Real Estate Agents often ask me what is the best way for them to save on their income taxes. Without question the one best way for you to save on your taxes is to keep the best records of your business activities you possibly can.
When most agents have me prepare their tax return they do not have a clue as to how they should keep records to maximize their deductions. No other tax preparer or financial advisor has ever taken the time to help them in this most important area.
I am going to give your free advice which will be worth thousands of dollars, each year, for the rest of your business career. By not overlooking deductions you will be putting thousands of dollars in your pocket each year.
The first consideration for you will be to pick a software program to keep track of your business income and expenses. This software should be easy for you to learn and use.
There are many such programs for you to choose from. I usually suggest Quicken and will use that in my examples.
It is important for you to note here that you will be thinking about two types of expenses – cash and checks.
You will want to create separate accounting records just for your real estate activities. Let me now guide you through setting up your Quicken records.
Quicken should self install itself for you or some computers come with Quicken already installed on it when you purchased it.
Across the top of your Quicken screen you will see File, Edit, Finances, etc. Choose File, then new, then new Quicken File. Don’t choose new Quicken account just yet. Give the File a name such as Real Estate.
Now choose the type of account for Quicken to create. Choose checking.
I recommend you have a separate checking account for your real estate activities. You can get free checking accounts at some banks or credit unions.
Now Quicken will ask you a series of questions, such as, do you have your last statement for this checking account. If you are opening up a new, separate checking just for real estate your answer will be no.
You should be done at this point and have created a checking account in Quicken.
You will also want to create a separate account to keep track of your cash expenditures. Go back to the top of Quicken where you will see File, Edit, Finances, etc. Choose New. Quicken will ask you if you want a new file or new account. This time choose new Quicken account. Then choose cash under Banking and Cash. Quicken will ask how much cash you have. You can put no.
The purpose of the checking account is to keep track of your checking transactions. The purpose of your cash account is to keep track of your cash transactions.
About admin
Check out My Space page for a more information on me. In your search type "Gary Sweat".
I was born and spent the first 28 years of my life in Richmond, California. I have also lived in San Diego and North Idaho. I moved to Washington State in 1991.
I have 30 years of experience as an Accountant.
• After graduation from college I worked for a financial services firm in Oakland, California. The firm was comprised of CPAs and attorneys. I was in charge of all financial needs for 25 businesses. Duties were preparation of financial statements, income tax and sales tax returns, obtaining business licenses and giving tax and operational advice to the businesses. I also prepared payroll and payroll reports for my clients. The job entailed extensive use of RIA and CCH references for tax research. Clients ranged from medical groups, delicatessen chains, transmission repair chains and many others. I was employed with this company for 3 ½ years.
• In 1983 I opened my own CPA firm in Vacaville, California. My clients required me to prepare financial statements for their companies, as well as every type of tax return (1040, 1065, 1041, 1120 and 1120S) along with state returns. Clients also needed payroll, payroll reports and sales tax returns. My duties required tax research and advice on a wide variety of topics. As a result of close proximity to Travis Air Force Base I prepared tax returns for many states due to the relocations, both civilian and military. In addition to my initial office, I opened two more offices in Fairfield and Walnut Creek, California with a total of nine employees at these offices.
• In 1992 I had an opportunity to purchase a CPA practice in Friday Harbor, Washington. Friday Harbor is located in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. Duties remained consistent with the types of work I had been performing in Vacaville, but with many more clients.
• In 2001 I relocated my firm to offices in Bothell and Bellevue, Washington.
• Over the years the majority of my clients have come to be real estate agents and their clients. Therefore, for quite some time I have specialized in preparing tax returns for real estate agents.
• I received so many requests for tax advice from real estate agents that I authored a book - “Tax & Financial Tips for Real Estate Agents.” I used ecommerce solutions to promote the book and it has sold in all 50 states. I am continually called on to provide advice concerning a wide variety of tax questions, preparation and advice, both locally and in other states.
• I am also a retired Real Estate Agent.
Check out my website: http://agentstaxtips.com
Cool blog!
Do you mind if I quote a couple of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your webpage? My blog is in the very same area of interest as yours and my visitors would genuinely benefit from a lot of the information you present here. Please let me know if this alright with you. Thanks!
You have some honest ideas here..
Do you have a Facebook fan page for your site?
Yes, my facebook page is:
https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Gary-Sweat-CPA/299631503402938