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Getting Wise to the Rise of “Smart” Buildings

Nowadays, data drives everything — including the very buildings in which companies operate. If your business is considering upgrading its current facility, or moving to or constructing a new one, it’s important to be aware of “smart” buildings.

A smart building is one equipped with a variety of sensors that gather and track information about the structure’s energy usage and performance. With this data, the owners can better regulate the building’s energy consumption and, ultimately, save money.

Has this been the case in real life? The results of a 2018 Forbes Insights/Intel survey seem to indicate so. Of the 211 business leaders from around the world who responded, 66% answered affirmatively when asked whether smart building management technologies have produced a return on investment.

What’s out there

The name of the game with smart buildings is integration. Traditional building management and control systems don’t easily converge with today’s technology-driven and Internet-connected infrastructure. (This infrastructure is often […]

Real Estate Agent Not Permitted to Deduct Rental Losses

For our clients out there who are real estate agents and property owners: The taxpayer was a licensed real estate agent who owned rental properties. For 2006 and 2007, she deducted a total of $78,543 in rental losses. Upon audit, the IRS disallowed these losses because the taxpayer failed to show she materially participated in the rental activity. The taxpayer argued that her status as a real estate professional automatically rendered the losses nonpassive, regardless of material participation. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit sided with the IRS, holding that although real estate professionals are not subject to the per se rule under IRC Sec. 469(c)(2) that rental losses are passive, they must still show material participation before deducting rental losses. Therefore, the taxpayer was not entitled to deduct the losses.

If you have any questions, please contact your Linkenheimer CPA.