Real estate tax advisory
Understand the tax consequences before you buy, hold, or sell.
For investors who own rental or investment property. You work directly with Angel Zhen, CPA, EA, MST, to review the decision in front of you, the records behind it, and the options before you commit.
Start the Fit CheckWho this is for
This is a good fit if you:
- Own one or more long-term or short-term rentals, or plan to buy one
- Are considering a sale, an exchange, or a change in how a property is used
- Have a W-2 or business income alongside your rentals and want to know how they interact
- Can upload your recent tax returns and property records to TaxDome
It’s probably not the right fit if you need bookkeeping, or if you’re looking for a return prepared with no questions about the year ahead.
Decisions I help you work through
Buying a property
How the purchase price is split between land and building, what records to keep from day one, and how ownership is titled.
Depreciation and cost segregation
Whether accelerating depreciation helps you, whether you can actually use the loss, and how it affects the tax when you sell. California doesn’t follow federal bonus depreciation, so the state result can differ.
Rental losses
How the passive activity rules, the special allowance, and real estate professional status apply to your situation, and what records support your position.
Short-term rentals
How average stay and your own involvement can change the tax treatment compared with a long-term rental.
Selling a property
Adjusted basis, depreciation recapture, suspended losses, the net investment income tax, and California withholding, reviewed before escrow closes.
Exchanges
Whether a Section 1031 exchange fits your plans, and the timing and documentation it requires.
What you receive
- A review of your question, your prior returns, and the property records that bear on it
- A written explanation of your options and the tradeoffs, federal and California
- The records and next steps each option needs
- A written proposal before any work begins
How engagements work
Start the Fit Check.
Tell me about your properties and the decision you’re facing.
Upload your documents to TaxDome.
Your last two years of returns and the records for the property involved.
Receive a written proposal by email.
I review your documents and email you the scope and fee before any work starts.
The whole process is virtual: the Fit Check, TaxDome, and email.
Real estate articles
Questions
How are fees set?
We agree on the scope and how the fee works before work begins, in a written proposal. The fee depends on the question, the number of properties and entities, and the condition of the records. You’ll receive it in a proposal after I review your documents.
What’s included, and what isn’t?
The proposal lists exactly what’s in scope. Work outside it, such as return preparation, an amended return, or a notice response, is quoted separately before I start.
Do I need my prior returns?
Yes. I ask for your last two years of federal and state returns, with all schedules, uploaded to TaxDome. They show depreciation, carryforwards, and elections that most real estate questions depend on.
Do you work with investors outside California?
Yes. The practice is virtual and serves clients nationwide. Your federal return and your state filings are both part of the review: federal, California, and other state returns as your situation requires.
What happens after I submit the Fit Check?
I review every Fit Check myself. If it looks like a fit, you’ll get a secure TaxDome request for your documents. Once they’re in, I review them and email you a written proposal.
Have a decision coming up?
I take a limited number of clients, so everyone starts with the Fit Check.
Start the Fit CheckThe information on this page is general and isn't advice for your situation. Reading it or submitting the Fit Check doesn't establish a CPA-client relationship.