Selling Your Home to Your S Corporation
June 4, 2024
If you want to convert your home to a rental property, you can improve your tax benefits by selling it to your S corporation. Benefits of Selling Your Home to Your S Corporation
· Tax savings on home sale profit. By selling your home to your S corporation, you can utilize the home-sale profit exclusion—up to $500,000 for married couples—to avoid taxes on gains from the sale, assuming you meet the eligibility criteria.
· Increased depreciation deductions. The transaction increases the depreciable basis of your property, resulting in higher annual depreciation deductions.
Addressing Common Doubts
· Property tax concerns. While the sale may increase property taxes due to reassessment at the current market value, the overall financial benefits from tax savings on the gain and increased depreciation often outweigh these additional costs.
· Homestead exemption. Selling your home will indeed result in losing any homestead exemption benefits. But the same is true if you convert it to a rental property. Thus, the homestead exemption is a non-issue because you lose it in either case.
· Related-party sale concerns. Although selling to your S corporation is a related-party transaction, it is legitimate under tax law. The impact for you is that the profit on the sale is subject to ordinary income treatment. But to the extent you can use your home-sale exemption against the profit, you don’t pay federal taxes on that ordinary income.
Implementation Steps
· S corporation. You have the most flexibility when you create a separate S corporation to hold your old home as the S corporation’s rental property.
· Appraisal. Obtain an independent appraisal to establish fair market value for the transaction.
· Formal procedures. Use professional services for title transfer and legal documentation to ensure the sale mirrors an arm’s-length transaction.
· Documentation. Maintain proper records and documentation to support the transaction’s validity, should the IRS ever want to examine it.
Conclusion Selling your home to your S corporation before converting it into a rental property can offer substantial financial advantages. While there are considerations such as increased property taxes, the potential tax savings, and increased cash flow typically provide a net positive outcome.
Are you a business owner that could benefit from our tax strategies?
Go ahead and click this link to discuss…calendly.com/woodbury-finance/tax-strategy
Woodbury Finance and Accounting, LLC has achieved positive results for its clients, but the successes of our top clients are not typical. Because past performance is not a predictor of future success, you may have more or less success depending on many factors, including your background, experience, work ethic, client base, and market forces. Additionally, at times we may discuss the law or new and pending legislation. Please know our understanding of it is constantly changing, and you cannot and should not rely upon these communications for legal, financial, or accounting advice. For the latest updates,
© 2024 Woodbury Finance and Accounting, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Protected by copyright laws of the United States and treaties. This email may only be used pursuant to our Terms & Use Agreement and Privacy Policy. Any reproduction, copying, or redistribution, (electronic or otherwise) in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of 3450 N. Triumph Blvd or by email at [email protected].