Month of February, 2008

If you’ve got a lot of different activities going on, it’s often better to use multiple business structures, to take advantage of differing tax benefits. This advice applies to those of you working in real estate especially. You already know that not every investment is the same. Sometimes you pick up a property with the intention of turning it around fairly quickly, while other times you invest in a property with the intent of hanging onto it for several years.

From a tax perspective, both of those goals can be accomplished - but not in the same business structure.

Changes are coming to TaxLoopholes! One of the new features will be a forum that you can participate in to create your own mastermind groups, learning circles and interactive learning.

There will be three levels, including the private, by-invitation-only “Diane’s Mastermind.” One of the unique aspects of this exclusive forum will be an online Deal Flow.

It’s never been a better time to have a business.

Why am I so optimistic about the economy, especially when the papers are full of recession worry? Well, first let’s be honest. For the average person, the current economy could be a cause for concern.

One of the biggest beefs I’ve had with S Corporations is the fact that they have kinda sucked as far as medical insurance premiums were concerned. The business can deduct the premium cost, but it gets passed along to all of the owner-shareholders holding 2% or more of the S Corp’s shares by way of a taxable benefit and isn’t fully deductible on your personal return. C Corps and sole proprietorship owners can fully deduct their healthcare costs - so why not S Corp owners? But S Corp owners can finally rejoice, as the rules have now changed!

Can you set up a Nevada entity to hold your
property or run your business? Sure! Should you? That depends …

Learn about the new climate for real estate loopholes in this week’s Online Workshop, available exclusively for First Class Lounge members.

Even if you’re not quite ready to start your business or real estate, you still need to get your tax return prepared. And, as simple as you might think it is, there is a lot that can go wrong. Keep reading for more information on a positive step you can take right now to make sure you’re getting all the deductions you should.

The most important thing about your business is its financial statements. Financial statements are the window into your business’s inner workings. A smart investor knows how to read financial statements and how to tell very quickly whether a business or property is a good investment. But a less knowledgeable investor may only read a part of the financial statement and get the wrong picture. What type of investor do you want to be?

The IRS is going into attack mode. Their latest volley has been against tax advisors that are dabbling into listed transactions or committing outright tax fraud. Keep reading to learn how this can affect you, up close and personal.

I talked to one of our DKAffiliated^TM accountants this past week about a few of our clients. One of our topics was how uncertain the investment market was these days for our clients. The stock market is up, down, sideways, down, up … in other words, it’s all over the place.

Real estate has had a downturn in most markets. Businesses are laying off people. Where can you find a good investment these days?

The answer is right in front of you.

A little while ago I started off my weekly TaxLoopholes enewsletter with something that had struck me over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. At the time that I wrote it, I was struggling with how to put into words the impact of a couple of incidents that had occurred.

I’ve never received as many comments back as I did after that newsletter. I’ve heard from some of you that you’ve cut it out and hung it up as business inspiration when things are going not quite as expected. Others shared stories of loss and how it impacted them. I’m humbled by the response.

Thank you for your comments. Here it is again.