1031 exchanges, depreciation, tax benefits, entity taxation, deductions, and tax planning strategies.
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Foundation terms you need to know first (24 terms)
Accrual basis accounting records revenues when they are earned and expenses when they are incurred, regardless of when cash actually changes hands. This method provides a more accurate picture of a business's financial performance over time.
A tax refund is a reimbursement to taxpayers of excess tax paid to the government. For real estate investors, it represents a potential source of capital for new investments or property improvements.
The marginal tax rate is the tax rate applied to your very last dollar of taxable income. It's crucial for real estate investors to understand how additional income or deductions will impact their tax bill.
A tax credit is a direct reduction in the amount of tax owed, dollar-for-dollar, providing a significant financial benefit to real estate investors by lowering their overall tax liability.
An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a unique nine-digit number assigned by the IRS to identify a business entity for tax purposes, often required for real estate investment structures like LLCs and partnerships.
Complex strategies and professional concepts (46 terms)
The accounting process of recognizing the estimated cost of an Asset Retirement Obligation (ARO) as a liability and capitalizing a corresponding asset, which is then depreciated over its useful life, reflecting the future costs associated with retiring a long-lived asset.
Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) is a tax levied on the net income of a tax-exempt organization, including certain real estate investment vehicles, derived from a trade or business regularly carried on and not substantially related to its exempt purpose.
Tax-exempt debt refers to bonds or other debt instruments issued by governmental entities or qualified private entities, where the interest earned by the bondholder is exempt from federal, and often state and local, income taxes.
Premium financing is a sophisticated financial strategy where an investor borrows funds from a third-party lender to pay the premiums on a large insurance policy, typically a life insurance policy or substantial commercial property insurance, using the policy itself or other assets as collateral.
A Self-Directed IRA (SDIRA) is a specialized retirement account allowing investors to hold alternative assets like real estate, private equity, and precious metals, offering enhanced control but requiring strict adherence to complex IRS regulations to avoid prohibited transactions and Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT).
Tax-deferred growth in life insurance refers to the accumulation of cash value within a permanent life insurance policy, where earnings grow without being taxed annually until withdrawn. This allows for compounding growth over time, offering a strategic financial tool for investors seeking liquidity and tax advantages.
Tax-exempt debt refers to bonds or other debt instruments issued by governmental entities or qualified private entities, where the interest earned by the bondholder is exempt from federal, and often state and local, income taxes.
Tax-free debt refers to financial strategies where the interest paid on borrowed money is tax-deductible, or the proceeds from a loan are not considered taxable income, providing significant tax advantages to real estate investors.
Tax-free growth refers to the increase in value of an investment or asset where the earnings, profits, or gains are not subject to taxation, allowing wealth to compound more rapidly.
Tax-free withdrawals refer to the ability to remove funds from an investment account or sale proceeds from an asset without incurring federal or state income tax, provided specific conditions are met.
A taxable conversion in real estate occurs when a property's use or status changes in a way that triggers an immediate tax liability, often due to a recharacterization of gains or depreciation.
The portion of a deceased person's estate that is subject to federal and/or state estate taxes after all allowable deductions and exemptions have been applied. It represents the net value of assets upon which estate tax is levied.
A taxable event is any transaction or occurrence that results in a tax liability, requiring an individual or entity to pay taxes to a government authority. In real estate, these often involve the sale of property, depreciation recapture, or certain refinancing scenarios.
Taxable income is the portion of an individual's or entity's gross income that is subject to taxation after all allowable deductions, exemptions, and credits have been applied. For real estate investors, it determines the actual income on which taxes are paid.
Taxable income for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) refers to the earnings generated by a REIT that are subject to taxation at the shareholder level, primarily through dividend distributions, due to the REIT's pass-through tax structure.
Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) is a local tax levied on the rent paid by guests for short-term accommodations, such as hotels and vacation rentals, typically for stays less than 30 consecutive days. It funds local services and infrastructure.
An Umbrella Partnership Real Estate Investment Trust (UPREIT) is a structure where a publicly traded REIT owns its properties through a controlling interest in a private operating partnership (OP), allowing property owners to contribute real estate in exchange for OP units on a tax-deferred basis.
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