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TAX BENEFITS OF INVESTING IN REAL ESTATE


In addition to the capital preservation and cash flow benefits, one of the main reasons that passive investors seek to invest in real estate opportunities, and apartment syndications in particular, is because of the tax benefits of rental property.

When a passive investor invests in a value-add apartment syndication, they will typically receive a profit from annual cash flow and the profit at sale.

Being a profit, this money is taxable. However, for apartment syndications, there are five pieces of tax information that the investor need to understand in order to determine the tax advantages of investing.


Depreciation

Investment property depreciation is the amount that can be deducted from income each year as the depreciable items at the apartment community age. The IRS classifies each depreciable item according to its useful life, which is the number of years of useful life of the item. The business can deduct the full cost of the item over that period.

The most common form of depreciation is straight-line depreciation, which allows the deduction of equal amounts each year. The annual deduction is the cost of the item divided by its useful life. The IRS considers the useful life of real estate to be 27.5 years. So, the annual depreciation on an apartment building worth $1,000,000 (excluding the land value) is $1,000,000 / 27.5 years = $36,363,64 per year.

As one of the tax benefits of apartment syndications, the depreciation amount is such that a passive investor won’t pay taxes on their monthly, quarterly, or annual distributions during the hold period. They will, however, have to pay taxes on the sales proceeds.


Cost Segregation

Investment property depreciation is the amount that can be deducted from income each year as the depreciable items at the apartment community age. The IRS classifies each depreciable item according to its useful life, which is the number of years of useful life of the item. The business can deduct the full cost of the item over that period.


The most common form of depreciation is straight-line depreciation, which allows the deduction of equal amounts each year. The annual deduction is the cost of the item divided by its useful life. The IRS considers the useful life of real estate to be 27.5 years. So, the annual depreciation on an apartment building worth $1,000,000 (excluding the land value) is $1,000,000 / 27.5 years = $36,363,64 per year.

As one of the tax benefits of apartment syndications, the depreciation amount is such that a passive investor won’t pay taxes on their monthly, quarterly, or annual distributions during the hold period. They will, however, have to pay taxes on the sales proceeds.


Depreciation Recapture


Depreciation recapture is the gain received from the sale of depreciable capital property that must be reported as income. Depreciation recapture is assessed when the sale price of an asset exceeds the tax basis or adjusted cost basis. The difference between these figures is “recaptured” by reporting it as income.

For example, consider an apartment that was purchased for $1,000,000 and has an annual depreciation of $35,000. After 11 years, the owner decides to sell the property for $1,300,000. The adjusted cost basis then is $1,000,000 – ($35,000 x 11) = $615,000. The realized gain on the sale will be $1,300,000 – $615,000 = $685,000. Capital gain on the property can be calculated as $685,000 – ($35,000 x 11) = $300,000, and the depreciation recapture gain is

$35,000 x 11 = $385,000.

Let’s assume a 15% capital gains tax and that the owner falls in the 28% income tax bracket. The total amount of tax that the taxpayer will owe on the sale of this rental property is (0.15 x $300,000) + (0.28 x $385,000) = $45,000 + $107,800 = $152,800. The depreciation recapture amount is $107,800 and the capital gains amount is $45,000.


Bonus Depreciation


One of the major changes with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was the bonus depreciation provision, where business can take 100% bonus depreciation on a qualified property purchased after September 27th, 2017. This is definitely one of the tax benefits of rental property you should learn more about, so click here for more information on the qualifications and benefits of the change in bonus appreciation.


Capital Gains


When the asset is sold and the partnership is terminated, initial equity and profits are distributed to the passive investors.

The IRS classifies the profit portion as long-term capital gain.

Under the new 2018 tax law, the capital gains tax bracket breakdown is as follows:

Taxable income (individual or joint)

  • $0 to $77,220: 0% capital gains tax

  • $77,221 to $479,000: 15% capital gains tax

  • More than $479,000: 20% capital gains tax


Annual Tax Statement


At the beginning of the following year, our CPA will create Schedule K-1 tax reports for each passive investor. The K-1 is a tax document that includes all of the pertinent tax information that the passive investor will use to fill out their tax forms.

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