Cliff House, EA

Managing Partner of REI Tax Guys

Enrolled Agent with the IRS, Certified Real Estate Tax Strategist, Husband, Dad, board game nerd.

[Cliff House, EA @REITaxGuy]

@howard_knudsen I agree, but not all CPAs are equal. I have already amended returns for several new clients this year to the same effect, getting 5 to 6 figure refunds. They sold multiple rentals and their previous CPA never released passive losses. It's a shame really.

[Roger Ledbetter @rledbetterCPA]

Teaching my oldest son about taxes

Tell him he owes me 20% of his "adjusted allowance"

He asks what "adjusted" means

Hand him a "publication 17" I made up

He asks which deductions apply to him

Tell him to read "section 4" (there is no section 4, it's been superseded by 5(1)(a))

He comes back asking if his Pokemon card collection is depreciable

I say "maybe" if he trades any for gain

What's "gain" he says

He asks if he can just give me his whole allowance instead

He says "that would be easier"

I say "we don't tax 100%. this isn't New York"

He asks what that means

I hand him "Form 18" and tell him he has to choose how he wants to be taxed

"but be careful because the wrong choice could double your tax rate to 40%"

He says "this is insane"

I say "no son, this is optimizing"

He asks what optimizing means

He asks if other kids have to do this

He says "this is dumb, if you know how much I owe why wouldn't you just tell me"

He understands tax now

I've never been more proud

[IRSnews @IRSnews]

#IRS reminder: It’s a good time to start prepping now for tax season. Things like organizing your tax records, creating an Online Account and enrolling in Direct Deposit can make tax time much smoother. https://t.co/NrpAnrZIJY

[Roger Ledbetter @rledbetterCPA]

Happy "It'll be better next year" Day to all who celebrate.

[Lucia Pacioli @LuciaPacioli]

You think sales are hard, you’ve got nothing on selling tax services. “So your prior accountant used bad methods so we’re going to need you to change the method to one where you pay more tax and you get a homework list of files to send us and also now have to pay us more.”

[Cliff House, EA @REITaxGuy]

Yup.

[Matthew J. Cordes, EA @cordes_tax]

Been a while since I stirred this pot. Why not?

[Cliff House, EA @REITaxGuy]

Some people take summer vacations… I go to the IRS National Tax Forum.

(Don't worry, I took a real vacation earlier this summer.)
#TaxNerd #RealEstateInvesting
#IRSTaxForum #IRSTaxPro #TaxTwitter

[Cliff House, EA @REITaxGuy]

One big lesson I’ve learned: specializing beats being a generalist.

For us, focusing exclusively on real estate investors changed everything.

Curious—what’s one niche or focus that’s helped you grow?

[Cliff House, EA @REITaxGuy]

Never thought “tax firm owner” would be part of my story.

I shared my journey on The Lead to Scale Show—from musicals and improv 🎭 to scaling a firm 👔.

For other entrepreneurs: your path doesn’t have to be straight.

Full episode → link in bio (and comments 👇)

#taxtwitter

[Cliff House, EA @REITaxGuy]

Here’s the full interview on YouTube 🎙️ 👉 https://t.co/V3LAxdhi2b

#RealEstateInvesting

[Cliff House, EA @REITaxGuy]

Just spent over 2 hours on the phone with the IRS, got transferred to 3 different departments, got disconnected twice, and got nothing accomplished.

How's your day going?

[Cliff House, EA @REITaxGuy]

@MikeSyl36625988 Professional stage performer for over a decade. Mostly musical theatre. Acting, singing, dancing, stunts. It was a fun season of life.

[Cliff House, EA @REITaxGuy]

@AaronKrafftCPA Advantage ROTH because even if it comes out the same, it won't trigger tax on your social security. It's a chess game.

[Cliff House, EA @REITaxGuy]

@AaronKrafftCPA @BookkeepingSide I agree. Relay is awesome! They looked at all the pain points small businesses have with banks and created an online banking platform to solve them. You should at least check them out. They have an accountant program as well were you can access clients accounts for bookkeeping.

[Cliff House, EA @REITaxGuy]

@TaxJasper

[Matthew J. Cordes, EA @cordes_tax]

#TaxTwitter Bring on the OJ tax memes.

[Cliff House, EA @REITaxGuy]

@cordes_tax Got my EA in 2021 and plan to be active for a long while. Also a member of NAEA.

[Cliff House, EA @REITaxGuy]

Has anyone ever seen someone try to give a large amount of money to someone else by using addendum 506 when selling a property, to avoid gift tax?

Tried to tell them that wasn't right, but seems they want to listen to another CPA "expert" on TurboTax.

Thoughts? #TaxTwitter

[Cliff House, EA @REITaxGuy]

@MikeSyl36625988 I used to be a stage performer. Acting, singing, dancing, stunts. Lived the dream for about a decade, then decided to go into the family business.

People are always shocked when they hear that. But it also explains why I don't mind talking in front of a bunch of people.

[Cliff House, EA @REITaxGuy]

@JockDaCockCoin @LiftersSynNFT
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