Top 10 Tax Advantages of Investing in Real Estate

The tax savings of real estate investing are pretty incredible. In fact, tax laws are set up for real estate investors to avoid taxes if we arrange our affairs appropriately.

Here are some of the most important benefits and strategies to note.

Key Tax Benefits & Strategies for Real Estate Investors

Hire a tax strategist or real estate-focused CPA, who can help save you up to hundreds of thousands of dollars by taking advantage of a host of tax-filing approaches you might not know exist.
Be a direct investor in real estate, in which case you’ll receive a K-1, allowing you to maximize your deductions and maximize your income.
Utilize cost segregation studies to assist in accelerating your depreciation, enabling you to write off more in a shorter timeframe.
Correctly classify deductible expenses in order to maximize your write-off.
Consider returning capital to you and your investors rather than distributing income in order to avoid taxes and increase deductions.
Refinance tax-free and reinvest the proceeds somewhere else to maximize your income and continue to grow your wealth.
Take advantage of the 1031 exchange, which means exchanging a property for a like-kind property and deferring capital gains tax.
Avoid passive loss limitations by becoming a qualified real estate professional (QREP), allowing you to maximize your passive losses in the current year as opposed to carrying them forward.
Use retirement options, including self-directed IRAs, self-directed Roth IRAs, solo 401(k)s, and whole life policies to operate and gain income tax-free.
Reset basis at death, meaning passing real estate to your heirs at your death. By doing so, they may pay zero capital gains tax.

Check out my video above, where I delve further into the ways in which recent changes in tax laws have positively benefited real estate investors.

Do you have a tax strategist or CPA who is knowledgeable about real estate? Are you getting the most out of the tax benefits available to investors?

Let’s discuss in the comment section below.

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.