#tax-planning
Strategic tax planning to minimize liability and maximize savings
You get only one IRA-to-IRA 60-day rollover per rolling 12-month period, counting all your IRAs as one account — a limit the 2014 Bobrow Tax Court case made aggregate. Trustee-to-trustee transfers are exempt and unlimited.
A Master Limited Partnership pays cash quarterly but issues a Schedule K-1, not a 1099. Most distributions reduce your cost basis instead of being taxed, holding units in an IRA can trigger UBTI and a Form 990-T once income exceeds $1,000, and selling converts depreciation into ordinary income under Section 751 — taxed up to 37%.
How individual MLP investors actually owe tax — UBTI on IRA-held units crosses the $1,000 Form 990-T threshold faster than expected, Section 751 reclassifies part of any sale gain as ordinary income, and the K-1's state schedule can force nonresident filings in operating states. Includes practical thresholds and basis-tracking rules.
The OBBBA restores a personal car-loan interest deduction—up to $10,000 per year, above-the-line, for tax years 2025 through 2028—on new U.S.-assembled vehicles financed after December 31, 2024. Mechanics covered include the MAGI phase-out starting at $100K single / $200K joint, Form 1098-VLI reporting beginning in 2026, mandatory VIN entry on Form 1040, and edge cases for refinances, trade-ins, leases, and co-signers.
OBBBA raised the SALT deduction cap to $40,400 for 2026, but a 30-cent-per-dollar MAGI phase-down between $505,000 and $606,333 creates a roughly 45% effective marginal rate — the "SALT torpedo." Here is how to decide whether to re-itemize.
The OBBBA raised the Section 1202 QSBS cap to $15 million, lifted the gross-asset ceiling to $75 million, and replaced the five-year cliff with a tiered 50/75/100 percent exclusion at three, four, and five years — but only for stock issued after July 4, 2025.
A working guide to how the IRS computes boot in a Section 1031 exchange — cash boot, mortgage boot, the four netting rules, depreciation recapture at 25%, carryover basis, and Form 8824 reporting — with a worked example showing how $200K of fresh equity can wipe out $200K of mortgage boot.
Section 1341 lets a taxpayer who repays more than $3,000 of previously taxed income recover the tax cost—via a deduction or a credit, whichever is lower—on the repayment-year return rather than by amending the old one.
Section 1375 imposes a flat 21% sting tax on S corporations that carry C-corp earnings and profits when passive investment income exceeds 25% of gross receipts, and three consecutive years over that threshold terminates the S election automatically. This guide walks through the excess net passive income formula, the three-year cliff under Section 1362(d)(3), and three planning moves to defuse exposure before year-end.
The Section 1375 sting tax hits an S corporation with a 21% corporate-level tax when it has C-corporation E&P and passive investment income above 25% of gross receipts; three consecutive years of that combination terminates the S election. This guide shows who is exposed, how excess net passive income is calculated, and how to defuse the trap.
Section 414(b), (c), and (m) treat related businesses as one employer for retirement-plan testing. This guide explains controlled-group and affiliated-service-group rules, the spousal and minor-child attribution traps, and the steps multi-business owners should take before opening a 401(k).
A new 401(k) can be nearly free for small employers — Section 45E reimburses up to 100% of startup costs for three years plus $1,000 per employee in contribution credits for five years. Here is who qualifies and how to claim it on Form 8881.
