#real-estate
Real Estate
Real estate accounting, property tracking, and investment management
Section 465 At-Risk Rules: Why Tax Basis Won't Save Your Partnership Losses
Section 465 at-risk rules disallow partnership and S-corp losses beyond your true economic exposure, even when tax basis is sufficient. This guide explains Form 6198, the qualified nonrecourse financing carve-out, recapture triggers, and why basis and at-risk amounts diverge.
Form 8886: The Reportable Transactions Disclosure That Triggers 75% Penalties and Six-Year IRS Lookbacks
Form 8886 carries a 75% penalty for undisclosed listed transactions, capped at $200,000 for entities, with no reasonable cause defense and a statute that stays open until one year after you file. Here's who must file, what counts as reportable, and how to handle late disclosure.
Section 1245 vs. Section 1250: How Depreciation Recapture Erodes Your Bonus Depreciation Benefits
When you sell depreciated business property, Section 1245 recaptures prior depreciation as ordinary income (up to 37%), while Section 1250 caps the recapture on real estate at 25% — turning a 100% bonus depreciation deduction into a large tax bill at exit unless you plan with cost segregation, 1031 exchanges, and a clean fixed-asset register.
Section 170(h) Conservation Easement Deductions: Why High-Income Donors Face 40% Penalties, Automatic Audits, and a 6% Court Allowance Rate
Section 170(h) lets landowners deduct the value lost when they place a permanent conservation restriction on real property, but the IRS has labeled high-ratio syndicated structures listed transactions and now disallows over 90% of the claimed deduction in court. This guide explains the four-part qualification test, the 2.5x basis cap under Section 170(h)(7), the 40% strict liability penalty, Form 8283 requirements, the six-year statute of limitations, and the 2026 IRS settlement window.
Section 170(h) Conservation Easements: 40% Penalties, the 2.5x Partnership Limit, and the 6% Court Allowance Rate
Section 170(h) lets landowners deduct the diminution in fair market value caused by a perpetual conservation easement, but syndicated versions now face a 2.5x partnership-basis cap under SECURE 2.0, a 40% gross valuation misstatement penalty, and an average 6% Tax Court allowance rate at trial.
Section 469 Passive Activity Grouping: How Real Estate Investors Unlock Suspended Losses
How real estate investors and multi-entity owners use the Section 469 grouping election under Reg 1.469-4 to aggregate hours across properties and release suspended losses — covering the appropriate economic unit test, the Reg 1.469-9(g) real estate professional aggregation, Rev. Proc. 2010-13 disclosure rules, and why the election is easier to file than to undo.
Section 754 Election and 743(b) Basis Adjustments: How Partnerships Step Up Inside Basis When a Partner Buys In or Dies
A Section 754 election triggers a 743(b) inside-basis step-up when a partner dies, sells, or is bought in — preventing heirs and incoming partners from paying tax twice on the same appreciation. This guide covers 743(b) and 734(b) mechanics, Section 755 allocation across asset classes, the substantial built-in loss rule, Form 15254 revocation, and when the administrative cost outweighs the benefit.
FIRPTA Withholding: The Buyer's 2026 Guide to Section 1445 and Form 8288
FIRPTA requires US real estate buyers to withhold 15 percent of the gross sale price from foreign sellers and remit it on Form 8288 within 20 days of closing. This guide explains Section 1445, the $300,000 personal residence exemption, the 10 percent reduced rate, withholding certificates on Form 8288-B, and how buyers avoid personal liability with an Affidavit of Non-Foreign Status.
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Section 42: How Developers Use 9% and 4% Credits to Finance Affordable Housing Projects
A 2026 LIHTC field guide for developers — how the 9% and 4% credits differ, how qualified basis and the 70%/30% present-value subsidies are calculated, the three overlapping compliance clocks, the IRS forms (8609, 8609-A, 8586, 8611), syndication mechanics, and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act changes that cut the bond financing test from 50% to 25%.
New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC): How CDEs, Investors, and Local Businesses Stack a 39% Federal Credit Over Seven Years
A practical walkthrough of the New Markets Tax Credit — how the 39% federal credit flows from a CDE to investors and projects over seven years, who plays which role, what continuous compliance requires, and where deals most often break.
Section 47 Historic Tax Credit: A 2026 Field Guide for Developers and Their CPAs
Section 47 of the Internal Revenue Code lets developers claim a 20 percent federal tax credit on qualified rehabilitation expenditures for certified historic structures, claimed ratably over five years since the TCJA. This guide walks through NPS three-part certification, the substantial rehabilitation test, what counts as a QRE, five-year recapture rules, and how syndication is structured under the Rev. Proc. 2014-12 safe harbor.
Real Estate Professional Status: How High Earners Use Section 469(c)(7) to Turn Rental Losses Into Tax Savings
A practical guide to Section 469(c)(7) Real Estate Professional Status — the 750-hour and more-than-half tests, the spousal rule, material participation and the grouping election, common audit failures, and how 100% bonus depreciation in 2026 makes REPS worth the documentation cost.