It is a basic principle of federal tax law that a taxpayer cannot, for purposes of determining the taxpayer’s taxable income, claim a loss with respect to an investment in excess of the taxpayer’s unrecovered economic cost for such investment. If the taxpayer invested $X to acquire a non-depreciable asset – for example,
Partnership Allocations
The allocation of a partnership’s items of income, gain, deduction and loss among its partners must have substantial economic effect if it is to be respected by the IRS. The determination of whether an allocation has substantial economic effect for tax purposes involves a two-part analysis: first, the allocation must have economic effect
The owners of closely-held businesses are among the greatest benefactors of charitable organizations in this country. Although their contributions to charity are usually effectuated through the transfer of cash or marketable securities, it is often the case that the only asset available to satisfy an owner’s charitable inclinations is his or her interest in the
Partnership Allocations
A few weeks back we discussed the allocation of a partnership’s income and losses among its partners. Specifically, we considered the requirement that an allocation to a partner must have substantial economic effect if it is to be respected by the IRS. The determination of whether an allocation has substantial economic effect for
The Passive Loss Rules
In general, if a taxpayer’s aggregate losses from passive activities exceed the taxpayer’s aggregate income from passive activities for the taxable year, the excess losses may not be deducted against other income for that taxable year. Such excess losses are suspended and are carried forward, to be treated as deductions from
Don’t miss Part I, here!
“I appreciate your eagerness,” said the adviser. “You can just imagine how I feel every morning when I read through the latest tax news. It takes a Herculean effort to contain myself.”
“OMG,” he’s crazy, “what was my dad thinking when he retained this guy?!”
“I see the look
The employee-owner of a corporate business will sometimes ask his or her tax adviser, “How much can I pay myself out of my corporation?”
The astute tax adviser may respond, “First of all, you are not paying yourself. The corporation is a separate entity from you, its shareholder. That being said, the corporation can pay
It Was the Worst of Times, Except . . .
It happens in most closely-held businesses: so long as the business is profitable and cash keeps flowing into the hands of the owners, everyone is happy. When the spigot slows, or is just plain turned off, however, the investor-owners (as distinguished from the management-owners) will
Related Party Expenses
It is not unusual for one close corporation to pay the expenses incurred by a related corporation or business. There are many circumstances in which such a payment may occur, but they share one overriding theme: the related corporations view themselves – or, more properly, their owners view them – as a
Constructive Dividends
In the last several weeks, I have seen a number of examples of what are commonly referred to as “constructive dividends,” including a corporation’s satisfaction of the personal expenses of its shareholders.
Unlike a regular dividend distribution, a constructive dividend does not involve the formal declaration of a dividend by the corporation, followed