Hello
If you’ve been dealing with real estate for a while…
One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to get an accountant to do all your taxes for you.
Why?
Because many accountants are not tax experts and they are not real estate investors.
Many of them do not know the nitty-gritty of the tax code and the legal loopholes to save money on your taxes--especially for small businesses and real estate investors.
For example…
A few years ago, Ben and I worked with a small businessman/real estate investor who did big-time deals.
Ben is a former special auditor/agent for the IRS and I am a United States Federal
Tax Court attorney.
This businessman was everything that Hollywood would lead you to believe a big-shot, suit-wearing real estate investor would look like.
He lived in the big NYC apartment unit…
Drove around in a black Rolls-Royce…
And had secretaries, lawyers, and accountants on his payroll.
It would seem that he had everything he needed to take care of his finances.
So Ben and I were shocked when this guy came to us…
And asked us to take a look at his taxes.
He was comparing sales numbers with one of his buddies when they started talking about
taxes.
He found out that he was paying more taxes than his buddy despite making less per annum.
His accountants couldn’t find the problem…
So he came to us for
"the 2nd opinion."
We took a look at his taxes…
And we found that he wasn’t getting his 199-A tax deductions…
Which lets "small businesses" (including most real estate
investors) deduct up to 20% of their net profit from taxes.
To put that into perspective:
If you make $1 Million a year as a sole proprietorship…
And you qualify for
20% of your profit, you’ll be able to keep $200K of your annual income tax-free.
As for our Manhattan real estate investor…
We had to go in and change the tax structure of his business, so he got his maximum 199A deduction…
And as soon as we did that, he was able to keep over $723K of his annual income tax-free.
That’s $723K that he’s able to keep in his retirement fund…
Plus, pay for his kid’s college
tuition…
Plus, buy a new property that he could flip for massive profits in the future.
And the funny thing is his accountant was doing everything right with what he was giving the accountant...
You've got to look at the big picture--not just give your accountant numbers.
You need a basic understanding of what you have to do to "prepare" your tax numbers as you go through the year.
Your accountant will not coach you on how to "prepare the
numbers," because as soon as he tells you what to do, he becomes liable.
The accountants have learned to keep their mouth shut...
So, if you're reading this, I want you to ask yourself, "Am I really getting the most money out of what I am working
for?"
Talk soon,
Lee Phillips, JD
United States Supreme Court Counselor
P.S. Ben and I are putting something together to help you save big on your taxes…keep an eye out for our next emails!