Under IRC §1014(b)(6) both halves of community property reset to fair market value at the first death, not just the decedent's half. On a rental that went from a $100,000 adjusted basis to $1,300,000, holding it in joint tenancy instead costs the surviving spouse $147,800.
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The installment method spreads the gain on a business sale, but if the notes you take back in one year add up to more than $5,000,000, §453A charges you interest on the tax you deferred. On an $8,000,000 seller note that runs about $100,800 over five years.
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Blow the 60-day window on an IRA or 401(k) rollover and the entire distribution becomes ordinary income, plus 10% if you are under 59½. Rev. Proc. 2016-47 lets you fix it with a letter to your custodian, no IRS filing fee and no ruling to wait for.
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You can buy the replacement property before you sell the old one, but only if an exchange accommodation titleholder takes title instead of you. Rev. Proc. 2000-37 gives you 5 business days for the paperwork, 45 days to name what you are selling, and 180 days to finish.
Read postLeave your employer during or after the calendar year you turn 55 and IRC §72(t)(2)(A)(v) lets you pull money out of that plan with no 10% early distribution penalty. Roll the balance to an IRA first and the exception is gone permanently.
Read postA portability election belongs on a Form 706 due nine months after death, but Rev. Proc. 2022-32 gives most estates that owed no tax five years from the date of death to file it anyway. On a 2022 death, that late election is still worth up to $12,060,000 of exclusion.
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A rental turns into a residence under IRC §280A(d)(1) the moment personal use passes the greater of 14 days or 10% of the days it was rented at a fair rental. On a beach house rented 200 days, the 25th night turns a $12,909 deductible loss into $0 and an $11,778 carryforward.
Read postSelling qualified small business stock before the five-year mark normally means paying full freight on the gain. IRC §1045 defers all of it if you buy replacement QSBS within 60 days, and on a $6,050,000 exit that is $1,428,000 that does not come due.
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Federal law stops the state you left from taxing your deferred compensation, but only if the plan pays it out over at least 10 years. Take the same balance in one check and California can bill the whole thing.
Read postThe One Big Beautiful Bill Act ended the 30% residential clean energy credit for expenditures made after December 31, 2025. Section 25D treats the expenditure as made when installation is completed, so a deposit paid in 2025 on a system finished in 2026 buys nothing.
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Repaying a signing bonus in a later year does not undo the tax on its own. IRC §1341 offers a deduction or a credit, and on a $120,000 repayment the choice between them was worth $14,828.
Read postSection 1042 defers every dollar of capital gains tax on a sale of company stock to an employee stock ownership plan, but only for C corporation stock. S corporation owners get nothing until sales after December 31, 2027, and then only on 10% of the proceeds.
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