Real Estate Tax Appeal Deadlines

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

Many times, we find that clients’ property assessments are incorrect. With the South Florida real estate market being so volatile this past year, it is important to make sure that your property tax assessments are accurate.

If you feel that your assessment may be too high, the deadlines to appeal your property taxes are approaching.

• September 16, 2010 – Palm Beach
• September 20, 2010 – Broward
• September 20, 2010 – Miami-Dade

The steps to appeal your property assessment can be challenging. For example, you’ll need to be able to document the market value of your property as of January 1st of the current year by showing its value relative to the qualified comparable sales. And you’ll need to make your case to the Special Magistrate at the Value Adjustment Board hearing.

If you need assistance with this process, please contact a Kaufman, Rossin accountant or contact the following resources directly who specialize in these tax appeals:

Mitchell Feldman – President of FBS Property Tax Abatement, LLC
305.350.7360 or mfeldman@fbstaxabatement.com

Todd M. Wolff – President of LeaseGuard, Inc.
561.998.2800 or toddwolff@leaseguardusa.com

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Scott F. Berger is a tax principal at Kaufman, Rossin’s Miami office.  Kaufman, Rossin & Co. is one of the top CPA firms in the country.  He can be reached at sberger@kaufmanrossin.com.

Be Aware of Misleading Amnesty Notices

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

The Florida Department of Revenue (FDOR) is sending out Amnesty notices to taxpayers who, according to FDOR records, have outstanding notices for sales tax, corporate income tax, etc. These notices include a statement of amounts the FDOR claims are due.

You might be tempted to automatically pay these notices in order to take advantage of the Amnesty program, but you should check them first to determine if the alleged liabilities are in fact owed.

For example:

• In many cases, these statements include liabilities which the FDOR has estimated to be due where a sales tax return, corporate income tax return or other state return was not filed.
• And in some cases, these notices are being received by S Corps and partnerships which have no Florida Corporate Income Tax filing requirement.

If you’ve received Amnesty notices be sure to check the statements against your records and/or contact your accountant to make sure the claims are correct. For more information, contact Dan Wagner at 561.620.1718 or dwagner@kaufmanrossin.com.

Dan Wagner is an associate principal in the State & Local Tax Practice department at Kaufman, Rossin & Co., one of the top CPA firms in Florida with offices in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton.

Still No Estate Tax – A Window of Opportunity for Lifetime Gifts in 2010

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

It’s August and, unbelievably, there is still no estate tax in 2010. We have seen large estates like that of George Steinbrenner, and other billionaires passing in 2010, avoid huge estate taxes. And unless Congress passes retroactive legislation those estates will have avoided estate tax and generation skipping taxes.  

We can’t imagine anyone wanting to die to take advantage of the current estate tax opportunity.  Fortunately, the current law also provides an opportunity to make large lifetime gifts in 2010.

Here are some reasons why making gifts now make sense.   

• The $13,000 annual exclusions and $1,000,000 gift tax exemption for gifts in excess of your annual exclusions is still in place.
• Right now the gift tax rate is 35% on amounts over the $1,000,000 exemption. This rate can be as low as 26% if the transferor survives three years from the date of the gift.  However, in 2011 the maximum rate is scheduled to go up to 60%.  
• As of now, there is no Generation Skipping Tax in 2010.  Gifts directly to individuals more than one generation below the transferor are not subject to the Generation Skipping Tax which historically has been as high as 55%.
• With the extremely low interest rate environment many gift strategies, such as charitable lead trusts and GRATs, result in lower gifts than in higher interest rate periods.
• Transfer values are lower with the depressed real estate values and stock markets. Closely held business interests are likely to be valued lower.

What is the downside?

• Estate and gift tax might be repealed permanently. However, this doesn’t seem likely in a period of budget deficits and the fact that transfer taxes in recent years affect less than 1% of the population.  
• If the transferor dies in 2010, no transfer tax would apply under current law and unnecessary gift taxes would have been incurred.  This can be avoided by using techniques which will make the gift incomplete until after the tax laws for 2010 are certain.

If you have questions about how you can take advantage of current planning opportunities, please contact John Anzivino at janzivino@kaufmanrossin.com or 305.857.6706.

John R. Anzivino, CPA, is an estate and trust principal at Kaufman, Rossin & Co., one of the top CPA firms in the Southeast.

Is your favorite non-profit at risk?

Thursday, August 5th, 2010

In May, the IRS began revoking tax-exempt status from nonprofits that had failed to file required returns (including the on-line postcard Form 990-N) for 2007, 2008, and 2009. According to a free report from Guidestar, 300,000 nonprofits could lose their status.

Is your favorite non-profit at risk?   If your business, like ours, is involved in the community, you’ll want to check.  The IRS has published a list. 

The good news is that there’s a “one-time relief program.”  Organizations can preserve their status by filing returns by October 15, 2010. 

If you’re involved with a nonprofit organization of any type, make sure they’re aware of the IRS actions, and the deadline to file returns if they have not done so!

Janet Fifer is an associate principal in the Estate, Trust and Exempt Organizations department at Kaufman, Rossin & Co., one of the top CPA firms in the Southeast.  She can be reached at jfifer@kaufmanrossin.com.

Florida Tax Amnesty Through September

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Got overdue state taxes?  Don’t miss out on the Florida Tax Amnesty program.  The deadline is September 30, 2010.

What’s the benefit?
If you have overdue Florida taxes, until September 30 you can pay them, with no penalty and reduced interest.  Plus you get the ability avoid criminal prosecution.

What’s covered?
Taxes covered include

•  Sales and Use Tax,
• Florida Corporate Tax and
• Florida Intangible Tax.

 The Department of Revenue has a full list posted here.

What’s not covered?
If you entered into an agreement with the Department before July 1, 2010, your overdue taxes aren’t covered by this amnesty.  But if you were notified but haven’t made arrangements yet, you should take advantage of amnesty. 

What should I do? 

There’s a good FAQs document on the FDOR site.   If you think you might be eligible, contact your tax professional right away.  The window is closing! 

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Scott F. Berger is a tax principal with Kaufman, Rossin & Co., one of the top CPA firms in the Southeast.  He can be reached at sberger@kaufmanrossin.com.

Legislative Alert: Is your law practice an S-Corp?

Friday, June 25th, 2010

June 25, 2010 Update

The Tax Extenders Bill has been tabled after a third cloture attempt failed yesterday. This is the bill that included the provision to subject all business income from certain S corporations to employment taxes. Senator Snowe (R-Maine) cited the “anti-abuse” provisions for S corporations as one of the reasons for voting against cloture.

The future of the bill is uncertain at this time but don’t breathe too easy — it is likely that the payroll tax issue for S corporations will arise again.

Now is the time to get ready by consulting your tax advisor. Prepare by understanding the tax impact on your practice, which could be substantial, and consider making other tax moves to get ready.

June 23, 2010 Update

The Tax Extenders Bill is still being debated in the Senate. Various amendments are being considered to either ensure the number of votes for passage, or pay for the extended tax benefits. The federal budget deficit is now a hot issue that affects this and other legislation.

However, the provision affecting S corporation shareholders is still in the bill, and when this bill does pass it’s my expectation that it will still be in there, which means many professionals will see a significant tax impact.  Contacting your tax professional to plan ahead – even if it’s just getting an idea of the additional tax you’re likely to pay — is smart strategy.  See below for a discussion of the S-Corp provision.

The Tax Extenders and Unemployment Bill I wrote about last week was passed by the House and now goes to the Senate.  Read on to see how your S-Corp may be affected. 

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May 24, 2010

Legislation scheduled to hit the House floor this week would impose Social Security and Medicare taxes on all income derived from professional service businesses.  This is a House amendment to a Senate amendment to HR 4213 (Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010).  That means if it passes the House all income of professional service businesses formed as S-Corporations or Partnerships or Limited Liability Companies would be subject to payroll taxes beginning sometime in 2010.

Social Security taxes are imposed on compensation and self-employment income up to the Social Security Wage Base (currently $106,800) and the Medicare tax is imposed on all self-employment and compensation income.  Under the current tax law, many professional service firms are set up as S-Corporations owned by the professionals in an effort to minimize income subject to payroll taxes.  The S-Corporation earns the professional fees and pays the shareholder-professional wages that are less than the income earned by the S-Corporation. Any income in excess of the wages is then treated as earnings of the S-corporation allocated to the shareholder-professional and not subject to payroll taxes.

This legislation would change that.  In situations where an S-corporation is in a professional service business that is principally based on the reputation and skill of 3 or fewer individuals or an S corporation that is a partner in a professional service business, all of the earnings of the S-Corporation allocated to the shareholder-professional would be subject to employment taxes. The bill would also clarify that individuals that are engaged in professional service businesses are unable to avoid employment taxes by routing their earnings through a limited liability corporation or a limited partnership.

If this measure passes — and it could pass this week — it could impact the tax planning of many professionals.  If your practice is an S-Corporation, contact your accountant to understand the implications.

Dennis Fitzpatrick, J.D., is a tax principal with Kaufman, Rossin & Co., one of the top CPA firms in the Southeast. He can be reached at dfitzpatrick@kaufmanrossin.com

What’s your game plan?

Friday, October 9th, 2009

Join Marcus & Millichap and Kaufman, Rossin & Co. for a lively roundtable discussion about your game plan for commercial real estate now and into the future.

• We’ll discuss defensive plays related to foreclosures, short sales and loan modifications, including tax implications you may not know about.
• We’ll share some ideas for offensive strategies you may not have considered, including tax credits you might be eligible for.

Most valuable will be the coaching you get from your peers as you share a cup of coffee and participate in the discussion.

Get your game plan in order!

October 29
7:30 – 9:15 a.m.

Kaufman, Rossin & Co.
2699 South Bayshore Drive, 3rd Floor
Coconut Grove

Space is limited, so please RSVP here. 

Ah, summer. The perfect time for tax strategies!

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Sure is hot.   Probably rain pretty soon.  Can’t wait to get away on vacation. Maybe it’s time for a nap.

Why would you even consider thinking about your taxes now?

If you don’t want to miss out on money saving opportunities, wake up: some of these tax breaks will be gone before you know it! (more…)