Tangible Asset Expensing Limit Set to Expire

Many folks have come to know and love the Internal Revenue Code’s “Section 179” deduction.  Under this rule, tangible personal property which would otherwise be capitalized and depreciated over several years can be written off in full in the year the property is purchased and placed in service.

And indeed, the deduction has been quite generous in recent years – allowing taxpayers to deduct expenditures of as much as $500,000 in the acquisition year.  But unless Congress takes action to retroactively restore this generous allowance to property purchases after December 31, 2014, the limit drops from $500,000 to $25,000!  So if you bought that fancy machine in January or later of this year, get on the horn to your Congressman and insist that he and his cronies extend this provision, lest you be stuck with only a measly depreciation deduction for this year’s expenditure.Read More

Judge Hammers Obama On Privacy Fishing Expedition

A Federal judge, last week, ordered the Revenooers to turn over the records of any requests from the White House which may have sought taxpayer private info in recent times.

Judge Amy Berman Jackson said IRS cannot simply refuse on the basis of confidentiality laws.

“This court questions whether Section 6103 (of the Internal Revenue Code) should or would shield records that indicate confidential taxpayer information was misused, or that government officials made an improper attempt to access that information,” quoth Judge Amy who denied IRS efforts to close the case.Read More

California Special Rule For 1031 Exchanges

Those of you out there who think Section 1031 solves all problems (Federal as well as state) should not lose sight of California’s requirements.

Recall that this section of the Internal Revenue Code permits a bloke (who dots all of the i’s and crosses all of the t’s) to dispose of his investment real estate, replace the old property generally with property of equal or greater value, and thus defer current recognition of the gain on the sale.  And California has long observed generally the same rules.Read More