You Don't Need a 1031 to Defer a Real Estate Gain. You've Just Been Told You Do.
A 1031 can't take a passive investor out of direct ownership and into a syndication — a partnership interest isn't like-kind to real property. The lazy 1031 reaches the same destination through the passive activity rules: net the gain against a fresh first-year passive loss, no intermediary, no 45-day clock.
Read articleYour Accrued Preferred Return Is Still a Tax Bill for Your LPs
An accrued pref didn't get paid, so most sponsors assume it can't hit a K-1. Under targeted allocations it does — the unpaid return keeps raising the LP's capital account claim, surfacing as phantom income in the profit years and a heavier, partially ordinary gain at exit.
Read articlePassive Activity Isn't the First Hurdle for Your K-1 Loss. It's the Third.
Most advisors stop at the passive activity loss rules. But a K-1 loss has to clear two earlier gates first — outside basis under 704(d) and at-risk under 465. Get the order wrong and you're not analyzing the loss, you're guessing at it.
Read article100% Bonus Depreciation Is Back. For Most of Your LPs, That Changes Nothing This Year.
The rate returning is not the same thing as the deduction being useful. Whether bonus depreciation actually reduces a partner's tax bill comes down to passive income position, real estate professional status, and outside basis — none of which live in your deal model.
Read articleYour Fund Can Owe a Tax Return Without Owing a Dollar of Tax
A state tax return and a state tax bill are two separate obligations. Residency filing requirements can force your fund to file in states where it earns nothing — and the penalty for a missed zero-dollar return is calculated per partner, per month.
Read articleYour Exit Tax Bill Is Bigger Than You Think
Most operators model the whole gain at 15 to 20 percent and move on. The problem is that model is wrong, and the gap between that number and your actual tax bill can be six figures. Here's what's actually happening inside a sale.
Read articleIf You're Not Structuring Partner Exits With a Tax Advisor, You're Leaving Money on the Table
A partner buyout looks like a valuation exercise. Tax-wise, it's a depreciation event. The redemption and sale paths look identical on paper and produce very different K-1s — and the 754 election is the door the deductions enter through.
Read articleYour Cash Waterfall Might Be Breaking Your Tax Allocations
Most CRE sponsors treat the cash waterfall as an economic split. Under a targeted allocation, it's the math your tax allocations are reverse-engineered from — which means every promote tweak, preferred raise, and side letter is a tax event.
Read articleWhen a Partner Wants Out of an LLC, the Exit Structure Can Unlock Additional Depreciation
The same buyout, structured two different ways, produces wildly different tax outcomes. Redemption versus sale, 734(b) versus 743(b) — here's the decision most operators only see in hindsight, after the wire has already gone out.
Read articleYour LLC Operating Agreement Is Not a Tax Shield
Most operating agreements are drafted for flexibility, not tax defensibility. The IRS doesn't ask whether your allocations are allowed under state law — it asks who actually bears the loss. If the answers don't match, the allocations get rewritten pro rata.
Read articleA 1031 Exchange Is Usually the Second-Best Way to Defer Real Estate Taxes
Most investors default to a 1031 because it's the only tool they've been shown. The better tool is timing and depreciation — same outcome on the bottom line, no 45-day clock, no qualified intermediary, and it works where a 1031 can't.
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