DANRVAN

I have never found an appraiser who will put a value on a fence, even for large estates with miles upon miles of fencing. It is a good faith reasonable estimate following AICPA standards. Otherwise clients are missing out on allowable depreciation. On the other hand, I have seen buyers (non-clients) put values way beyond what the actual replacement cost would be.

For the above post my bill was about $900. My job was to trace out the fences on a map and determine the length on a spreadsheet. Then input the estimated cost per foot. The client then rated the various sections of the fences on a scale of 1 to 10, where "10" would be in new condition and "1" would be in total disrepair. The overall rating gave an estimated value of about 50% the cost of a brand new fence which was $93,000.

Farm and ranch fences are specifically listed under asset class 01.1 and are 7 year GDS. Keep in mind these are pasture or range type fences, not corrals which are 15 year property. New ones are made out of steel post and wire, and that is not cheap. Neither is labor cost which varies with the terrain. Fences are often overlooked and I have used 3115 several times for that purpose. You need to reduce that basis of the land for the amount allocated to the fencing. The client needs to make an estimate of the value at time the property was acquired considering: the condition, age of the fence, and replacement cost at the time. You also have to consider partial ownership of boundary fences in some cases. The last one I did came out to $93,000 which was about 1/2 the replacement value of about 10 miles of fence. That was for a relatively small parcel of property. This is right up my alley because I also do fencing as part of my other work. I am starting on a couple mile project next week!

And you can drive home the point that preliminary tax planning would have saved time and confusion.

Without knowing all the facs, It might have been less complicated if they had assumed his share of liabilities instead of borrowing money to pay him cash; which he then used to pay off his share.

That is a good point, however the remodel is treated as a separate asset for depreciation purposes. 3115 is your friend, use it.

At this point do you really have a choice but to extend? Looks to me like you need to call the clients in for a meeting after 4/15 and document their intent. Explain that for tax and accounting purposes there is really no reason for the partnership to continue with the remaining husband and wife. Does the contract take into account that the assumption of selling partner's share of liabilities by remaining couple is consideration paid to him? I have worked with attorneys that have gone back and rewrote agreements to fit the actual facts. Unless there was a compelling reason for the remaining couple to continue as a partnership, I would suggest a liquidation of the partnership followed by a transfer of the assets at the individual level Okay, so a loan was taken to buy retiring partner and was secured by the building which is owned by partnership? Retiring partner was cashed out with a check from partnership? If that is the case and remaining couple wishes to continue as partnership, treat it as a redemption as dictated by the facts.

That is how I pay our personal estimates.

I prefer to put in the amount so there is no question about what they need to pay.

Never any bad experience. They get vouchers, envelopes, and a payment schedule.

The purpose of the worksheet is to help you determine the net amount on line 2, it is not part of the tax return. The IRS is not watching for an itemized list. As far as that goes, you can just over ride line 2 of schedule SE.

Since it is just a "worksheet" you don't need to itemize anything. Just put in the total expense and move on.

That is also my practice. In this case the client will continue to mail in his payments on a quarterly basis. He has a daughter that lives close by with a POA that will assist him. Thank you for all your replies!

That is my concern as well. This couple have been long time and loyal clients. She has dementia; he is still sharp at 89 but slowly declining. He can decide which way to go on this. That is good to know. It seems like the auto pays should go into the IRS system and generated there on each payment date.

Do know if there is a way to confirm that the payments have been made without looking at bank statements or online banking?