Tax Strategy Blog for Business Owners

“My spouse doesn’t really work — can’t we just call her a real estate professional and wipe out my W-2 with the rental losses?” Calling a stay-at-home spouse a real estate professional to erase a W-2 with rental losses is one of the most repeated moves in real estate tax circles — and one of […]

“What does the IRS actually care about? Real questions from real business owners and high earners.” This live tax Q&A for business owners and high earners is the full June 2026 session, where CPA Laura Dohanes answered real questions from real owners and investors — no hypotheticals, no “it depends” non-answers, just the math, the […]

“Home offices today share exclusive use with personal use in terms of space and time — one computer, one room. Can’t we calculate the exclusiveness between floor space and time used for business to identify 100% business use?” The home office exclusive use rule is the one every freelancer and remote worker has tried to […]

“I personally manage our rental property held in an LLC. Can the LLC pay me a property management fee as a 1099 hire without triggering payroll tax or any other reporting requirement?” An LLC management fee paid to yourself is one of the more creative-sounding ideas circulating among landlords right now. The framework Laura uses […]

“With a 100% K-1 loss on a passive investment, can I write it off 100% if I have the same amount in capital gains from stocks or a windfall from a deal that did go well?” Can a K-1 passive loss offset a capital gain? It’s one of the most common — and most expensive […]

“If someone is working as a 1099 and using a business name and an EIN, do I still need to issue that person a 1099-NEC?” Do you send a 1099 to a contractor with an EIN? It’s one of the most common 1099 questions business owners get wrong — and the answer is the opposite […]

“How do I know if I should get a cost seg study done? I have two long-term properties valued at $130K and $211K.” Cost segregation is one of the most talked-about real-estate strategies of the decade — but only for the right properties. Before you pay for a study, you have to do the math. […]

“I own 12 rental units, and I still pay a fortune in taxes. If I just put them in an LLC, that fixes it, right?” Putting rentals in an LLC is the move most landlords reach for first — but the honest answer surprises them: the LLC wrapper, on its own, doesn’t drop your tax […]

“My 1099 contractor filed for unemployment.” When a 1099 contractor filed for unemployment and told the state they were actually an employee, the owner suddenly faced a workers’ comp audit, a state misclassification review, and a potential five-figure bill. This is increasingly common in 2026 — here’s why, and what to check before you ever […]