Posts tagged ‘Tax’

Once you have determined that you are entitled to claim a deduction for business use of your home, you then need to determine the allowable deductions that are related to your business, and the use of your home.
So what household expenses are deductible? To make this determination it is necessary to separate your household expenses into three categories;

1) Expenses that are not related to your business use.

2) Expenses that are indirectly related to your business.

3) Expenses that are directly related to your business.

Let’s eliminate one category right away. Expenses that are totally unrelated to your business are not deductible, therefore these expenses need to be treated as personal expenses. In general I would state that all expenses directly related to your business would be deductible. In addition, the portion of related expenses that are not directly related would be deductible. I might caution you that because of limits placed on deductions for expenses that pertain to your business, you may find that even directly and indirectly related expenses could be disallowed. I won’t go into this here, but you could research what limits are placed on deductions to make a determination in your situation.

I should explain what a directly related expense is. These would be the expenses incurred in your home that benefit only the business portion of your home. This would be for the area used exclusively for your business, and only for the business area. An example would be new carpet only in the area used exclusively for business, or painting the area.
Directly related expenses are fully deductible but are subject to a limit based on the gross income of the business . If a direct expense is for the purchase of property that will be used for more than one year (furniture), the cost must generally be depreciated over a number of years.
Ok now let’s discuss indirectly related expenses. These are the expenses that you incur in maintaining and running your entire home.
These expenses benefit both your business and personal portions of the home. You may use the business portion of these expenses to calculate the home office deduction. Indirect expenses include such items as: 1. Real estate taxes;
2. Deductible mortgage interest;
3. Rent;
4. Utilities and services;
5. Insurance; and
6. Depreciation. Read more »

Taxes

Taxes are a levy imposed upon people or legal entities by a governmental entity. There are many forms of taxes including income taxes, property taxes, capital gains taxes, consumption taxes, excise taxes, retirement taxes, sales taxes, tariffs, toll taxes and transfer taxes. This article focuses on reducing income taxes for real estate owners.

Income taxes often seemed unavoidable. However, real estate investors have multiple opportunities to defer and reduce federal income taxes. Real estate owners receive income tax breaks not available to investors for many other asset classes. These include depreciation, income tax rate reduction, and the like-kind exchange. This article discusses how real estate owners can reduce income taxes by increasing the level of depreciation, using tax-deferred changes, casualty losses, maximizing expenses and planning to minimize estate taxes.

Depreciation is a non-cash expense which can both defer and reduce the level of federal income taxes. In some cases, depreciation actually eliminates federal income taxes. When an owner claims depreciation, and does not sell the property before it passes into his estate, the income deferred by the depreciation is never taxed.

Most real estate owners know depreciation defers federal income taxes. Few know real estate depreciation also reduces federal income taxes. The common perception is that depreciation simply shifts payment of income taxes from when income is earned until property is sold. However, depreciation often changes the character of income from ordinary income to capital gains income.

Consider the following example: George purchased an apartment complex in 2005. After obtaining a cost segregation study, approximately 20% of the cost basis of the improvements was allocated to 15 year property, such as landscaping, paving, sidewalks, parking lot striping and exterior signs. If George sells the property in five years, one-third of the cost basis of the 15 year property will have depreciated. Isn’t it also reasonable the market value of this property will be one- third less than when the property was purchased?

More often than not, tax preparers believe the market value of short-life property is similar to the remaining basis when property is sold. This means there is no gain upon sale. Hence, additional depreciation was taken for short-life property (which could be used to reduce income taxable as ordinary income rates) while George owned the property. At time of sale, the portion of the gain equal to the short-life depreciation is taxed at the capital gains rate. This is how cost segregation reduces federal income taxes. Hence, federal income taxes are both deferred from the time income is earned until a sale occurs and the tax rate is reduced from the ordinary income tax rates to the capital gains rate.

Cost segregation can lead to meaningful deferral of federal income taxes. However, its most significant power is its ability to convert income taxed at the ordinary income rates to income taxed at the capital gains rate.
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1. Don’t Forget You Still Have UK Tax To Pay!

Arguably, this is more of a warning than a tip, but it is vital to remember that any UK resident individual buying property abroad is still exposed to UK tax on that property. This may include UK Income Tax on rental income, UK Capital Gains Tax on property sales and UK Inheritance Tax on any foreign properties you leave to your children.

The UK tax burden is often greater than any foreign tax liabilities, so it makes sense to undertake UK tax planning for your foreign property. Many of the same planning techniques that work well on UK property can be used equally on foreign property, although the overseas angle adds an extra dimension and brings both additional opportunities and additional pitfalls to be wary of.

2. Main Residence Relief for Foreign Holiday Homes

There is nothing in the UK tax legislation to say that a foreign holiday home cannot be a UK resident individual’s main residence for Capital Gains Tax purposes.

A holiday home can be treated as your main residence by making an election to that effect, generally within two years of buying the property.

The foreign property must be your own holiday home for at least part of the time but, by making the election, you will be able to exempt some or all of the capital gain on your foreign home from UK Capital Gains Tax.

Beware, however, that you’re only allowed one main residence and, if you’re married or in a civil partnership, you’re only allowed one between you, so electing to treat your holiday home as your main residence could backfire if you sell your main house back in the UK.

You can get the best of both worlds though, if you only elect to treat your foreign property as your main residence for a short period, say a week. How does this help? Well, since every main residence is also exempt for the last three years of ownership, that week buys you three years. In other words, you lose one week’s worth of exemption on your main house but gain three years (and a week) of exemption on your foreign holiday home.

3. Travel at the Treasury’s Expense

If you’re renting out foreign property, you have a foreign rental business. Like any other business, you’re entitled to claim tax relief for your business expenses. That includes any travel costs which you incur for business purposes. Read more »

Although Lorilland Inc sales edged up from 1.05 million last year to $1.07 million this year, second quarterly report shows that their profit declined to $217 million from $239 million earlier year or declined on share $1.25 per share in the present compared with $1.37 per share last year.

Declined on their quarterly report are caused of two main reason, increasing on income sales and spin off from Loews Corporation. Income tax rate rose to 39.2 percent from 37.3 percent in year earlier.

MetLife Inc. reports second-quarter financial results on Tuesday after the market closes. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

OVERVIEW: Turbulent markets and the plummeting dollar pummeled MetLife’s investment portfolio in the first quarter, shrinking the New York’s insurer’s profit by 37 percent.

The company’s car and home insurance division’s profit also fell during the first quarter because of more claims from insured damage. During the recent quarter, MetLife made some market moves, with a subsidiary of the insurance giant saying it will buy the residential mortgage business of a unit of First Horizon National Corp. for an undisclosed amount.

MetLife also announced plans to sell its 52 percent stake in Reinsurance Group of America Inc. to MetLife shareholders. Both transactions are expected to close in the third quarter.

BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts, on average, expect MetLife to earn $1.51 per share during the second quarter on revenue of $13.89 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.

ANALYST TAKE: Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. analyst Randy Binner said uncertainties surrounding credit and market exposures remain in the insurance industry. Generally speaking, “Market sensitivities will again affect insurance operating results, although to a lesser extent than in the first quarter,” he wrote in a research note.

WHAT’S AHEAD: MetLife continues to push itself into the mortgage business. Its deal with First Horizon includes all of First Horizon’s origination business outside of the bank’s home state of Tennessee, servicing some $20 billion in mortgages. More than 230 retail and wholesale offices across the U.S. will be transferred. Read more »

Prolog;To open my stupid metropolis opinion; I have simple question for us to answer and discussion together; which Countries give Marlboro Lucky Strikes profit? And Why Poor Countries are the biggest cigarettes market segment? Or why Poor Countries consume the biggest portion of Global Cigarettes Production?

Japanese Television and Newspapers launched the news that Government has been making good constitution about Smokers maniac. Government prohibited smoker to do their hobby; smoking in public area (public goods areas). The Government also provides the limited areas for smoker. Funny story from Japanese news that government makes a narrow room, transparent with glasses for smokers, so we can see smokers sit and enjoy the cigarettes. The Japanese government targeting those smokers will be shy because people can see smokers freely.

The case also happened in Europe and America. Government prohibits and does some actions explicitly based on relating regulations. The regulation is working so far. Health is the main and important reason why governments in many countries do the regulation; limiting and reducing quantity smokers. Read more »

Samsung Chief is reported to retire from his position.

Lee Kun-hee (66) Head of the Korean Giant Samsung Group reported decide to put his position after 22 years. The decision rose as his indicting to evasion tax and avoids this beach of trust, Reuters report.

Internal staff reported that Lee and his family still control Samsung.

Lee came to Samsung when the company was on trouble and in his hand and some fortune, later Samsung began a largest company in Korea and he also became conglomerate.

I would like to share my opinion about Tax Evasion, not about the Samsung Chief.

Many conglomerates and success businessmen are trouble go to the Jail because of Tax Evasion. As we know well, Tax makes our profit decline. So many businessmen try to manipulate their tax, the goal is high profit net (profit minus tax).

I don’t mind why they do tax evasion. For example (illustrate) if Samsung books profit net (in normal case with no tax evasion) around $ 100 million. With tax evasion the profit turns to $ 120 million. It means there is $ 20 million is illegal money and the amount is much. Read more »