Michael Gray, CPA's
Real Estate Tax Letter
Michael Gray, CPA's Real Estate Tax Letter
August 14, 2015
© 2015 by Michael C. Gray
ISSN 1930-0387
A monthly report focusing on tax issues for the homeowner and real estate investor.
Table of Contents
- September due dates will soon be here.
- October due date is coming for individual income tax returns.
- New tax legislation enacted.
- Unmarried couple gets to deduct more residential mortgage interest.
- New regulations issued for partnership allocations for changes of interests.
- Gifts from non-resident aliens can be subject to U.S. Gift Tax.
- Property tax appeals filing deadline is coming.
- California State Board of Equalization OKs exchange of tenant in common interests.
- Does your group need a speaker?
- Please share your good experiences with Michael Gray, CPA.
- Financial Insider Weekly broadcast schedule.
- Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+!
- Check out my blog.
- Do you know about our other newsletters?
- Subscribe/Remove from Michael Gray, CPA's Real Estate Tax Letter
September due dates will soon be here.
The extended due dates for calendar-year corporations, partnerships and trusts is September 15. Be sure to get the information for your extended return to your tax return preparer right away. If you need us to prepare your tax return, call Dawn Siemer on Monday, Wednesday or Friday at 408-918-3161 for an appointment.
The third quarter federal estimated tax payment due date for individuals, calendar-year trusts and most calendar-year corporations is September 15. California doesn't have a third quarter estimated tax payment due on September 15 because the first two payments are "front-loaded." In some cases, taxpayers will "catch up" on unpaid California estimated tax payments on September 15.
October due date is coming for individual income tax returns.
In case I get snowed and don't get out an October newsletter before October 15, remember that is the due date for extended individual income tax returns. Get the information to finish your tax returns to your tax return preparer right away. If you need us to prepare your tax return, call Dawn Siemer on Monday, Wednesday or Friday at 408-918-3161 for an appointment.
New tax legislation enacted.
President Obama signed the Surface Transportation and Veterans Health Care Choice Improvement Act of 2015 on July 31, 2015.
The legislation includes some important tax provisions.
- Effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2015, the initial due dates for income tax returns of partnerships and C corporations will be changing. The partnership due date will change from April 15 to March 15 (or 2 ½ months after year-end). The due date for S corporations will be unchanged at March 15 (or 2 ½ months after year-end). The due date for C corporations will change from March 15 to April 15 (or 3 ½ months after the year-end), except the due date for C corporations with tax years ending on June 30 will keep the September 15 due date until tax years beginning after December 31, 2025 when it will become October 15.
- For years beginning after December 31, 2015, the due date for the FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) will be changing from June 30 to be the same as for individual income tax returns, April 15 with an extension available to October 15.
- For information returns due (without regard to extensions) after December 31, 2016, mortgage servicers will be required to include more information on Form 1098, the annual mortgage interest statement.
- Effective for all returns for which the normal assessment period remained open as of July 31, 2015, the statute of limitations has been extended to six years when there is an overstatement of basis resulting in an overstatement of income exceeding 25% of gross income stated on the return. This legislation overturns the Supreme Court decision in Home Concrete, 2012-1 USTC 50,315.
- Executors of large estates that are required to file estate tax returns after July 31, 2105 will be required to report to beneficiaries the value reported on the estate return for property they receive. The date of death value reported on the estate tax return will be controlling for determining tax basis of the property when it is sold by the beneficiary.
- Effective for months beginning after December 31, 2013, an individual won't be accounted for as an employee for large employers for required shared responsibility health care payments if that individual has medical coverage for the month under a program for members of the U.S. Armed Forces (TRICARE) or a VA health care program.
Unmarried couple gets to deduct more residential mortgage interest.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (jurisdiction includes California), reversed the Tax Court relating to the limitation for residential mortgage interest. The Tax Court upheld the IRS in limiting the deduction to $1 million of acquisition indebtedness plus $100,000 of home equity debt for residences co-owned by more than one taxpayer. The Ninth Circuit ruled that limitation applies on a per-taxpayer basis. (For this rule, a married couple is considered to be one taxpayer.)
The taxpayers in this case, Bruce Voss and Charles Sophy, were registered domestic partners who are residents of California. Under federal tax law, registered domestic partners are single, unmarried taxpayers. Under California tax law, registered domestic partners are taxed the same as married taxpayers.
This decision creates an opportunity for co-owners who aren't married to each other who are jointly obligated on a mortgage to file amended returns applying the mortgage interest limitations on a per-taxpayer basis. Note the limitation will be different on the California income tax return. See your tax advisor for details.
(Voss, 2015-2 U.S.T.C. 50,427.)
New regulations issued for partnership allocations for changes of interests.
The IRS has issued final regulations that explain how income and deductions of the partnership may be allocated to the partners when partnership interests change during a taxable year. In the past, partnerships had to choose between a cut-off method and a varying interest method. Under the final regulations, either method can be used when more than a change of interest happens during a tax year.
Gifts from non-resident aliens can be subject to U.S. Gift Tax.
I recently attended an estate tax planning symposium. One of the speakers reminded us that nonresident aliens (individuals who are not U.S. citizens and live outside the U.S.) can be subject to U.S gift tax when they make gifts of real estate or personal property located in the United States. There is no exclusion except for the annual $15,000 exclusion per donee, per donor. We most often see this for gifts of real estate. Cash can also be personal property. It's best that transfers of cash be made outside the U.S., such as by opening a bank account outside the U.S. (which will also be subject to foreign bank account reporting, but not U.S. gift tax). Gifts exceeding $100,000 (cumulative for the year) also have to be reported by the donee on Form 3520. If a nonresident alien wants to make a gift to a U.S. person, he or she should get professional advice from a tax advisor familiar with the rules.
Property tax appeals filing deadline is coming.
The deadline for filing appeal for a California property tax appeal in Alameda, Inyo, Kings, Orange, Placer, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, Sierra and Ventura counties is September 15, 2015. The deadline for other counties is November 30, 2015.
See http://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/pdf/filingperiods.pdf
For a video about filing appeals, see http://www.boe.ca.gov/info/AssessmentVideo/Index.html
California State Board of Equalization OKs exchange of tenant in common interests.
The California State Board of Equalization has ruled that the exchange of tenant in common interests in an apartment building for equivalent tenant in common interests in a shopping mall was a valid § 1031 like-kind exchange, despite a later transfer of the replacement property to an LLC. The transfer happened seven months after the exchange. The Board found the step-transaction doctrine didn't apply in this case because there was "independent economic significance" during the time between the exchange and the transfer.
(Appeal of Rago Development Corp. et al., 2015-SBE-001, June 23, 2015.)
Does your group need a speaker?
We are seeking opportunities to speak before groups. Topics include recent tax developments, tax issues relating to real estate, how estate planning has changed recently, tax issues relating to alternative investments using retirement accounts, and marketing topics such as "How I created a public access television show broadcast on eleven Bay Area stations." To make arrangements, call Michael Gray at 408-918-3161.
Please share your good experiences with Michael Gray, CPA.
As you know, more and more people are going to the internet to find information about service providers. We hope you will share some good words about experiences that you have had with our firm<. Some of the sites where you can share your experiences include yelp.com, siliconvalley.citysearch.com, and Google+.
Financial Insider Weekly broadcast schedule for August and September.
Financial Insider Weekly is broadcast in San Jose and Campbell on Fridays at 9:30 p.m., Pacific Time. You can watch it on Comcast channel 15 for San Jose and Campbell. The show is broadcast as streaming video at the same time at www.creatvsj.org.
Here are the scheduled interviews for August and September:
- August 14, 2015, Nancy Ross, Bauer Shepherd & Ross & Associates, "How a collaborative approach can make divorce a less painful process"
- August 21, 2015, Janis Carney, attorney at law, Carney Elder Law, "Senior Estate Planning"
- August 28, 2015, Janis Carney, attorney at law, Carney Elder Law, "Caring for seniors today: challenges in getting quality care"
- September 4, 2015, Janis Carney, attorney at law, Carney Elder Law, "Paying for long-term care for seniors in California"
- September 11, 2015, Robert E. Temmerman, Jr., attorney at law, Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann, LLP, "I'm an executor. Now what?"
- September 18, 2015, Robert E. Temmerman, Jr., attorney at law, Temmerman, Cilley & Kohlmann, LLP, "I'm a trustee. Now what?"
- September 25, 2015, Peggy Martin, ChFC, CLU, The Family Wealth Consulting Group, "Legacy planning"
Financial Insider Weekly is also broadcast as follows:
- Sunday at 10:00 a.m. in San Mateo County on PenTV, Comcast Channel 26 and Astound Channel 27
- Sunday at 1 p.m. on Comcast channel 26 in Santa Cruz County and on Charter Communications Channel 72 in Watsonville and Capitola
- Monday at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time on cable channel 19 in Morgan Hill and broadcast on the internet at the same time as streaming video at www.mhat.tv
- Monday at 6:30 p.m. on Midpeninsula Media Center, Comcast Channel 28 in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Stanford, Menlo Park & Atherton
- Monday at 7:30 p.m. on Comcast channel 15 in Saratoga
- Monday at 10:00 a.m. in San Mateo County on PenTV, Comcast Channel 26 and Astound Channel 27
- Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. on Comcast channel 26 in Santa Cruz County and on Charter Communications Channel 72 in Watsonville and Capitola
- Tuesday at 2:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Midpeninsula Media Center, Comcast Channel 28 in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Stanford, Menlo Park & Atherton
- Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time on cable channel 19 in Morgan Hill Broadcast on the internet at the same time as streaming video at www.mhat.tv
- Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. on Comcast channel 28 in Hayward, Alameda and Fremont and on AT&T U-Verse Channel 99, Hayward public access TV 28 in California
- Thursday at 10:00 a.m. in San Mateo County on PenTV, Comcast Channel 26 and Astound Channel 27
- Friday at 1:30 p.m. in San Mateo County on PenTV, Comcast Channel 26 and Astound Channel 27
- Friday at 3:30 p.m. on KCAT, Comcast channel 15 in Los Gatos
- Friday at 4:00 p.m. on KMTV cable channel 15 in Cupertino, Los Altos and Mountain View
- Friday at 6:00 p.m. on Comcast and Astound channel 29 in San Francisco. Online streaming video at www.bavc.org, "public access TV"
- Friday at 8:00 p.m. on Comcast channel 28 in Hayward, Alameda and Fremont and on AT&T U-Verse Channel 99, Hayward public access TV 28 in California
- Saturday at 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on Midpeninsula Media Center, Comcast Channel 28 in Palo Alto, East Palo Alto, Stanford, Menlo Park & Atherton
- Saturday at 10:00 a.m. in San Mateo County on PenTV, Comcast Channel 26 and Astound Channel 27
- Saturday at 1:00 p.m. on Comcast channel 26 and AT&T U-verse channel 99 in Marin County
Back episodes available at https://www.youtube.com/user/financialinsiderweek.
Let me know any ideas that you have for topics or guests. Guests will usually have to be located in or near the Silicon Valley in California.
Hope you can watch or record the show. Please tell your friends about it!
Questions and Answers
Michael Gray regrets he can no longer personally answer email questions. He will answer selected questions in this newsletter.
Dear readers:
Many of your questions relate to the sale of a principal residence. We have an article at our web site, "Could your residence be the ultimate tax shelter?" (www.realestateinvestingtax.com/residence.shtml) where you should be able to find the answers to most of these questions.
Many other questions relate to short sales and foreclosures. See our article on that subject at www.realestateinvestingtax.com/shortsale.shtml.
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Michael Gray, CPA
2190 Stokes St., Suite 102
San Jose, CA 95128
408-918-3162
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