Complex Financial Transactions

Transactions we work on

• The sale of a business, a rental or other investment property
• Installment sales and like-kind (Section 1031) exchanges
• Money moving between trusts, partnerships, corporations and their owners
• Inherited property, and the stepped-up basis it usually carries
• Transactions spread over many accounts or several years
• Large or unusual items that need to be documented before a return is filed

How we approach it

1. Collect every document behind the transaction: contracts, closing statements, account statements and prior returns.
2. Rebuild the timeline and follow each dollar from where it came from to where it went.
3. Work out the tax result: basis, gain or loss, its character and its timing.
4. Report it on the right returns, with a file that supports every number.

Why it matters

Complex transactions are where mistakes cost the most, and where a clear record helps most if the IRS or the Franchise Tax Board asks questions later.