Jorgen Rex Olson, Author at Think Outside the Tax Box

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT

Jorgen Rex Olson

A Pacific Northwest native, Mr. Olson graduated from Washington State University in 2008 with a degree (cum laude) in history. Subsequently, he graduated from the Indiana University School of Law (McKinney) in Indianapolis in 2012. Since graduating from law school, Mr. Olson has held various positions, including a position as an independent researcher on Section 1031. In addition to his work at TOTTB, he writes for several sites including Financial Planning Magazine, The CPA Journal, and Accounting Today. When not working, he enjoys playing indoor soccer, boxing, and exercising. He currently resides in the greater Seattle metro area.

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An Overview of the Risks and Possibilities of Related Party Exchanges

IRC § 1031 exchanges have the ability to confer substantial financial benefits to taxpayers. Although taxpayers may use § 1031 to place themselves in a superior economic position, taxpayers may not exploit this section in an abusive manner. Taxpayers can use exchanges to give themselves different types of benefits, but one of the primary benefits is the deferral of federal income tax. When conducted correctly, 1031 exchanges are regarded as a form of legitimate tax avoidance. One of the main issues involved with these transactions is determining the boundaries between abusive tax avoidance and non-abusive tax avoidance. In the context of “related party exchanges” – i.e. those transactions which involve subsection 1031(f) – this issue shows up in a relatively complex fashion, because the related party rules are not well understood by most practitioners. Furthermore, determining abusive tax avoidance with related party exchanges is difficult because of the scarcity of case law.

Based on the case law which we have, and on the other authoritative references, we can put together a reasonable overview of the risks of related party exchanges. This overview should prove useful when providing expert counsel to taxpayers seeking to conduct this type of transaction. For direct exchanges, the 2-year ownership rule found in 1031(f)(1)(C) should be used as the dominant source of guidance. For “indirect exchanges,” taxpayers must be aware of the higher levels of risk involved, as there is a greater possibility of abusive tax avoidance.

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CURRENT EDITION

Summertime Marketing in Your Tax & Accounting Firm

Tax season is prosperous, summer is dry until extension season. Do you find yourself in that cycle? Clients are “easy” to get during tax season when taxes are top of mind. Then the direct deposits go dry by June, and you are looking for what’s next. Stop the search, you don’t have to add another service. You need better marketing to highlight the service that you offer and specialize in. This will allow you to have a predictable client pipeline. You can do tax preparation, planning, and or representation all year long.

Observations on the House-Passed OBBB

This article focuses on the OBBB from the House offering a variety of observations to help understand the range of changes, relevance to compliance and planning, process considerations and some unexpected provisions. While the final OBBB will not include all of the House provisions or will modify some of them, there are lessons to learn to understand the tax legislation process and results now and in the future.

Client Retention as a Prospecting Strategy: Turning Current Clients into Referral Sources

In the competitive accounting world, where trust and reliability are paramount, client retention is not just a success metric—it’s a vital strategy for sustainable growth. For Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), accountants, and bookkeepers, maintaining a solid relationship with existing clients can unlock new business opportunities, turning satisfied clients into powerful referral sources.

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  • The Trouble with Management Companies

    Management companies exist in a variety of fields for sound reasons. Real estate owners, for example, will hire a management company to collect the rent and deal with maintenance of their properties. Professional practices may use management companies to allow non-professional owners a stake in the practice. Sometimes, though, management companies are not for a real business purpose but rather as a device to shift income. It often does not end well as we will see.

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    Here’s How a Family Limited Partnership Can Protect Your Assets From Tax

    Planning for your future generations often means being real about how much (or how little) will be left behind for your heirs. If you’re like most, it is difficult to imagine telling your grandchildren they may be forced to sell the family home to pay off the IRS in estate tax. One solution is to look for a legal way to move assets and money to your children (or others) while minimizing your tax. A Family Limited Partnerships (FLP) might be the perfect mechanism for you to accomplish this. These special types of partnerships provide solutions to two main issues: asset protection and estate tax reduction. Not only will this help you create a legacy of giving, but it will also ensure that the family business or home actually stays, “in the family.” Asset protection is important as it limits your risk exposure and liability to lawsuits, bankruptcy, and other claims. FLP’s are used to move assets during your life leaving the amount of your taxable estate smaller, and helping you gift much more than the law typically allows. But if you’re thinking this means giving a seat to Jr. at the board room table, think again. You can optimally set up this arrangement to ensure you maintain control until you are ready to step down. All is not rosy in the world of FLPs however. These types of arrangements can be viewed by the IRS as abusive tax shelters to transfer wealth tax free. Keep reading for an in-depth look at FLP’s.

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    Net Operating Loss Changes and the CARES Act: Planning Opportunities for 2020 Returns

    One bright side to losing money in your business is your ability to at least use those losses as a tax deduction against other income you may have. Unfortunately due to tax reform it shredded your ability to claim NOLs after 2017 to 80% of taxable income - it all eliminated the opportunity to carry back these losses to get refunds. We’ve still been reeling from both of these changes. The CARES Act changed net operating losses (NOLs) in a major way to make usage of an NOL more taxpayer friendly … for a limited time. Because the changes are retroactive to 2018, this gives you the opportunity for 3 years of losses to provide much needed relief. The Treasury even provided a fast track to cash - keep reading to find out how.

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    How to Deduct Even More Expenses as Self-Employed Health Expenses

    Question: Can I still deduct self-employed health insurance if my spouse has insurance through their employment? Answer: You may potentially qualify for the deduction even if your spouse has insurance through their employment. Healthcare costs seem to be always on the rise, and if you’re self-employed if can be tough to find an affordable option for a single participant plan. The good news is, the Self-Employed Health Insurance deduction provides an “above the line” write-off helping you not only save tax through a lower taxable income, but it also helps to slash your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI). Lowering your AGI also helps mitigate the disadvantages of AGI based tax laws. For example, some itemized like medical expenses and charitable contributions can be hampered by the amount of your AGI. In other words, AGI determines how much of certain deductions and tax credits you can take. There are three steps to qualifying for this deduction including some special provisions that let you sweeten the deal. Did you know you can even write off dental and long-term care insurance as self-employed medical expense? You can! Here’s how to get even more write-offs if you’re self-employed.

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    Employee Retention Credit for the Little People

    The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) was probably the ugly step-child of the CARES Act. It received very little attention from tax practitioners, because participation in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) precluded ERC. The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act changed all that. This good news to you as a business owner threatens to overwhelm smaller tax firms, some of which might leave a valuable service to be performed probably less than ideally by the sorts of firms that sell R&D studies and cost segregation. They are already advertising. To avoid missing out on this valuable service for your client or to capture this free cash for yourself as a small business owner, keep reading.

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    Taking Cash from Your C Corporation: Which Tactic is Best for You?

    Being a shareholder owner of a C corporation comes with certain benefits, including the ability to take cash from your business. How to do so depends on your short- and long-term goals and consideration of the tax trade-offs. This article will discuss the options available to shareholder owners, other than borrowing, to realize cash from a corporation that is expected to continue.

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    Taking Care of Your Business: Estate Planning for Business Owners

    You have put blood, sweat, and tears into your business and the hard work has finally paid off. Unfortunately, all the success may result in a significant tax bill for family members and very few resources available to pay it. Without an alternative, your business could end up on the chopping block for a fraction of what it is worth. It doesn’t have to be that way! Careful estate planning can result in: 1. Minimization of estate taxes 2. Generation of needed liquidity to satisfy estate expenses Continue reading to learn more!

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    How to Get More Tax Write-offs for Your Rental Property

    Question: Do I need to have my LLC hold the title to my rental property to get the tax benefits? Answer: If you’re like most investors, you probably purchased your rental property in your own name. While this doesn’t keep you from accessing all the special tax breaks available with owning real estate, it does expose you to some risky liabilities. Insurance can cover a lot of predictable liabilities like slip and falls, theft, and vandalism, but there are many other things that can happen putting not only the property at risk but also your personal assets. One way to protect against this risk is by using an LLC to hold your property. Most LLCs act like a corporation in providing limited liability protection against creditors for your personal assets and your other non-real estate business activities. Like most things in law, changing the deed can lead to a whole set of problems. So be sure to think twice before changing your deed. There are two key problems this action can cause you as the property’s owner. Keep reading to learn how to overcome them.

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