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You are here: Home > I Just Got a Rental, What Do I Do? > Introduction > Glossary

  • I Just Got a Rental, What Do I Do?

    • Introduction

      • About the Author
      • Progressive Updates
      • Introduction Disclaimer
      • Shameless Self-Promotion
      • Book Introduction
      • Quick Reference 2023
      • Quick Reference 2024
      • Glossary
    • Chap 1 - Ownership Arrangements

      • Real Estate and Rental Properties as a Business
      • Basic Business Entities For Real Estate Investment
      • Sole Proprietorship
      • Single-Member Limited Liability Company (SMLLC)
      • Multi-Member Limited Liability Company (MMLLC)
      • Limited Liability Partnerships (LLP) and General Partnerships (GP)
      • Rental Property In Partnership Entities
      • C Corporations
      • Rental Property In C Corporations
      • S Corporations
      • Pass-Through Versus Disregarded Entity Taxation
      • Your Spouse As A Business Partner (Happy Happy Joy Joy)
      • Owning A Rental Property With Others
      • Real Estate Investing With Family Partners
      • Real Estate Holding Company and Operating Company
      • Pure LLC Holding Company
      • Economic versus Equity Interests
      • Structuring Real Estate Deals with Angel Investors
      • Loans or Capital Injections
      • LLC Benefits For Rental Properties
      • Multi-Entity Rental Property Tiered Structure
      • Using a Trust In Your Real Estate Holding Company
      • Operating Agreements For Real Estate Partnerships
      • Real Estate Succession Planning
      • Fallacy Of A Nevada LLC (or Delaware, or Wyoming, or wherever!)
      • Liability Protection Fallacy Of An LLC
      • Charging Orders
      • Using A Self-Directed IRA Or 401k To Buy A Rental Property
      • Trapped Rental Assets In An S Corporation
    • Chap 2 - Initial Asset Management

      • Getting The Rental Business Launched
      • Rental Property Acquisition Costs
      • Real Estate Asset Setup On Your Tax Returns
      • Cost Segregation Study
      • Retroactive Look-Back Cost Segregation Study
      • Converting Primary Residence To A Rental
      • Moving Your Rental Property Into An LLC
    • Chap 3 - Rental Property Tax Considerations

      • Three Types of Income
      • Passive Activity Loss Limits
      • Passive Income Generators (PIG)
      • Your Small Business As A Passive Income Activity
      • Material Participation Rules
      • What Time Counts For Material Participation
      • Real Estate Professional Status (REPS)
      • Short-Term Rental (STR) Loophole
      • Vacation Home Rules
      • State Problems With Your Rental Property
    • Chap 4 - Rental Property Tax Deductions

      • Chapter Introduction
      • Five Basics to Warm Up To
      • Value of a Rental Property Tax Deduction
      • Rental Property Tax Deductions Themes
      • Section 199A Rental Property Deduction
      • Common Rental Property Tax Deductions
      • Allocation of General Rental Expenses
      • Rental Property Travel Deductions
      • Rental Property Meals
      • Mortgage Interest Tracing
      • Acquisition Costs (revisited)
      • Rental Property Repairs Safe Harbor (revisited)
      • Repairs Versus Improvements (revisited)
      • Rental Property Depreciation (revisited)
      • Automobile Deductions with Rentals
      • Automobile Decision Tree
      • Home Office Deduction
      • Real Estate Education Expenses
      • 185 Rental Property Tax Deductions You Cannot Take
      • Deductions the IRS Cannot Stand
      • Cohan Rule For Rental Property Owners
      • Reducing Taxes
    • Chap 5 - Operational Asset Management

      • Rental Property Repairs Safe Harbors
      • Improvement Versus Repairs
      • Rental Property Renovations (Rehab)
      • Accelerated Depreciation and Section 179 Deduction
      • Allowed Versus Allowable Depreciation
      • Qualified Improvement Property (QIP)
      • Partial Asset Disposition (PAD)
      • 1031 Like-Kind Exchange
      • Selling Your Rental Property
      • Buying Out Your Real Estate Partner
      • Taking The Rental Out of Service
      • Changing Depreciation Between 27.5 and 39.0 Years
    • Chap 6 - Retirement Planning

      • Retirement Planning Within Your Rental Property
      • Basic Retirement Planning
      • Tax Savings and Tax Deferrals
      • The Owners-Only 401k Plan
      • Roth 401k Plans
      • Roth 401k Versus Traditional 401k Considerations
      • Two 401k Plans
      • Rolling Old 401k Plans or IRAs into Your Small Business 401k Plan
    • Epilogue

      • Rental Property Tax Return Preparation
      • Rental Property Accounting
      • Real Estate CPAs
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Glossary

real estate glossaryBy Jason Watson, CPA
Posted Saturday, August 3, 2024

We toss around a lot of terms and not always in the best order. As such, here is a quick glossary-

Adjusted Basis

Adjusted basis refers to any adjustments made to the original purchase price of an asset over time usually because of depreciation.

Depreciable Basis

Depreciation is a measurement of the “useful life” of a business asset, such as machinery or a building, to determine the multiyear period over which the cost of that asset can be deducted from taxable income. Depreciable basis is the portion of the asset that is available for depreciation (i.e., land is not depreciated).

Depreciation Recapture

If you sell or otherwise dispose of depreciated business property including real estate property for a gain (the sale price exceeds the adjusted cost basis), depreciation recapture permits the IRS to take back (i.e., “recapture”) some of the tax benefits you received over the years through depreciation deductions. As such, depreciation might be a little tax bomb or IOU to the IRS.

Fixed Asset Listing (FAL)

Fixed assets are long-term assets. This means the assets have a useful life of more than one year. Fixed assets include property, plant, and equipment (PP&E) and are recorded as such on your tax returns (and financial statements should you have a balance sheet).

Internal Revenue Code (IRC)

The IRC can be found in Title 26 of the United States Code or “26 USC.”

K-1

A K-1 is similar to a W-2 since it reports income and other items for each member, partner, shareholder, owner or beneficiary. It is coded to tell the IRS how the business activities should be treated. A K-1 is generated by an entity since the entity is passing along the income tax obligation to the K-1 recipient (hence the concept pass-through entity, or PTE).

Nexus

State tax nexus is an important concern for real estate investors that have a multistate presence because of activities in other states. Nexus is a threshold issue that must be evaluated to determine whether an activity has a tax filing obligations in a particular jurisdiction. State tax nexus refers to the amount and type of business activity that must be present before the business is subject to the state’s taxing authority. State tax nexus considerations differ by tax type and jurisdiction, and there has been limited guidance from tax authorities as to when nexus conclusively exists. Various business and real estate activities could create state tax nexus for sales and use tax, income tax or franchise tax.

Passive Activity Loss Limitations

Generally, passive activity losses that exceed the passive activity income are disallowed for the current year. You can carry forward disallowed passive losses to the next taxable year. Passive activities include trade or business activities in which you don’t materially participate.

You materially participate in an activity if you’re involved in the operation of the activity on a regular, continuous, and substantial basis. In general, rental activities, including rental real estate activities, are passive activities even if you materially participate. However, rental real estate activities in which you materially participate aren’t passive activities if you qualify as a real estate professional.

Safe Harbor

A safe harbor refers to a provision that provides protection from liability or penalties under specific situations or conditions. Commonly, safe harbors present numbers or other “bright lines.” Rather than defending your tax position with facts, circumstances and arguments, you can defend the position by meeting or exceeding a list of criteria. There are several safe harbors within the tax code.

Section 1245 Property

Personal property that is subject to the allowance of depreciation.

Section 1250 Property

Real property such as rental properties and commercial buildings are subject to the allowance of depreciation. It does not include tangible or intangible personal property or land.

Step-up in Basis

The step-up in basis provision adjusts the value, or “cost basis,” of an inherited asset (stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.) when it is passed on, after death. This often reduces the capital gains tax owed by the recipient. The cost basis receives a “step-up” to its fair market value, or the price at which the good would be sold or purchased in a fair market.

Treasury Regulations (“the regs”)

Treasury regulations (commonly referred to as federal tax regulations) provide the official interpretation of the IRC by the Department of the Treasury and give directions to taxpayers on how to comply with the IRC’s requirements. Also referred to as Code of Federal Regulations, or “26 CFR.”

Unadjusted Basis

Unadjusted basis is the initial value assigned to an asset. It includes the cash cost or price of an asset, any liability assumed to acquire the asset, any asset the purchaser gave to the seller as part of the transaction, and any purchase expenses incurred to acquire the asset.

Jason Watson, CPA, is a Senior Partner of WCG CPAs & Advisors, a boutique yet progressive tax,
accounting and business consultation firm located in Colorado serving real estate investors worldwide.


Jason Watson CPA LinkedIn     Jason Watson CPA Email

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