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The OP has properties in my state. This information is clearly available online. It is written in plain English.
It is not false, misleading, misinterpreted or reckless.
One poster claims that the rule changed in 2007 without any proof. And you bought it, hook line & sinker.
If the OP contacted me personally, I would have given more information. This is a public online forum. My statements are backed by facts, not imagination.
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Originally Posted by BoBromhal
ahhhh, thinks he'll give someone else a go, I see.
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Originally Posted by BoBromhal
I haven't actually read any of them, so can't pass judgement but ... if one person links an IRS publication for your 2017 tax return, and another links media articles ranging from Feb 2017 to 2008...
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Originally Posted by BoBromhal
by the way, on the topic, I have no idea what the right thing to do is, and would suggest the OP consult a CPA or tax lawyer.
I didn't buy anything 'hook, line and sinker'.
Arguing about the specific rules is missing the point. You and everyone else have no idea about this consumer's specific situation and should not be giving tax advice of any sort. As stated before, there are loads of exceptions to most tax rules, tests that you need to do, etc. As soon as you start making all kinds of assumptions about the consumer, you can easily get it very wrong. You're not qualified to do so and it's irresponsible. Licensed professionals posting in their professional capacity should know better and should be accountable for the advice they give.
If a consumer gets bad tax advice (or legal advice or financial advice, etc), it can cost them dearly. Professionals know this and are responsible with when and how they give advice.
I'm not having 'a go' at anyone. I'm responding to the content of a post.
Bo...you say that you 'have no idea what the right thing to do is'. It's very easy. The right thing to do is not to give tax advice or anything that looks like tax advice or might be misunderstood to be tax advice. Very easy.
there is no such thing as one size fits all advice ,especially when it come to investing and taxes .. there are twists and turns everywhere .
but non the less there are things that should be known if you are in a related field , one of which is just major changes in tax laws that effect real estate if you sell real estate .
it would be like not knowing you no longer have to reinvest the gains from the sale of a primary residence .
in 2008 the tax package included important changes that effected anyone who had a 2nd home , rental or business property that was going to be converted to primary down the road .
that altered a lot of outcomes for people who bought homes they were later going to convert and later sell .
there is no such thing as one size fits all advice ,especially when it come to investing and taxes .. there are twists and turns everywhere .
but non the less there are things that should be known if you are in a related field , one of which is just major changes in tax laws that effect real estate if you sell real estate .
it would be like not knowing you no longer have to reinvest the gains from the sale of a primary residence .
in 2008 the tax package included important changes that effected anyone who had a 2nd home , rental or business property that was going to be converted to primary down the road .
that altered a lot of outcomes for people who bought homes they were later going to convert and later sell .
I completely agree that agents should know the basics of tax laws (and legal principles, and things like property insurance, building codes, construction methods, building maintenance, hazardous materials, zoning principles, HOAs, and a range of other related topics).
But this does not mean that they should be advising consumers on tax laws or other areas where they lack the qualifications to do so. Advising = recommending actions, drawing conclusions, interpreting rules, relating rules to a consumer's specific situation, etc.
Dentists understand how the whole body works and they understand the fundamentals of different diseases outside of the mouth, etc. and how they might be related to the core work of dentistry. But a dentist won't start advising a heart disease patient on how to manage their condition or try to use their body of knowledge on heart disease to diagnose patients with heart issues.
Well unfortunately, far too often we see agents who both lack the basic understanding of their adjacent subject matter areas AND they try to advise consumers on them. Worst combination possible.
there is no such thing as one size fits all advice ,especially when it come to investing and taxes .. there are twists and turns everywhere .
but non the less there are things that should be known if you are in a related field , one of which is just major changes in tax laws that effect real estate if you sell real estate .
it would be like not knowing you no longer have to reinvest the gains from the sale of a primary residence .
in 2008 the tax package included important changes that effected anyone who had a 2nd home , rental or business property that was going to be converted to primary down the road .
that altered a lot of outcomes for people who bought homes they were later going to convert and later sell .
This is an interesting topic. And, it is not one I am going to learn thoroughly enough to be able to advise more than, "You should talk to your tax expert to clarify."
I.e., Client: "I hear I can move into that beach house we have owned since 2010, live there for two years, and take a $500,000 exclusion to my capital gains. What do you think?" Me: "I have heard that too, but I think you really should talk to your tax expert to clarify."
I don't get into the clients' financial details more than I need to do my job. I only need to know that they can afford to perform, and the terms under which they are ready, able, and willing to perform.
I have a great financial planner to whom I can refer clients. He has a great CPA who can advise them.
Anyone owning additional property(s) beyond their primary residence should have tax knowledge or resources equivalent to, or superior to, a real estate agent who is helping them with brokerage of a real property transaction.
If clients have need for financial advice, their financial professional will have the details needed regarding the clients' overall finances to advise them with precision. I am always glad to work with their input.
Likewise, I can refer buyers to great lenders, who need to know much more than I do about client finances. A lender, client, and agent working as a team give me all I need to know exactly how to represent buyer clients' position in contracts.
My clientele is better served, i.e., my time is better spent, when I am improving my knowledge in my area of expertise, i.e., learning about neighborhoods, builders, locational developments, trends and stats, negotiating skills, networking within the community.
well the problem is we only know what we know so we never know all the things we don't know.
in my working years i was doing well as an investor . who knew there was so much more to retirement planning and tax planning because social security getting taxed , what you pay for medicare and the dealings of rmd's and zero capital gain brackets are all dependent on taxable income .
had i seeked help early on i could have had a great plan but who knew i didn't know what i needed to know .
And, the less knowledgeable need that team even more.
Too many people miss wealth-building opportunity because they are leery of professionals.
In the past, financial advisors often would be paid with sales commissions for products that they sold to clients rather than getting paid fees for advising clients. Largely this has shifted to a fee for advice model where a client pays by the hour or some other arrangement that is not dependent on earning sales commission. A change in the incentive model was required to shift from sales people to true advisors. No model is completely without conflicts of interest but the industry (actually the regulators) recognized that people masquerading as advisors but really paid with sales commission was fundamentally flawed and created a lot of confusion for consumers.
Consumers had to be educated that the old model was not 'free' for them. Like buyer's agent fees, they are rolled into the cost of products and not transparent to the consumer. It wasn't easy because clients were not used to paying out of pocket but in the end, once everyone understood the evils of the old model, it became easier for people to embrace the new way. Consumers also started to value the advice in different ways and demanded value for money. For example, nobody wants to pay a high hourly rate for an advisor to capture basic information about finances, expenses, family, etc. So fundamental changes were needed.
Interesting parallels with real estate sales, particularly in the buyer's agent world.
the problem i have found is sooooo many of the fee only guys seem to be fee only because they lack the training, certification or knowledge needed to sell many excellent products or THEY WOULDN'T BE FEE ONLY . .
i found most of the fee only guys i interviewed to be behind the times when it comes to utilizing many low cost products today that can form an excellent comprehensive retirement plan .
so finally i selected a commissioned guy who was really on top of his game . i ended up buying a ny state long term care partnership plan which i was interested in from him ..
so don't think for one second a fee only guy is the best choice. i found them overall to be the weakest choice and many fee only for a reason , they lack the credentials and training in more comprehensive planning with products and methods they know little about .
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