First Rehab, Holding In Own Name, Tax Questions!
Hi everyone,
Boy, I wish I had found this site sooner! I need lots of help!
I have already bought a repo in my name and I am repairing it to resell. Here are the numbers:
Purchase price 29,600
Repairs which I am doing myself (this # is for all of the materials, tools, etc) approx 4,500.
The comps on this house are close to 60,000.
I realize now that I should have set up an LLC or s-corp, but since I didn't, what is the best way to handle the taxes? I will not have the house for more than a few months.
I work full time and gross around 90,000/yr and this is only a part time venture. My wife does not work outside of the home, so she could call this her full time position if need be.
Do I pay her, or myself wages?
Do I have to pay SE tax and capital gains tax?
Is there anything that cannot be added to the base price of the house?
If I am planning on buying another repo on down the road but do not have one picked out yet, can I still do the 1031? How long do you have to get the next home?
I am in the market for a good accountant, but haven't found the person I am looking for. I am hoping to have at least a basic knowledge of how I should be filing and paying this tax season so that I am not shocked!
I really appreciate any and all help I can get!!
Thanks,
Eugene
If you are already making $90,000 from your regular job, you will not pay SE tax on the profits, just the Medicare portion (2.7% or so). Since you are not keeping the house for more than a year, you would not benefit from the long-term capital gains tax rate, so your profits would be taxed as ordinary income regardless of your business structure. If you go full time with rehabs, then set up an S Corp and pay yourself a salary of around $35,000. On this you will pay the equvalent of the full SE tax, but then all the other profits would be taxed as dividends, not subject to the SE tax.
Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it!
Although you still have exposed liability risk, with your high earned income (over $87,000 for 2003 tax return), you don't have to worry about the high self employment tax so much. You will still pay 2.9% however, which is better than 15.3%!
Here's a link to a great 1031 website:
http://www.ipx1031.com/index.html
Another option is to start a Roth IRA, and let the IRA purchase/rehab your properties. A link to Equity Trust which allows self-directed IRA's is:
http://www.trustetc.com/links/realestate.html
[/quote]64Ford,
The Unrelated Business Income Taxes due from the business activity within the IRA may be a lot higher that the ordinary income taxes you might ordinarily have to pay by conducting this business from within a taxable business entity.
I would be curious to know if the IRA custodian will even permit this activity within the IRA.
Thanks for all of the suggestions!