Moving Property to an LLC- Tampa Florida

[Deborah Hernandez]

Hi all! The very first home we bought (a townhome) is currently being rented. Now that my husband and I are getting serious about building a rental portfolio we want to transfer the property to an LLC. The property was bought for $100K and now is valued at $200K. Are there any immediate tax implications with the transfer? Example: transferring the property and being taxed for the $100K capital gains? I'm not sure if I could get taxed now or if it only applies when I actually sell the property. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Michael Temple]

@Deborah Hernandez I don't currently invest in Florida, but I have a number of friends that do. I believe FL has a transfer tax that can be pretty steep. I also believe moving property to an LLC might trigger this tax. You will want to speak with a FL-based CPA and/or attorney to be sure.

Most of the FL investors I know use land trusts instead. By moving the property into a trust and then assigning the beneficial interest to an LLC you may avoid that tax, again check with a CPA. I would check out books on trusts by Mark Warda. He is a FL attorney that really knows this area well.