April 15th – “The Day of Reckoning”! Every year, millions of Americans get ready to pay taxes to Uncle Sam, or get ready to collect a tax refund from Uncle Sam; when did this become the great day that it is for taxpayers, and when are we actually required to file a income tax return? Let’s take a look at the beginnings of the income tax date of April 15 and why it was chosen?

The first known income tax that Americans were legally required to pay was enacted during the early 1860s, and the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln. The Civil War was proving very costly to finance, and the President and Congress created the Commissioner of Internal Revenue and enacted a law requiring citizens to pay federal income tax. This could be considered the start of our modern day income tax. This income tax was based on principles of graduated or progressive taxation and of withholding income at the source. The commissioner was given authority to assess, levy and collect federal income taxes. The authority to enforce tax laws by seizure of property and income and by prosecution.

Originally, the deadline for completing and filing your individual income tax was not April 15th. In the beginning, it was first set for March 1st. Then, during 1918, Congress pushed the date out to March 15th. Then, in the great overhaul of 1954, the date was once again moved forward to April 15th, and this is where it remains today. Why April 15th? The main thought from most scholars say the reasoning is that the date gives the IRS more time to handle the work load and more time to hang on to your money before offering a tax refund. This date has only been set this way for a little over 50 years. That’s not very long, in historical terms, and it could possibly be changed again.

If you are an individual taxpayer, you are required to file either a return or an extension of time to file (Form 4868) by April 15th. Corporate and other legal entities are required to file their federal income tax return by March 15th, and if not, they also must file an extension of time to file. What this extension does not do, is to extend the amount of time you have to pay any taxes due the government. So, if you are unable to ready your personal or business financial information in a timely manner, and have no reasonable estimate as to the amount of tax you may owe, you can expect to pay some form of penalty.
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Undoubtedly, you are aware of Dear John letters. Often a young lady sent them to men in the military, often containing bad news. Well, the IRS sends them to taxpayers as well.

Dear John Letters From The IRS

The Internal Revenue Service sends out millions of Dear John letters to taxpayers every year. Instead of informing you of a break up, these letters let you know the IRS would like to get a bit closer. Before you bang your head on the wall, you should understand these letters are typically not the sign of impending doom.
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When solar cells first came on the scene in the 1950s, they were simple. Now, there are a wide variety of cells and more are coming as technology improves.

An Overview of Solar Cells Through The Years

Solar cells are the basic component of any active system used to convert sunlight into a form of energy. Traditionally, solar cells were used as the key part of panel systems that generated electricity or heat for homes. These days, the technology is used in a wide variety of applications, which means the style of solar cells vary per application.

A traditional solar cell consisted of some very basic pieces. The cell was typically a flat square made up of a glass or plastic panel attached over a crystallized silicone substance. The silicone was imbedded with metal wires. The process worked by having the sun strike the silicone, which kicked off neutrons. The neutrons produced a small electrical current that was collected by the wires. The electricity was in the form of direct current, which had to be converted to usable AC electricity with an inverter. The electricity was then stored in batteries or fed into the grid of the local utility company.

The problem with the first solar cells involved efficiency. To be frank, there was not much. Initial cells converted sunlight at a rate of one to six percent. More energy was lost in the conversion from direct current to AC. It worked, but was so inefficient that huge collections of solar cells were required to make enough energy.
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By ignoring generous IRS guidelines when establishing depreciation schedules, over 90% of real estate investors are unintentionally overpaying federal income taxes. In addition they are paying federal income taxes earlier than necessary, typically years or decades earlier than necessary. Although these IRS guidelines are relatively new, they provide substantial benefits. Since this is a relatively new issue, many accountants have not integrated the new IRS depreciation guidelines into their practice. Savings for real estate investors are meaningful- exceeding $50,000 to $1,000,000 in the first year. Cost segregation converts income taxed at 35% (ordinary income) to income taxed at 15% (capital gains). Cost segregation also defers payment of income taxes, often for 5 to 10 years.

Effects of higher depreciation

Most real estate investors do not understand the benefits of increasing real estate depreciation. They often ask, “doesn’t increasing my depreciation just mean that I will be shifting taxes from now until when I sell the property?”

This is a popular misconception and the answer is a resounding “no”. There are two benefits of increasing depreciation:

1. Converting ordinary income into capital gains income
2. Deferring income until a gain on the sale of the property is realized.

The conversion of ordinary income into capital gains income has to do with the technical nature of the allocation of the gain on the sale. Many, if not most, accountants initially believe it is simply a timing issue. However, when the mechanics of recognizing gain on sale are discussed, accountants quickly realize increasing depreciation leads to paying taxes at the capital gains rate as opposed to the ordinary income rate.
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