Max W

I think you are right and I am just over thinking this.

The decedent died Aug 31 of last year. The broker issued a 1099B with the valuation as of Sep 1, forming the basis for the benes So far so good, but what about the gain from Dec 31,2018 to Sep 1, 2019? Wouldn't that be income in respect of a decedent? In other words, if a stock was valued at $100 on Dec31, 2018 and $120 on Sep 1, 2019, there would be a $20 CG.

The last thing we need are factless and baseless opinion statements that do nothing to solve anything and don't add anything to the discussion. When the latest travel ban went into effect, hotel stock took a deep dive and 2nd quarter earnings are expected to fall 50% over last year. The last thing that investors want to see is the stock market plunge as it has. Investors have large portfolios made up of dozens of stocks. Even if some stocks went up, the vast majority will have gone down, pulling the value of the entire portfolio with it. We can discuss why there has been a shortage of test kits without politicizing it.

April 1 @ 10 AM.

You are welcome!

Maybe an adjustment to income.

This is how the IRS defines it. No mention of financial distress. "An involuntary conversion occurs when your property is destroyed, stolen, condemned, or disposed of under the threat of condemnation and you receive other property or money in payment, such as insurance or a condemnation award. Involuntary conversions are also called involuntary exchanges.? https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/involuntary-conversions-real-estate-tax-tips

Some people have to learn the hard way.

California has announced June 15 as the new deadline.

I'm sure, if it happens, it will be announced everywhere and only someone living in a cave, disconnected from everything, will not find out about it.;)

After he won the money, I don't see why any losses that came after that could not be deducted as he is now gambling with his own money.

If both itemize, or both take the SD, I don't think there will be much difference. It is where one itemizes and the other normally wouldn't, but has to because of the other, where there is going to be a big difference. I have two couples in this situation. They are both 2nd marriages and one spouse owns the house, pays the mortgage and Prop taxes. The other spouse, if filing MFS, would end up having to pay several thousand $'s more.

I am working strictly from home, which I do mostly anyway, as I share an office. I did cancel one appointment from a new client, who wanted to meet face to face. A few years ago, I had pneumonia twice in the same year, so I have been super cautious since then.

They are county tax liens on property that the county has been unable to collect on. The county auctions them off from time to time. That means the buyer of a lien has to try and collect on it from a deadbeat property owner and if it can not be collected, the property can be foreclosed on. If successful, the lien holder takes possession of the property and then has to evict the former owner, unless it is abandoned. Then the new owner either tries to resell it, or rent it out. Much of the time the property is in bad shape and requires a substantial investment, in repair and remodeling. There are companies on TV and the internet promising riches by investing in tax liens. Just buy their tax lien kit packed with all the info and tools to become a wealth tax lien investor. It is not so easy, as there are many legal traps and pitfalls that can occur. There is also the condition of the building which can only be seen from the outside. What if, if after the lien has been bought you find out it has mold, mildew, water damage, termites, etc.? There is no refund on the lien. I have a client who has been buying liens and acquiring property for several years, but now has given it up. Several properties were acquired, but no profit was ever made.

The house and the stocks were in the QRT. The will is not a factor, because in CA, with a QRT there is always a pour-over will that takes care of such things as jewelry, household belongings, cars, pets, etc. The proceeds from the sales of home and stock were deposited in to the Administrative Trust. However, I see that the brokerage account was not retitled to the Adm Trust. I have to find out if the house was retitled. A trustee administers.

Thanks for replying, but that is not the issue. The QRT did obtain an EIN, but for a Trust, not an Estate. The SS-4 specifically states it is for an administrative Trust. The question is can this trust be converted to an estate?

Correction: Looked at the wrong chart on Trust/Estate LTCG. It is 20% of $12500, so the LTCG will only be about $7500.

For the Trust. I spoke to the attorney the other day. She is mainly an estate planning attorney, but also calls herself a tax attorney as well. Yet she had never heard of the 645 option. The 8855 hasn't been submitted yet, because an Estate EIN will be needed. And that depend if it can be done successfully as there is already a Trust bank account, as discussed previously.

I just thought of something else. The Trustee opened a bank account under the Trust EIN and funds have been going into that. Can the bank transfer funds to another account with an Estate EIN without any consequences? The only thing I can think of would be interest reporting, if there was any. A large amount of stocks were sold in Dec. There is going to be about a 10% LTCG of about $400K. The Trust tax will be roughly $17K. So it would be advantageous to avoid the Trust and convert to an Estate. The bright side - if the sale had been held off until now, the stocks would have suffered a tremendous loss.

The IRS does not cancel EIN's. They are essentially forever. However, if it is never used, there do not seem to be an consequences." "The IRS cannot cancel your EIN. Once an EIN has been assigned to a business entity, it becomes the permanent Federal taxpayer identification number for that entity. Regardless of whether the EIN is ever used to file Federal tax returns, the EIN is never reused or reassigned to another business entity. The EIN will still belong to the business entity and can be used at a later date, should the need arise." https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/canceling-an-ein-closing-your-account

Thanks everyone for your input. I think it pretty much shoots down the partnership idea for 2019.

The Tax Book says the 2%, $1M is still in effect, yet I read somewhere that it eliminated with TCJA. Here is the 10 yr Maintenance rule. "Routine maintenance can be performed and deducted under the safe harbor any time during the property’s useful life, including after it has been fully depreciated. However, building maintenance qualifies for the routine maintenance safe harbor only if, when you placed the building or building system into service, you reasonably expected to perform such maintenance more than once every ten years." https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/routine-maintenance-safe-harbor-under-new-irs-repair-regulations.html The fly in the ointments is "what comes under routine maintenance". No mention of painting.

Ah! The plot thickens. Exterior painting would fall into the 10 year category. I think I ran into that before and I think it only applied to commercial bldgs.? Wasn't the 10% cost rule under the Safe Harbor Small Business, where the expense was limited to 10% of the basis and property under $1M? That went out with TCJA.

Yes, repainting the entire exterior of the buildings. There are 2 with 12 units each. And it definitely falls under the category of a business. Under the De Minimus rules only invoices of $2500 or less can be expensed. So, I conclude that the $18000 exterior paint job would dep'd over 27.5 years.

Since it is greater than $2500, it would be depreciated at 27.5 years? That seems unreasonable since even good paint jobs, once the lead was removed, only last about 5 years, now.