Archive for July, 2009

IF IT WASN’T’ BAD ENOUGH ALREADY!

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

Arizona Non-Recourse Lending Status to Change

On July 1st, 2009 Arizona Governor Brewer signed into law SB 1271 (a revision to ARS 33-814(g), affecting a lender’s ability to pursue a deficiency judgment post Trustee Sale, i.e. foreclosure). The exemption from deficiency resulting from sale under Trustee Sale is now clarified to be for Trustors (owners) that have occupied the home for at least 6 months, the property has received its Certificate of Occupancy, and the burden of proof is now on the owner to prove that they lived in the home for 6 months. 

The result is that any investors of non-owner occupied Arizona real estate with a loan on it that is sold at auction after September 30th, 2009 will be liable for any shortfall in the total debt owed vs. the net amount paid to the lender after auction. 

Up until now, the lender had no recourse to pursue this shortfall, but was allowed to write down the amount, take a loss against profits, and then 1099 the owner, forcing them to claim this difference between amount owed and amount collected as “income” (imputed income), and pay ordinary taxes on it.

While still an insult added to injury, at least this amount reflected a percentage of the amount, vs. owing the entire difference.

If your Arizona investment property is in foreclosure, it appears there may be a strong reason to avoid any delay in it’s Trustee Sale date. At least prior to Sept. 30th. I would strongly recommend that you consult with a credible real estate and/or bankruptcy attorney, at the very least.

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Posted in Financial, Investment, Taxes | 1 Comment »

Your Job Search is Tax Deductable!

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

Our guest writer this week is Alex Starcevic, an Enrolled Agent with the IRS and principal of Genesis Tax Advisors.

Here are the top six things the IRS wants you to know about deducting costs related to your job search.

  1. In order to deduct job search costs, the expenses must be spent on a job search in your current occupation. You may not deduct expenses incurred while looking for a job in a new occupation.
  2. You can deduct employment and outplacement agency fees you pay while looking for a job in your present occupation. If your employer pays you back in a later year for employment agency fees, you must include the amount you receive in your gross income up to the amount of your tax benefit in the earlier year.
  3. You can deduct amounts you spend for preparing and mailing copies of a résumé to prospective employers as long as you are looking for a new job in your present occupation.
  4. If you travel to an area to look for a new job in your present occupation, you may be able to deduct travel expenses to and from the area. You can only deduct the travel expenses if the trip is primarily to look for a new job. The amount of time you spend on personal activity compared to the amount of time you spend looking for work is important in determining whether the trip is primarily personal or is primarily to look for a new job.
  5. You cannot deduct job search expenses if there was a substantial break between the end of your last job and the time you begin looking for a new one.
  6. You cannot deduct job search expenses if you are looking for a job for the first time.

If the readers have any of your own questions about payroll, taxes, accounting or bookkeeping or would like to hear about new topics each month concerning any tax, please call us at 888-902-9191 ext 205 or email at alex@genfinre.com.

You can review the June and July 2009 tax update at http://www.genfinre.com/subpage3.html

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Posted in Taxes | No Comments »