IRS

This past week the NY Times had an eight page spread on how Trump inherited his money and the many ways he avoided paying taxes. The story didn't create much interest and kind of just went away. There are many ways in which the IRS can be confusing. Back in the early 70's I purchased a business and in order to file taxes you must differentiate between buildings and land when you fill out the depreciation schedule. It is to my advantage to put as much value on the building, which can be depreciated and it is better for the IRS to value the land since it cannot be depreciated. I asked them how I should split the value and was told that I should put down what I thought was right and if they didn't agree they would challenge. I was fortunate because the land was on two separate lots and the building on one lot. I checked the taxable value of the empty lot and used that to value on the lot the building was on.