The 1031 exchange, a tax break used extensively in the commercial real estate industry, could disappear if a lower tax rate is passed by Congress. The tax break gives sellers of real estate and other asset types the opportunity to defer capital gains taxes by reinvesting in “like-kind” properties. But lobbyists and Capitol Hill officials working on tax legislation have told the Wall Street Journal that, even if a sweeping federal tax overhaul doesn’t go ahead this year,... [read more]

Thanks to steadily increasing home prices, fewer South Florida owners are weighed down by “underwater” mortgages, two recent reports show. At the end of last year, 30,442 Palm Beach County homeowners with a mortgage, or 10.6 percent, owed more than the property is worth, down from 41,046 people, or 14.2 percent in the same period of 2015, according to the CoreLogic research firm. In Broward County, 46,443 homeowners, or 12.6 percent, were under water, compared with 63,782,... [read more]

  A joint resolution proposing to increase the state homestead exemption passed the Senate and the House in the Florida Legislature on Monday. House Joint Resolution 7105 has to go before voters in next year's election and get enough votes to amend the Florida Constitution. House Joint Resolution 7105 proposes to increase the exemption on the assessed value greater than $50,000 and up to $100,000. Right now, property owners can claim $25,000 in homestead exemption. That means... [read more]

With April 18th a month away, now’s as good a time as any to start thinking about filing your taxes if you haven't already. You're not alone if you haven't gotten around to it yet — Americans are filing taxes slower this year, according to the IRS. The average U.S. household pays more than $5,700 in federal taxes, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but state tax burdens vary greatly. Taxpayers in states that are the most tax-expensive pay three times... [read more]