Real Estate Tax Services in the Denver Metro
Who this is for
Real estate can build real wealth. It can also make your tax return a lot more complex. If you own rental property, flip houses, or plan to sell a home, the rules matter. Small choices can change what you owe by thousands of dollars. We help you get those choices right.
This page is for you if you fit any of these:
You own one rental or a growing portfolio.
You rent out a home short term on Airbnb or VRBO.
You buy, fix, and sell property for profit.
You are planning a 1031 exchange.
You are selling your primary or second home.
Rental property owners
Rental income is taxable, but many costs are deductible. You can often write off mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, repairs, and management fees. You also get depreciation, which spreads the building's cost over many years. Depreciation is a paper expense that can lower your taxable income even in a positive cash flow year. We track and report it correctly so nothing gets missed.
Most long-term rentals go on Schedule E. This is the standard path for landlords who rent to tenants and do not provide hotel-style services. Repairs and improvements are treated differently, so we help you sort them out. A repair is usually deductible now. An improvement is depreciated over time.
Short-term rentals (such as Airbnb and VRBO) follow different rules. If the average guest stay is short and you offer extra services like cleaning between guests, the IRS may treat it like a business. That can push your short-term rental tax onto Schedule C instead of Schedule E. The line between the two affects self-employment tax and how losses are handled. We look at your average stay, your services, and your hours before we decide.
Long-term rental: usually Schedule E, no self-employment tax.
Short-term rental with services: may belong on Schedule C.
Depreciation and expense tracking apply to both.
Investors who buy and sell
If you hold a property to rent or to let it grow in value, you are usually an investor. When you sell, the profit is a capital gain. Hold it longer than a year and you may qualify for lower long-term capital gains rates, reported on Schedule D.
Flipping is different. If you buy, renovate, and resell quickly as your trade, the IRS often treats you as a dealer. That profit is ordinary income on Schedule C, and it can carry self-employment tax. There is no long-term capital gains break on flips. Some people do both, so we help you keep the two activities clearly separated in your records. That said, some of this income can still be treated as passive, and not subject to self-employment or ordinary income tax rates. We look at your situation to see whether you qualify for those breaks.
Holding for growth or rent: often capital gains on Schedule D.
Flipping as a business: often ordinary income on Schedule C, but exceptions exist.
Good records protect your tax treatment.
1031 like-kind exchanges
A 1031 exchange lets you sell one investment property and buy another while deferring capital gains tax. You do not erase the tax. You push it down the road, which keeps more money working for you. Done right, this is one of the most powerful tools a real estate investor has.
The deadlines are strict and easy to miss. You have 45 days from the sale to name your replacement property in writing. You have 180 days total to close on it. A qualified intermediary must hold the funds, because touching the cash yourself can void the exchange. One late day or one wrong step can trigger the full tax bill. This is why professional help matters so much here. We plan the timeline with you and coordinate the paperwork before the clock even starts.
45 days to identify the replacement property.
180 days to close the purchase.
A qualified intermediary must hold the proceeds.
Real estate professional status
Rental losses are often limited for regular taxpayers. Real estate professional status can change that. If you qualify, your rental losses may offset other income like wages or business profit. That can mean a real drop in your total tax bill.
The bar is high. You generally must spend more than half of your working time in real property trades, and more than 750 hours a year. You also need to show real activity in your rentals. The IRS asks for proof, so documentation is everything. We advise you on how to keep a time log and organize records that hold up if questions come.
More than 750 hours a year in real property work.
More than half of your working time in real estate.
Clear time logs and records to back it up.
Selling a primary or second home
Selling your home can come with a valuable tax break. If it was your primary home for at least two of the last five years, you may exclude a large part of the gain. Single filers can often exclude up to $250,000 of profit. Married couples filing together can often exclude up to $500,000 when they qualify.
Second homes and vacation properties do not get this exclusion. Their gains are usually taxable. The rules also shift if you once rented the home or used part of it for business. We review your dates, your use, and your basis so you claim every dollar you are allowed and report the rest correctly.
A Denver metro angle
The Denver metro is full of landlords and investors. Home values here have climbed for years, and rentals are everywhere across the area. Short-term rentals near the mountains add another layer of rules. As a Denver real estate CPA and EA firm, we know this market and the people who invest in it.
We serve the Denver metro in person and work remotely with clients across all 50 states, including multi-state returns for out-of-area rentals. Don Morrow, a CPA since 1974, and his partner Steph Tripp handle these returns personally, so you get their experience directly, not a junior preparer's. You upload documents through our secure SmartVault portal, and we handle the rest.
