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Not every foreclosure is a loss for the homeowner; under certain circumstances a small number of individuals may realize a gain from foreclosure.  Because a foreclosure is treated as a sale for tax purposes, there may be taxable gain to report as a result of the foreclosure. If the property was used as the principal [...]

For most individuals, a foreclosure will result in a Cancellation of Debt (COD) by the lender.  Normally, debt that is forgiven or cancelled by a lender must be included as income on tax returns and is taxable.The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 was enacted to allow taxpayers to exclude up to $2 million (if [...]

Starting this year, the Estate and Gift Tax Exemption is now $5 million dollars. However, this exemption is not automatic and requires the filing of a Federal Estate and Gift Tax Return (709) even if no tax is due. This exemption isn’t expected to last forever. In fact, it might end as soon as the [...]

Retirement Planning 101 Do you have a retirement plan?  According to the US Department of Labor, less than half of Americans have calculated how much they need for retirement.  That is a sobering statistic considering that the average American is living longer, and jobs and money are not getting any easier to come by. A [...]

In this economy, hiring, or the lack thereof, has remained a hot topic. If you are a small business owner or operator in California and have hired new employees, you will want to make sure that you filed for your tax credit. According to the latest statistics just released by the California Employment Development Department, [...]

In today’s economic crisis, many homeowners who purchased homes in the past five to 10 years are finding that their homes are now worth less than what they’re paying on monthly mortgage payments.  Some people are continuing to pay on the mortgage, hoping for an eventual uptick in the housing market.  Others have had no [...]

An Alternative to Foreclosure – Loan Modification In today’s housing crisis, foreclosure has become an everyday term. However, it is not the only answer for homeowners who can’t make their mortgage payments. For homeowners who want to fight to keep their homes, there are opportunities to change their existing mortgage arrangement, including pursuing a loan [...]

Over the last few years foreclosures have been a top news story. Surprisingly, what has received little coverage is the potential tax implication of foreclosure. Many people may think that a bank foreclosure ends the financial nightmare and are surprised when they receive a letter from the IRS about taxes due in connection with the [...]

A New Focus on Foreign Bank Account Reporting For over 40 years, foreign bank account (FBAR) reporting has been existence. Yet, the IRS has only recently started enforcing taxpayer compliance. With this new IRS focus, we felt it necessary to provide details on how to be compliant. If you have a financial interest or a [...]