Author Archives: mgracey

U.S. real estate continued to attract foreign investors during the first half of 2019, thanks, in part, to a growing U.S. economy, low interest rates, and strong underlying fundamentals that support predictable cash flow and property appreciation. At the same time, the U.S. tax landscape has changed with the passage of the Tax Cuts and […]

Private companies and nonprofit organization struggling to adopt the new lease accounting standard (ASC 842) are getting a reprieve from the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which voted to delay the effective date of compliance by one year to Jan. 1, 2021. Affected entities should use the additional time to consider how they can more effectively […]

Naming a trustee to manage your assets and ensure your heirs are provided for in the same manner as you would have if you were alive is one of the most important decisions you will make when creating your estate plan. Unfortunately, it is also the one decision that fails to receive the attention and […]

Donations that U.S. taxpayers make directly to foreign charities usually will not qualify for income tax deductions unless those charities are registered with the IRS as tax-exempt entities or there is relief available under a bilateral income tax treaty. In the rare instances when these conditions are met, the charitable deduction is available only to […]

After 29 years, the U.S. government is making changes to its EB-5 visa program, which helps foreign citizens expedite U.S. residency in return for capital investment in commercial projects that create or preserve domestic jobs. Under new rules that go into effect on Nov. 21, 2019, it will become more expensive and more difficult for […]

Taxpayers age 65 and older by the end of 2019 will have a new option for filing their federal tax returns come April of 2020. As mandated by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, the IRS has released a draft of Form 1040-SR, U.S. Tax Return for Seniors, which features larger font size for easier […]

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair has had far-reaching impact on the state and local sales tax (SALT) obligations and previous competitive advantages of online and foreign businesses that sell products into the U.S. The court’s ruling eliminated the prevailing physical presence test, which required sellers to collect sales tax […]

Small-business owners who use a portion of their homes regularly and exclusively for business purposes may qualify for a home office deduction that can help them save money of their taxes and improve their bottom line. For purposes of claiming this deduction, a home is defined as a house, apartment, condominium, mobile home, boat or […]

Representations and warranties insurance (RWI) is becoming an increasingly common and required tool to expedite M&A transactions, bridge gaps in deal negotiations and reduce buyers’ and sellers’ risks of financial losses after deals close. At the most basic level, representations are the assertions sellers make about their companies, those entities’ financial positions and past and […]

Savvy investors know that holding real estate in their individual names is a bad idea that exposes them to a broad range of legal risks and personal financial liabilities. Instead, U.S. tax laws permit investors to structure their real estate holdings into separate business entities, such as partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs) and corporations, which […]