How to split land from building for rental property depreciation, and why a flat 20 percent isn't a method. David Wiener explains that IRS Publication 527 points to fair market value or the county assessor's ratio. By Ryan Bakke's account on episode 10, land rarely tops 10 percent of a…
Rental property depreciation counts against you at the sale whether you took it or not. David Wiener takes apart the advice to skip depreciation so you won't pay it back. IRS Publication 946 reduces your basis by the depreciation allowed or allowable, whichever is greater, so the deduction you skipped…
Rental property depreciation is the one deduction the IRS counts against you whether you take it or not. Here's how yours is calculated, line by line. In this solo episode of The Tax Strategy Playbook, David Wiener, Mr. Cash Flow, walks through real estate depreciation from the beginning. You'll see…
Retirement plan tax credits for small business can cover most of the cost of starting a 401k. David Wiener stacks the SECURE 2.0 credits for an illustrative 18-person company with automatic enrollment: the startup cost credit, the employer contribution credit and the auto enrollment credit, all on Form 8881. Together,…
The paid family and medical leave tax credit only counts leave taken after your written policy is in place. David Wiener explains why a policy written in December can't reach back to leave taken in June. Employers who already pay people during family or medical leave without a written policy…
What qualifies for the R&D tax credit has nothing to do with having an R&D department. David Wiener explains that the credit looks at the work itself. Engineers, developers, designers, machinists and food scientists working out something new for the company may have wages that count. Most companies that miss…
Tax credit vs tax deduction: a credit cuts your tax bill dollar for dollar, while a deduction is only worth your tax rate. David Wiener walks through the math. $20,000 of deductions at a 24% rate saves $4,800. That's why a $20,000 credit is worth about four times a $20,000…
The R&D payroll tax credit election has to be made on the original return, filed on time. David Wiener describes the founder who learns about the payroll offset after filing without the election. Extensions count, amended returns don't, so the payroll door is generally closed for that year. The credit…
The R&D tax credit for startups can pay a company that isn't profitable, through the payroll taxes it already owes. David Wiener explains why Congress created the payroll offset. The credit used to come only off income tax, which startups don't pay. A qualified small business can now elect to…
The R&D tax credit for startups can be used against payroll taxes, and the date you file decides when that money shows up. David Wiener compares two illustrative software startups with the same $90,000 credit. The one that files in March starts using it in April. The one that files…
The R&D tax credit can pay a startup that is losing money, through payroll taxes it already owes. Miss one box or one date and the cash waits, or never comes. Most small business tax credits aren't hidden. They're missed, because every one of them runs on a clock. In…
About 80 percent of family offices do not use the 1031 exchange, according to DJ Van Keuren's annual family office real estate study. DJ says that figure has been consistent every year. A 1031 exchange lets an investor sell one investment property, buy another and defer the tax on the…
Cost segregation uses depreciation recovery periods that Congress wrote into the tax code on purpose. David Wiener explains that a study makes a good deal better and does not fix a bad one. He also draws the line his father, a CPA, taught him. Tax evasion is a crime, but…
A cost segregation study is not ruled out because a property is small or old. David Wiener walks through the cases where a study does not make sense. One is a planned sale in the near term without a 1031 exchange. The other is a passive loss the owner cannot…
A cap rate is basic real estate math, and three billionaire families once asked DJ Van Keuren what it means. DJ tells the story from the first executive education class his institute ran. David Wiener argues that every family office needs a tax strategist, because strategies like cost segregation only…
Family office real estate decisions often run through the person a family trusts most, and that person is not always a tax specialist. DJ Van Keuren explains who a newly wealthy family calls first. It may be the CPA, a neighbor who ran a business, a financial planner or an…
Cost segregation and other tax benefits are missing from most real estate return models, according to DJ Van Keuren. DJ says those benefits can add another 3 to 4 percent return when they are counted. David Wiener describes a cost segregation study for a flight school that produced an additional…
A cost segregation study was news to almost everyone in a room of 350 experienced real estate investors. David Wiener asked that room at WealthCon how many had heard of cost segregation, and fewer than two dozen hands went up. Six had done a study, and by David's account all…
Cost segregation is a real estate tax deduction many of the largest property owners never use. The reason has nothing to do with money. David Wiener, Mr. Cash Flow, sits down with DJ Van Keuren, founder of the Family Office Real Estate Institute and co-founder of Evergreen Property Partners, who…
The sentence that surprises almost every building owner I talk to. If you own a commercial building placed in service any time since 2006, and it qualifies for 179D, and you never claimed it, you can claim it now on your current return without amending anything. That is not a…
A 60,000 square foot distribution warehouse, placed in service 2019. LED lighting, modern rooftop HVAC, insulated metal panels. Completely ordinary building. The owner never claimed 179D because nobody told him it existed. 2019 puts him on the old rules: $1.80 a square foot at 50% savings against a 2007 reference…
$5.94 a square foot is the top of the 179D deduction on a building placed in service this year. On a 100,000 square foot building that is more than half a million dollars off taxable income. On June 30th, 2026 the deduction started dying. So somebody is going to tell…
A 179D tax deduction is invalid without a physical site visit. Many firms offer desk-based studies, but a licensed engineer must inspect your commercial real estate for the certification to hold up. Don't risk your tax strategy on shortcuts that won't survive an audit. Schedule your free building analysis below.…
"My building is not a green building. It is not LEED certified. It is not solar. It is just a building." None of that is the test. LEED is a private rating system and the tax code does not mention it. Solar sits in a different section entirely. 179D asks…
