Can someone break down this tax information for me?

[RandySF]

I admit right away that I am an idiot when it comes to taxes.

[Thinkingabout]

1. When investing in real estate there are depreciation allowed on property plus certain

Improvements are depreciated. Added to spreading "losses" over years and just maybe a little lying also helps.

[Foggyhill]

3. Usually you depreciate assets you actually OWN

Here it seems to be taking capital gain losses (not just real estate) and spreading it forward.

Not quite sure how you can actually do that once you've gone bankrupt though. You shouldn't be able too.
That is the big loophole that's a big ass travesty.

[Thinkingabout]

5. Depreciation occurs over years and losses can be carried forward also. As I said

Improvements can be spread over more than one year.

[Foggyhill]

6. But, whatever, stops at bankruptcy. lose the assets (the depreciations) and the capital gain losses

Or you could easily make a living out of going bankrupt (even a non billionaire).

[TheDebbieDee]

2. Was the term "carry-back losses" used?

Are you referring to the Times article about DT's 1995 return claiming he lost more than $900 million?

[radical noodle]

4. It's difficult to conclude a lot without

the rest of it. The statement that he could have paid no taxes for 18 years is (I believe) solely based on the tax laws that allow loss carryover. For example, if the next 18 years he made about $50,000,000 each year, the loss in 1995 would negate any taxes. I am not a tax preparer nor a CPA, but I worked in the financial departments of construction corps and that's the way I recall it working. If the following year he made more than he lost in 1995 then he would pay some taxes.

http://taxation.lawyers.com/business-taxation/what-you-should-know-about-carryback-and-carryforward-rules.html