If You Are a Real Estate Investor, Keep These Tax Tips in Mind

Dealing with taxes as an independent business owner can get tricky when we don’t have all the information and guidance we need. This can get even more confusing when we have just started to invest in real estate property. However, there are several tax tips we should keep in mind in order to make the most out of our investments, especially when it comes to property taxes and other taxes involved. That’s why we decided to share some useful tax tips that any real estate investor can follow to make tax season easier for them.

Take Advantage of Business Deductions

Something that every real estate investor needs to remember is that they qualify as a business, so they are entitled to submit business expense deductions just like any other company can. This means that, by the end of the year, you can write off several of your expenses, as long as they are related to running your investments and your properties. Some of these expenses include mileage from driving to and from properties, home office expenses like rent and electricity, mortgage interests and premiums, professional services, and depreciation of your property.

Don’t Sell your Property Before the First Year

One mistake we might be likely to make when we begin to invest in real estate is selling a property before the first year of ownership. When we have owned a property for less than 365 days and then we sell it, we will be subject to a short-term capital gains tax. Instead, we should hold properties for more than a year, so that, when we sell them, the profit ends up being subject to a long-term capital gains tax.

Learn About the Power of 1031 Exchanges

Another quite useful strategy any real estate investor must learn about is 1031 exchanges, also known as like-kind exchanges. This allows us to defer the taxes generated by selling a property when we use it to buy another property. As a result, we are able to buy/sell properties in order to increase our portfolio without having to worry about paying taxes on each sale. However, 1031 exchanges might be tricky at times, so it is important that we do extensive research or consult with a professional tax advisor before we choose to take advantage of them.

Opt for Tax-Free Refinances

Refinancing a property tends to be a common scenario any real estate investor will likely face. Even when we might think that refinancing a property means another transaction being subject to taxes, this is actually not the case. Therefore, we are able to pull equity out of a property we own through a cash-out refinance plan without being subject to any taxes for that transaction. Since we are not really making money from this, the IRS won’t consider it as taxable income. This way, real estate investors can take money to invest in new properties without being subject to taxes, and having the opportunity to report loan interests as a business expense, qualifying for a deduction.

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