Tax News & Insights
Weekly updates on tax law, real estate strategy, property tax appeals, and IRS developments that affect your investments.
A fire insurance check does not erase the tax question
An Indiana couple deducted a $315,000 fire loss after insurance was already paying. The deduction was wrong, and a good-faith mix-up did not stop the penalty.
October 4, 2026 · 4 min read
Maximize Your After-Tax Returns on Mixed-Use Properties
Streamline your taxes and protect your income by organizing your mixed-use property correctly. Use these strategies to handle depreciation and entity structure with confidence.
October 4, 2026 · 9 min read
Keep More Cash With the Permanent 2026 Mortgage Insurance Deduction
New tax laws allow you to deduct mortgage insurance premiums starting in 2026. Learn how this permanent change impacts your taxes.
September 27, 2026 · 4 min read
Keep Your Low California Property Taxes When Transferring Real Estate to an LLC
Learn how to move your property into an LLC without triggering a costly reassessment. Use these specific rules to protect your Prop 13 tax savings.
September 20, 2026 · 2 min read
Use REPS to Deduct Real Estate Losses from Your Income
Turn rental losses into tax savings by qualifying for Real Estate Professional Status. We explain the two tests, how it works when only one spouse qualifies, the grouping election, and common audit triggers.
September 13, 2026 · 2 min read
Use Short-Term Rentals to Reduce Your 2026 Tax Bill
Short-term rental losses can offset W-2 income without real estate professional status if the average stay is short enough and you materially participate. The rules and the LA home-sharing limits.
September 6, 2026 · 2 min read
Exit Real Estate Partnerships and Defer Taxes Using Swap-and-Drop
Keep more profit and resolve partner disagreements by using the swap-and-drop method. This strategy helps you separate individual goals using §1031 and §731.
August 30, 2026 · 9 min read
A Real 1031 Exchange Timeline for 2026 (What LA Investors Get Wrong)
The 45-day and 180-day clocks, boot, depreciation recapture, and DSTs. How a Los Angeles CPA actually walks a client through a 1031 exchange in 2026.
August 23, 2026 · 2 min read
Rental Losses and Your W-2: Why They Don't Offset
The passive activity rules keep most rental losses away from your salary. How the $25,000 allowance and Real Estate Professional Status actually work, and what the IRS looks for.
August 18, 2026 · 3 min read
California Doesn't Follow the IRS on Bonus Depreciation
The IRS lets you write off most of a cost-seg asset in year one. The FTB does not. What that split costs you in recordkeeping, basis, and the year you sell.
August 18, 2026 · 2 min read
The 45-Day Clock: Identification Rules and Choosing a Qualified Intermediary
A focused look at the two parts of a 1031 exchange that most often go wrong: the written identification rules and picking the intermediary who holds your money.
August 16, 2026 · 2 min read
How A Cash Balance Plan And A 401(k) Stack Together For High-Earning Owners
A cash balance plan on top of a 401(k) can move a large share of business income into tax-deferred retirement accounts in one year. The contribution is fixed, the W-2 base has to carry it, and depreciation can quietly undermine the math.
August 16, 2026 · 4 min read
The Augusta Rule and Self-Rental: What Actually Holds Up
IRC Section 280A(g) lets you rent your home to your own business up to 14 days a year. How Los Angeles business owners set the rent, paper the file, and stay defensible.
August 16, 2026 · 2 min read
Trump Accounts: What LA Parents and Business Owners Should Know
The OBBBA created a new tax-advantaged account for kids. Here is what it does, where a 529 still wins, and when it is worth setting up.
August 16, 2026 · 2 min read
The 0.5% AGI Floor On Charitable Deductions Starting In 2026
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act adds a 0.5% AGI floor to itemized charitable deductions beginning in 2026. How the floor works, who it touches, and why bunching still helps.
August 9, 2026 · 3 min read
Alternative Minimum Tax After the OBBBA: 2026 Rules
OBBBA kept the higher AMT exemption but lowered the phaseout thresholds and doubled the phaseout rate. The 2026 amounts and what California taxpayers should check.
August 2, 2026 · 3 min read
The $15 Million Estate Tax Exclusion Made Permanent For 2026
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act sets the federal estate tax exclusion at $15 million per individual for 2026 and makes it permanent, indexed for inflation. What changed, what did not, and how to think about gifting now.
July 26, 2026 · 3 min read
OBBBA Senior Deduction: What Taxpayers Age 65+ Should Know
The OBBBA adds a temporary federal deduction of up to $6,000 per eligible taxpayer age 65 or older for tax years 2025-2028. Income phaseout rules, and what California filers should check.
July 19, 2026 · 3 min read
2026 Standard Deduction vs. Itemizing: How to Decide
A practical 2026 comparison of the federal standard deduction and itemizing, with California considerations, senior rules, and a records checklist.
July 12, 2026 · 3 min read
What the $40,000 SALT Cap Means for California Taxpayers
The OBBBA SALT cap is $40,000 for 2025 and $40,400 for 2026, rising 1% a year through 2029. What the phaseout means for California itemizers.
July 5, 2026 · 3 min read
The QBI Deduction Is Permanent: What The OBBBA Changes For 2026
The OBBBA made the federal Section 199A deduction permanent. What business owners should know about QBI limits, 2026 thresholds, and California's separate rules.
June 28, 2026 · 3 min read
100% Bonus Depreciation Under OBBBA: What Real Estate Owners Should Know
How the federal 100% bonus depreciation rule under OBBBA can affect qualifying real estate components, cost segregation, and California reporting.
June 21, 2026 · 2 min read
California FTB Estimated Tax Penalty Abatement: How to Request Relief
California estimated tax penalties are not always final. Learn the FTB safe harbors, Form 5805 process, and how to request relief when reasonable cause or a statutory exception applies.
June 14, 2026 · 3 min read
IRS CP162A Notice: How S Corporations Should Respond
Received IRS Notice CP162A for an S corporation? Here is what the notice usually means, how to check the filing record, and when a penalty-abatement request may be appropriate.
June 7, 2026 · 4 min read
Energy Community Adder: Census Tract Lookup Guide
A census tract lookup can help screen a solar project's potential energy community eligibility. Here's what the DOE map shows, what it cannot decide, and what to document before claiming a credit.
May 31, 2026 · 4 min read
Section 30C EV Charging Credit Ended June 30, 2026: Claiming It on Your 2026 Return
Section 30C ended for EV charging property placed in service after June 30, 2026. If yours was ready for use by that date, here's how to claim it on the 2026 return and what to keep.
May 24, 2026 · 4 min read
COVID-Era IRS Penalty Refunds: The Kwong Case After July 10, 2026
July 10, 2026 was the protective-claim date that came out of the Kwong case. Where the appeal stands, what the IRS already abated automatically, and what to do if you filed a claim or missed it.
May 19, 2026 · 4 min read
After-Tax Deal Underwriting Framework for Real Estate
Separate operating cash flow, taxes, financing, and exit assumptions before you decide what a property can support.
May 17, 2026 · 6 min read
IRS First-Time Penalty Abatement: What to Know Before You Ask
The IRS may remove certain penalties when your compliance history is clean. How First-Time Abate works, what it covers, and what to check before you request it.
May 10, 2026 · 3 min read
Partnership Taxation For Real Estate Investors In 2026
K-1s, basis, at-risk and passive loss limits, property contributions, debt, guaranteed payments, and California filing checks for real-estate partnerships.
May 3, 2026 · 5 min read
Cost Segregation And Bonus Depreciation In 2026
A 2026 cost segregation study can move components into 5-, 7-, and 15-year classes that qualify for 100% federal bonus depreciation if acquired after January 19, 2025. What to document, and why California doesn't follow.
April 26, 2026 · 4 min read
How to Separate Co-Owned LLCs Without Triggering Unwanted Taxes
A California partnership split can be tax-free, but property, debt, and hot assets can change the result. Use this checklist before you transfer an LLC interest or real estate.
April 25, 2026 · 5 min read
How to Claim Missed Depreciation Without Amending Tax Returns
Missed depreciation on rental real estate can often be caught up on the current return through a Section 481(a) adjustment, without amending every prior year.
April 20, 2026 · 2 min read
How the OBBBA Impacts Your 2026 Tax Strategy
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act reshapes several 2026 planning items for higher-income filers, from QBI and bonus depreciation to SALT, the standard deduction, and the estate exclusion.
April 19, 2026 · 2 min read
Taxable Boot in a 1031 Exchange
Boot is cash or other non-like-kind value you receive in a 1031 exchange. How it shows up, why it is taxable, and what equal-or-greater value and debt usually mean for full deferral.
April 17, 2026 · 3 min read
Depreciation Recapture When You Sell Investment Property
Depreciation recapture when you sell investment property: how claimed depreciation returns in the gain, the 25% piece, and a worked basis example.
April 15, 2026 · 2 min read
Spousal REPS: When One Spouse's Hours Free Up Rental Losses
On a joint return, one spouse’s real estate hours can make rental losses non-passive. The more-than-half and 750-hour tests, material participation, and why the log matters.
April 12, 2026 · 2 min read
How to Lower Your Property Tax Assessment Step by Step
Keep more of your hard-earned money by learning how to challenge an unfair property tax assessment. This guide shows you exactly how to research and appeal your valuation.
February 21, 2026 · 2 min read