Category: Tax Loss

Taxpayers often structure their affairs to their advantage. Our legal system and even our tax laws allow for this. With many transactions, one way this is done is structuring transfers as either loans or capital contributions. The tax ramifications for the transfers can vary widely based on this type of broad classification. This distinction is… Continue reading Tax Consequences of a Loan vs. Capital Contribution

The things we take for granted these days. If you are younger than me, you may not realize it but there was a significant change that happened in the 1990s. Personal computers were just starting to actually be useful in the workplace. The ability to type and use a 10-day calculator were sought after job… Continue reading Using an Old NOL Carryforward

Just about every business starts out with losses. This is the nature of start-ups. The activity will either gain traction and produce income and possibly a profit or, eventually, the activity end. This is basic economics and capitalism at work. The U.S. economy is based on these concepts, allowing would-be entrepreneurs the opportunity and motive… Continue reading Hobby Loss vs. Start-Up Expense?

Are you purchasing a business or real estate that involves financing a business or investment that is likely to produce tax losses in the future? Or have you already made the purchase? If so, there may be ways to ensure that you can take the loss in the future. To do so, you have to… Continue reading Tax Loss Planning: The At-Risk Rules

The tax consequence of a transaction often depends on how one characterizes or describes the transaction. Business synergies are often cited as the rationale for merger and acquisition deals. In a M&A deal, are “business synergies” a separate asset for tax purposes? Can you list “business synergies” as a separate asset and then take a… Continue reading Can “Business Synergies” be an Asset that Increases a Tax Loss?

Our tax laws include start-up rules that limit the ability to deduct certain business and investment expenses. For business owners and investors with other sources of income, this can result in funds being sent to the IRS to pay taxes at a time when the capital is needed to fund the business or investment growth.… Continue reading Tax Planning for the Start-up Limitation Rules

If you guarantee a loan for a third party and have to make payments due to the guarantee, do you get to deduct the payment as a bad debt for tax purposes? The court addresses this in Baker Hughes, Inc. v. United States, No. 18-20585 (5th Cir. 2019) in the context of a payment made… Continue reading Bad Debt Tax Deduction for Guarantee Payment?

Long-term projects often lose money. They often do so for several years. This is the result of a project that needs capital to build infrastructure or to develop a new market or to capture market share. Taxpayers may be disappointed to learn that the tax losses coming from these long-term projects in the early years… Continue reading Avoiding Hobby Loss Limits for Long-Term Projects