttime homebuyer credit, increased NOL carrybacks for small businesses, and mandatory efiling for most tax return preparers. The bill cleared Congress on Thursday. The Senate had unanimously agreed to the bill, the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009 (HR 3548), on Wednesday after adding the handful of tax provisions to the bill’s original provision on unemployment compensation.

October 2009 |  BY JUSTIN P. RANSOME, ESQ., CPA, VINU SATCHIT, CPA |  Article

Although many investment assets have lost value in the past year, individuals coming to CPAs for estate planning advice often hold highly appreciated assets, and many want to make significant charitable gifts. For that reason, charitable remainder trusts remain a popular method of reducing assets subject to estate tax.

October 2009 |  BY ELLEN COOK, CPA, ANNA FOWLER, CPA, PH.D., ANNETTE NELLEN, ESQ., CPA, NORA STAPLETON, CPA, JOSEPH W. WALLOCH, CPA |  Article

Given the breadth and variety of tax relief provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, PL 1115, one or more could affect your clients’ individual returns for the 2009 tax year. Many are intended to provide relief for taxpayers in financial distress, stimulate consumer spending or provide an incentive for more environmentally friendly living.

October 2009 |  BY ALISTAIR M. NEVIUS |  Article

For tax years beginning in 2009 only, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) reduced the amount of estimated tax that individual taxpayers with income from small businesses must pay. As 2009 draws to a close, practitioners should make sure their clients are aware of and taking advantage of the new rule.

October 2009 |  Article

The IRS has released its annual revenue procedure updating the tax bracket amounts and making inflation adjustments for various credits and other tax items (Revenue Procedure 200950). Because inflation has been minimal, many of the numbers are unchanged from 2009 or have only been adjusted slightly. The Social Security Administration also announced that the Social Security wage base will remain unchanged for 2010, at $106,800.

October 2009 |  Article

A coalition of various organizations, including the AICPA, has written to members of Congress to ask for a ban on the patenting of tax strategies. The letter says tax strategy patents “pose a significant threat to taxpayers and their advisers,” and urges Congress to prohibit them. In the past few years, the U.S.

September 2009 |  BY DAVID A. STOLZ, CPA/PFS, CFP |  Article

When Bill and Jen decided to divorce, they never expected their personal residence to become a major problem. Initially, Jen thought she wanted to stay in the house. She was emotionally attached to the home, and she thought remaining in it would help minimize the impact of the divorce on the couple’s daughter, since the home was the only one their daughter had ever known.