What Is “PAL rules”?
06/01/2026
The term “PAL rules” stands for Passive Activity Loss rules. These are IRS regulations that prevent taxpayers from using losses from passive investments—like most rental real estate or silent business partnerships—to lower the taxes they owe on their active income, such as their salary or regular business profits. 1. Meaning of “PAL rules” In plain
What Is “Passive activity loss”?
06/01/2026
A passive activity loss occurs when the expenses from a hands-off business or rental property exceed the income it generates. For U.S. tax purposes, the IRS strictly limits your ability to use these passive losses to reduce the taxes you owe on your “active” income, such as your W-2 salary or daily business earnings. 1.
What Is “Depreciation of rental property”?
06/01/2026
Depreciation of rental property is a tax deduction that allows real estate investors and landlords to recover the cost of buying or improving a rental property over time. Instead of taking one massive tax deduction in the year you buy the property, the IRS requires you to spread that deduction out over the property’s “useful
What Is “Repairs vs. improvements”?
06/01/2026
The difference between “repairs vs. improvements” is a crucial tax concept that determines how quickly you can deduct the money spent on a property. A repair keeps a property in its normal, working condition, while an improvement adds value, adapts the property to a new use, or extends its life. This distinction dictates whether you
What Is “Rental expense”?
06/01/2026
A rental expense is a cost incurred to manage, maintain, or operate a rental property, or a cost a business pays to rent a workspace. For landlords, these are the day-to-day costs of being a property owner, which can be deducted from rental income to lower their tax bill. For business owners, it is the
What Is “Advance rent”?
06/01/2026
Advance rent is any payment a landlord receives from a tenant for a future rental period before that specific rent is actually due. For U.S. tax purposes, the IRS generally requires landlords to report advance rent as taxable income in the year it is received, regardless of when the rental period actually takes place. 1.
What Is “Security deposit”?
06/01/2026
A security deposit is a sum of money paid by a tenant to a landlord before moving into a rental property. It acts as financial protection for the landlord in case the tenant damages the property, misses rent payments, or breaks the lease early. For tax purposes, a true security deposit is not considered taxable
What Is “Worthless security”?
05/29/2026
A worthless security is an investment, such as a stock, bond, or option, that has lost all its value and has no potential to recover. For tax purposes, the IRS treats a worthless security as if it were sold for $0 on the last day of the tax year in which it became totally useless.
What Is a “Wash sale”?
05/29/2026
A wash sale occurs when you sell a security (like a stock or bond) at a loss and then buy the same or a “substantially identical” security within 30 days before or after the sale. Under IRS rules, you are not allowed to claim the tax loss from that sale in the current year; instead,
What Is “Wash sale rule”?
05/29/2026
The wash sale rule is an IRS regulation that prevents taxpayers from claiming a tax deduction for a loss on the sale of a security if they buy the same or a “substantially identical” security within 30 days before or after the sale. It is designed to stop investors from creating artificial losses solely to