Archive for the ‘tax’ Category

Q&A: Long-term holds vs rent-to-owns: inactive vs. active income?

Posted on: February 27th, 2014 by Real Estate Accountants 2 Comments

Q.  We currently own 6 revenue properties, and over the last 6 years we have sold 5 revenue properties. We have always been buy and hold. We are considering entering into a Rent-to-Own agreement and I understand it will be taxed as active business income. It would be a one year or two year term. […]

Beware late filing penalties with the IRS

Posted on: February 26th, 2014 by Real Estate Accountants

In the past year, we have seen a significant increase in late filing penalties being assessed by the IRS. Both the number and size of the penalties are of concern. In fact, these late filing penalties are now being assessed even for failure to file information forms on a timely basis. In other words, no […]

Using employment expenses to get a free raise

Posted on: December 6th, 2013 by Real Estate Accountants

How can your employer give you a raise, without spending any money? Ask your employer to fill out a T2200 form – Declarations of Conditions of Employment. With a T2200, you have the ability to deduct employment expenses such as vehicles, assistants, supplies, etc. This means paying less in personal taxes. You’ll need this before […]

Home office expenses: What can I deduct?

Posted on: October 10th, 2013 by Real Estate Accountants
Home office

“I have heard from my real estate investor friends that I can deduct part of my home as home office expenses. What’s the real story behind this?” This is a common question from our clients. Generally speaking home office expenses are deductible if you can demonstrate that they directly relate to the rental operation. The […]

JVs and Capital Gains: Getting down to the nitty gritty

Posted on: September 11th, 2013 by Real Estate Accountants 3 Comments

Note: A version of this article was originally published on georgeEdube.com. Question: I am currently working on my first JV partnership and have a question regarding Capital Gains. In this instance my JV partner is making the down payment and will solely be on the title and mortgage. In your experience, what is typically done regarding […]

Q&A: How do I minimize taxes when I pull out RRSP money to purchase real estate?

Posted on: December 12th, 2012 by Real Estate Accountants

Do you guys have any suggestions on how to pull out some RRSP funds and minimize the tax impact?  Looking to pull out some funds to buy real estate in the US… Answer: On the question of RRSP withdrawals, it’s not so much that you’re going to reduce any taxes, but whether or not there […]

What Non-Residents Should Know about Selling Canadian Real Estate: Part 2

Posted on: October 16th, 2012 by Real Estate Accountants 5 Comments

In Part 1 of this article, we discussed non-residents who own Canadian real estate. In Part 2, we’re going to focus on when non-residents sell Canadian real estate. What are the additional tax issues when the non-resident disposes of a Canadian real estate rental property? Non-residents must apply for a clearance certificate from the Canadian […]

What Non-Residents Should Know About Holding Canadian Real Estate: Part 1

Posted on: September 19th, 2012 by Real Estate Accountants 2 Comments

In the last few months, we have received calls and emails from Saudi Arabia, Kenya and Australia, to name a few, from investors who hold Canadian real estate, and need help ensuring they stay onside with Canada Revenue Agency. This article, part 1, covers what non-residents (NR) need to know about holding Canadian real estate. […]

New partnership reporting rules

Posted on: February 1st, 2012 by Real Estate Accountants

Legislation and policy are two different things with Canada Revenue Agency. Legislation is the rules, and policies are how they are enforced. One of these enforcement changes has particular interest for real estate investors in partnerships, and may catch many real estate investors and other partnerships off-guard. For partnerships, the CRA has changed an administrative […]

Beware of fraudulent emails from CRA

Posted on: December 19th, 2011 by Real Estate Accountants

We have had a number of clients ask us about suspicious emails they’ve received that claims to be from Canada Revenue Agency. To help combat this problem, CRA has issued a series of warnings about email scams that are currently circulating. The CRA has posted an article outlining what you should beware of when you […]