Experience the Power of DSTs and Private Market Alternatives

Andrew Carnaby's statement that 90% of millionaires build their wealth from real estate has become famous over time. Said at the turn of the century, this insight still holds true today.

However, back in the late 1800s, things were a little different. There was no capital gains tax for one, as this was only instituted in 1913.

Of course, capital gains tax or not, real estate is still a promising investment type. What's more, capital gains tax can be minimized through informed tax planning strategies. The use of DSTs is one example of this.

But what is a DST? DST stands for Delaware Statuary Trust, and we are about to share with you how they work, as well as how they can qualify as 1031 exchange property.

If you are looking into liquidating your real estate assets for reinvestment purposes, we advise you to continue reading to find out more about DSTs and 1031 property exchanges.

What Is a DST?

A Delaware statuary trust or DST is a legal entity designed for the purpose of conducting business activities. Contrary to its name, Delaware statuary trusts are not registered exclusively in Delaware. What is a DST in real estate? DSTs are also known in some instances as unincorporated business trusts or UBOs.

Similar to LLCs, DSTs are pass-through entities. This means they are not taxed on income generated.

Instead, the tax liability is passed through to the trustees. However, as a legal entity, DSTs do provide trustees and beneficial owners with limited liability.

Do DSTs Quality as 1031 Exchange Property?

If you are curious to know whether a DST investment can fall as a like-kind property for a 1031 exchange, the answer is yes.

Although DSTs have been around since the '80s, they have recently become popular structures for the purpose of reinvestment of real estate proceeds. The reason for this is that DSTs can qualify as 1031 exchange property. Investors should keep in mind that DST's are only suitable for Accredited Investors and one must qualify as an accredited investor to participate in these programs.

1031 Exchanges Explained

If you are unfamiliar with 1031 exchanges, let's quickly take a look at how they work and what their requirements are.

In a nutshell, 1031 exchanges allow for real estate property to be sold without attracting immediate capital gains tax. Any applicable capital gains tax is deferred, allowing investors to enhance the growth potential of their portfolios. A further benefit is properties purchased through a 1031 exchange can be passed down to heirs tax-free.

However, there are a number of requirements for 1031 exchanges. These include:

• Proceeds from the sale of the real estate have to be reinvested in "like-kind" replacement property (properties that are considered similar)
• The replacement property or properties have to be identified within 45 days from the sale of the previously held property
• The replacement property or properties need to be successfully closed on within 180 days
• Replacement property has to be utilized for investment purposes or business purposes

The requirements for 1031 exchanges can often prove onerous for investors. Identifying qualifying replacement property, conducting due diligence on the property, and closing on it within the required time frames can be difficult.

DST 1031 investments can, however, remove some of the obstacles involved in a 1031 exchange.

Let's take a look at some of the pros and cons associated with DST property investment.

Pros and Cons of 1031 Exchanges via DST Properties

DST investments are becoming increasingly sought after thanks to the fact that they can facilitate 3031 exchanges and the tax benefits that come from these. Besides the tax shelter that DST property investments can provide, they also pose a few other concrete advantages.

At the same time, not all investors may find DST property ideal. Below are the pros and cons investors should be aware of when considering DST property.

DST Investment Pros

DST property investment poses a number of advantages. DST investors can enjoy the benefits of 1031 exchanges, with fewer hurdles, and minimized risk of exchange failure. DST property investment allows for enhanced diversification and reduced personal management duties.

Streamlined 1031 Exchanges

The overarching benefit of DST investments is that 1031 exchanges can be accomplished in a streamlined manner, providing that the DST investors find a properly structured DST product.

When investing in a well-managed DST, investors can enjoy the tax shelter of a 1031 exchange without the legwork of identifying, investigating, and closing on qualifying properties. Without the pre-established framework of a DST investment, investors run the risk of disqualifying their 1031 return due to factors outside of their control.

Zero Property Management Duties

Properties that are owned by DSTs are typically managed in full. This means that DST investors enjoy monthly income from their investment, without the need for hands-on management.

Property management can be a significant drawback of real estate ownership. Dealing with tenants and property maintenance can be a full-time job in and of itself.

With structured DSTs, investors do not have to worry about this aspect. Instead, all property management tasks are handled by the trust.

Opportunity for Portfolio Diversification

Another benefit of DST properties is the entry point for DST investment can be significantly lower than when buying total ownership of a property.

DST investments often consist of multifamily assets, mixed-used property, office space, and CRE assets. These types of real estate assets are often out of reach for private investors. DST investments, on the other hand, typically start at a minimum value of $100,000.

This means that DST investors can buy into a property with less capital. This also facilitates diversification, where buyers can choose to invest multiple properties types simultaneously.

DST Property Cons

While investing in a DST 1031 property has many advantages, there are also several potential cons. These include a loss of control, illiquidity, and market and financial risks.

Loss of Control

For some investors, having full property management might not be ideal. Thanks to the structure of DSTs, investors are not able to manage the affairs of the real estate investment.

In many cases, this can be a substantial bonus. However, if investors disagree on the way property management is carried out, this can become a point of conflict.

Illiquidity

Another potential drawback to investing in DST property is its illiquid nature. DST property is normally only sold once the DST has completed its cycle, and there is no public market for ownership interests.

In some situations, an investor may be able to sell early. However, this is not guaranteed.

Therefore, DST investments are only suitable if you are looking to invest for long-term gain, typically over 5-10 years.

Market Risk

DST's or Delaware Statutory Trusts are real estate investments and therefore subject to all the risk related to real estate ownership. Some of these include occupancy, local employment base, rent collections, general economic risk, etc.

Financing

DST's usually employ the use of leverage to help investors meet their 1031 loan replacement requirements. Whenever leverage is part of a real estate purchase, it opens up the property to a potential foreclosure if at some point the property cannot generate enough net income to make ongoing loan payments.

Would You Like to Know More About DST Investments?

Now that you know the answer to "What is a DST," are you interested in learning more about potential DST investments?

If so, you have come to the right place. We specialize in DST property and real estate investment and are here to help you with your alternative investment journey. Do your portfolio a favor and find out more about our DST investment offerings.

We pride ourselves in providing open and honest investment information and opportunities that facilitate our clients' financial freedom. If you have any questions about DST investing, please do not hesitate to reach out and we will be happy to assist you.

Real estate investing can be one of the best ways to grow your wealth. Real estate nearly always increases in value over time, and most of what you earn in rent is pure profit. However, there are some rules you’ll need to follow in order to manage your investments well.

The 1031 exchange identification rules govern buying and selling different properties. Read on to learn more about 1031 delayed exchanges and the rules that you’ll need to know when you conduct one.

What Is A 1031 Delayed Exchange?

Before we talk about the rules for 1031 exchange identification, let’s talk about what a 1031 exchange is. An Internal Revenue Code 1031 delayed exchange gives a taxpayer a window of time after they relinquish one property to identify a replacement property. Typically, this window of time lasts forty-five days.

Although a taxpayer only has forty-five days to identify a new property, they have 180 days to acquire the new property. These rules were established after a 1984 case where five years passed between the sale of one property and the acquisition of the next. A 1031 exchange is designed to allow for some leeway around a sale while still keeping the sale and subsequent acquisition linked.

45-Day Identification Rule

The 1031 exchange 45-day rule states that you must identify a replacement property for the one you sold within forty-five days of the sale. You will deliver this identification to a qualified intermediary assisting with the sale. A written statement included in the purchase contract for the replacement property will work, too.

You must write down your identification of the replacement property and sign it in order for it to meet the 1031 identification rules for a 45-day identification. You must also deliver this identification to the replacement property seller or any other qualified person involved in the exchange. Disqualified people would include your employees, attorneys, accountants, bankers, etc.

3-Property Rule

In some cases, you may want to sell one property and replace it with a few smaller properties. This is perfectly acceptable, but there is a limit to how many properties you can identify as replacements. The 3-Property Rule states that you can identify up to three properties “without regard to the fair market value of the properties.”

At one point in time, your three properties had to be organized in a priority order. For example, you could only use your second property as an identified property if the sale on the first one fell through. However, this rule was overturned in the 1991 Treasury Regulations, providing more flexibility in how to identify 1031 exchange properties.

200 Percent Rule

Oftentimes, when you sell a property, you hope to turn a profit on it and be able to buy a bigger or nicer property. You are certainly allowed to do this, but there are some limits on how much of a profit you can turn. Your identified replacement property must not exceed 200 percent of your relinquished property’s value.

If you are exchanging one property for multiple properties, the sum total of the value of all these properties must still come in at less than twice the value of your relinquished properties.

There is some debate about which valuation you should use for the new property calculations. Should you use the appraisal value, the sale value, or the listing price? It’s a good rule of thumb to use the listing price so you ensure you don’t exceed the 200 percent rule during later negotiations.

95 Rule

The 95 rule is a somewhat confusing one that is less reliable than the other rules listed here. It provides some leeway in the three-property rule and the 200-percent rule, but it may not be used in all situations. The basic rule is that so long as you end up acquiring at least 95 percent of what you identify in replacement property, the identification is valid.

So let’s say you identify four new properties whose value totals to $1,000,000. So long as you receive $950,000 worth of the property – 95 percent of what you identified – your identification will be considered valid. Otherwise, you will have to identify a different property.

Incidental Property Rule

In some cases, your replacement property may have some sort of incidental property attached to it. This could be a storage shed, a garage, or similar. The incidental property rule defines the circumstances under which this would and would not have to be identified as a separate property for the sake of the 3-property rule.

Property will be considered incidental as long as it does not exceed 15 percent of the value of the main property. This 15 percent must include the total value of all incidental property attached to the main property. So, if you have a main property worth $100,000, a separate storage unit worth $9,000, and a garage worth $4,000, all three buildings will count as one property.

Learn More About the 1031 Exchange Identification Rules

A 1031 exchange can be a good way to handle the period of time between when you sell one property and acquire another. Knowing the 1031 exchange identification rules will help you navigate these transactions with as little hassle as possible. Remember to consider the listing price for the 200 percent rule and be careful when relying on the 95 percent rule.

If you’d like to learn more about managing your investments the smart way, check out the rest of our site at Stax Capital. We go the extra mile to understand your definition of financial freedom and help you manage your wealth accordingly. Contact us today to discover the Stax difference and start putting your financial freedom first.

Section 1031 Exchange Notice: Deadline Extended During COVID-19

The IRS announced a 1031 exchange notice for the extension of identification deadlines during the COVID-19 pandemic...

As the cliche goes, there are two constants in life: death and taxes.

But then, the coronavirus has radically altered almost every individual facet of life, and that includes taxes.

If you're in the midst of a 1031 exchange and you were caught in limbo when the pandemic hit, we're here to offer guidance. Or rather, to clarify the guidance offered by the recent IRS exchange notice. Here's what you need to know.

A Quick Recap of Section 1031

Section 1031, also known as the Starker Loophole, is a provision of the Internal Revenue Code that allows businesses and investment property owners to defer federal taxes on some exchanges of real estate.

A 1031 exchange is thus a type of real estate exchange where one investment property can be swapped for another and capital gains taxes are deferred. These properties must:

• Be held for business or investment purposes
• Be considered like-kind

In effect, you can change the form of your investment without cashing out or recognizing a capital gain, so the investment can continue in a tax-deferred status.

The President's Emergency Declaration

Ordinarily, real estate owners and investors make these exchanges all the time. Then the coronavirus pandemic happened, and it changed investors' ability to complete like-kind exchanges.

On March 13, 2020, the president issued an emergency declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in response to the multilayered effects of the pandemic on taxpayers.

Under that emergency declaration, the president instructed the Secretary of the Treasury, "to provide relief from tax deadlines to Americans who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 emergency, as appropriate, pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 7508A(a)."

26 U.S.C. 7508A(a)

Section 7508A of the United States Code provides the Treasury Secretary or their delegate with the authority to postpone the time for performing certain acts under the Internal Revenue Code.

This is specifically done where the taxpayer is affected by a federally-declared disaster, a terroristic action, or military action. In those cases, the Secretary may specify a period of up to one year that may be disregarded in determining the tax liability of the taxpayer in question, with certain conditions.

On March 13, a broad coalition of real estate associations sent a letter to the Secretary requesting that the Treasury and the IRS take action to ensure real estate markets retained their liquidity. Specifically, they wanted to delay deadlines for like-kind exchanges that were underway when the pandemic struck.

IRS Exchange Notice 2020-23

This brings us to Notice 2020-23, an exchange notice issued by the Treasury and IRS shortly thereafter.

Ordinarily, the identification deadline for  like-kind exchanges is 45 days after the downleg or sale property closing date. Due to the Coronavirus, however, the identification deadline (for those taxpayers who closed their sale on or after April 1, was deferred until July 15 in light of financial difficulties brought on by the pandemic.

What It Means

Notice 2020-23 is a response to the coalition letter and the changing conditions of the pandemic. This notice extends additional relief to taxpayers impacted by COVID-19.

The point of interest in this notice is Section III, which first states that any taxpayer performing time-sensitive actions outlined in 301.7508A-1(c)(1)(iv) –(vi) of the Procedure and Administration Regulations or Revenue Procedure 2018-58, 2018-50 IRB 990 is an Affected Taxpayer. That includes individuals in like-kind exchanges.

For Affected Taxpayers with specified filing and payment obligations, the deadline is automatically extended to July 15, in keeping with the tax extension offered earlier by the IRS.

Application of Notice 2020-23

Under these guidelines, if the taxpayer's 45-day window to identify a replacement property (forward exchange) or relinquished property (reverse exchange) expires on or after April 1, 2020, the taxpayer automatically has until July 15 to make the identification.

Similarly, if the taxpayer's 180-day window to purchase a replacement or relinquished property expires on or after April 1, 2020, and before July 15, 2020, the deadline is automatically extended to July 15.

So long as you meet the new terms, your like-kind exchange will be considered valid and will remain tax-deferred.

This extension is automatic. A taxpayer does not need to take any action to receive it. Keep in mind, however, that this extension does NOT apply retroactively.

Issues Under Section 17 of Rev. Proc. 2018-58

On the face of it, that sounds simple enough. The problem is that Notice 2020-23 conflicts with Section 17 of Rev. Proc. 2018-58 (Time for performing certain acts postponed by reason of service in a combat zone or a federally-declared disaster).

Rev. Proc. 2018-58 authorizes the extension of exchange periods pursuant to IRS guidance or notices, like Notice 2020-23. We noted that Notice 2020-23 places the deadline on July 15.

The problem lies in Section 17 of Rev. Proc. 2018-58.

Under that section, the last day of a 45-day exchange period and the last day of a 180-day exchange period that falls on or after the date of a federally-declared disaster are postponed by 120 days or the last day of the extension period authorized by IRS guidance, whichever is later.

However, no postponement may extend the due date beyond the deadline for the taxpayer's tax returns.

If you do the math, you'll realize the problem: Section 17 would theoretically set the deadlines to expire at a later date. Notice 2020-23 does not address this disparity or make a note of which deadline to consider valid. The IRS may offer additional guidance, but for now, none is forthcoming.

If in doubt, you're generally safest if you assume the earlier deadline is the required deadline and always defer to the guidance of your tax advisor.

Guiding Investment During Troubled Times

We know that these are difficult times. We also know that it can be hard to figure out where to turn when the whole world seems to be upside down. And where your money is concerned, the last thing you want is confusion.

If you need further assistance making sense of this exchange notice or other investment realities under COVID-19, we're here to guide you with accredited alternative investment options and guidance designed for real investors. Get in touch today to let us know how we can help.

Investing in real estate is one of the best ways to diversify your portfolio. That said, you have to know how to navigate the world of real estate investment to make appropriate investment decisions.

A familiar term for real estate investors is a 1031 exchange, a handy tax tool allowing you to change the form of your real estate investment without losing the original property's tax-deferred status.

That said, in order for such a transaction to be considered valid, you have to abide by strict 1031 exchange rules. Here's a look at how the rules work for such an exchange and a few special cases that you might encounter as an investor.

What Is a 1031 Exchange?

A 1031 exchange, named for the Internal Revenue Code Section 1031, is a provision of the tax code allowing investors to defer paying federal capital gains taxes on business or investment properties and some exchanges of real estate.

This is thanks to the Starker Loophole or like-kind exchange.

Let's say you have an investment property that has been growing in a tax-deferred state, so you don't need to pay capital gains taxes on it. If you wanted to sell that investment property and replace it with a new one, most such swaps are taxable.

However, if your exchange meets the criteria of a 1031 exchange, you'll have limited or no tax at the time of the exchange and the replacement property can continue to grow in a tax-deferred state.

The Basics of 1031 Exchange Rules

In order to qualify for a 1031 exchange, the replacement property must be "like-kind" which is a rather vague legal term. According to the IRS, properties are like-kind if they are of the same nature or character, even if they are of differing quality or grade.

Under this logic, an apartment building is considered like-kind to another apartment building. However, a house inside the U.S. is not considered like-kind to a similar house outside the U.S.

As long as you comply with the rules of 1031 exchange, the property sale will qualify for tax deferral and all taxes will be deferred. If the exchange does not comply with 1031 exchange guidelines such as 45 day identification rules, your property loses its tax-deferred status and taxes come due in the current tax year.

Updated Rules (The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act)

The passage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changed the rules slightly for 1031 exchanges.

Under the Act, personal or intangible property such as machinery, equipment, artwork, patents, collectibles, and intellectual property do not qualify for nonrecognition of gain or loss as like-kind exchanges. Only real property may be used for this purpose, i.e. real estate and the buildings and land attached to it.

Special Rules

Beyond the basics of 1031 exchanges, there are certain rules applying to unique cases.

For example, special rules apply to depreciable property, i.e. any property eligible for tax and accounting purposes to book depreciation under the Internal Revenue Code. This includes things like:

• Real estate (except land)
• Vehicles
• Computers
• Office equipment
• Heavy machinery

If a depreciable property is exchanged, it can trigger a profit called depreciation recapture which is taxed as ordinary income.

Here are a few other unique 1031 exchange rules to watch for.

Delayed Exchanges and Timing

Under the classic 1031 exchange, two people agree to swap properties. No fuss and feathers. Simple, right?

Not quite.

The odds of finding someone who wants to exchange a highly similar property with you can be quite slim. For this reason, most 1031 exchanges are technically delayed or Starker exchanges.

In these cases, you need a qualified intermediary who holds the proceeds for you after you sell your investment property and then uses those proceeds to buy the new investment property on your behalf. This is viewed as a regular swap, but it has two timing rules: the 45-day rule and the 180-day rule.

45-Day Rule vs. 180-Day Rule

The 45-day rule applies first and kicks in as soon as you sell your original property.

Once the property is sold, the proceeds must go to your intermediary. If the money passes to your hands, it will spoil the exchange. In addition, under the 45-day rule, you have to designate a replacement property within 45 days of the original sale.

This must be performed in writing to your intermediary, specifying the property you plan to acquire. You are not obligated to close within 45 days. You can designate up to three potential properties. As long as you close on one of them, the replacement property will remain tax-deferred.

However, you are obligated to close on one of the properties within 180 days, thus the 180-day rule. If you fail to close on one of the replacement properties within that window, your new property loses its tax-deferred status, as outlined in the rules for 1031 exchange.

Navigating Your Property Investment

Knowing your way around 1031 exchange rules opens up a new world of real estate investment possibilities for savvy investors. That said, you have to know what you're doing before you try to embark on a 1031 exchange--otherwise, you may find yourself facing steep taxes you weren't prepared for.

That's where we can help.

We know that investment can often feel like a maze. We also know it doesn't have to. We put financial freedom first by helping you discover potentially suitable investment opportunities with lower minimum investments and totally passive management.

Sound like the right fit for your investment needs? If so, get in touch today to learn more.