The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed through Congress very quickly at the end of last year. The law, which affects the tax returns we file for 2018 through 2025, has several parts that may make it more profitable to be a real estate investor in San Antonio and in many areaas.
The tax law offers benefits especially for landlords who are working as LLCs. It allows these landlords to pay less tax on their income, which will lower the rate. To take full advantage of this, you must file as an LLC when you buy investment properties and start to rent them. Here is more information about this tax benefit:
- LLCs will be able to deduct 20% of their qualified business income. This means if you are a real estate investor as an LLC, you could be able to pay taxes on only 80% of what you are earning from rents.
- LLCs are what are known as pass through entities. This means the income that you get from the LLC will flow directly to your personal tax return. If you are in the 37% federal tax bracket and have rental property income, you will now pay 29.6% because of this new 20% rule. The tax rate was not dropped for LLCs, but the end result is lower taxes for landlords who run their business this way.
Next, you could enjoy more demand for your rental investment properties. This is because some financial experts think fewer people will buy their own homes. People who are not sure about buying may rent longer. Here are three tax changes that could increase demand for your rental properties:
- Standard deduction was hiked: The new law doubles the standard deduction to $24,000 for married couples filing jointly and $12,000 for an individual. This means fewer people will save money through itemizing. One of the big reasons people buy homes is gone for many folks.
- New limit on local and state property tax deductions: A homeowner can deduct their state and real estate taxes on their federal income tax return. The new tax law states the deduction is limited to $10,000. So one major cost of ownership of a home went up for some peopole.
- Limit on mortgage interest deductions: The tax law lets homeowners write off interest on mortgages up to $750,000. This is a decrease of $250,000 from the old law. People who wanted to upgrade to homes worth more than $750,000 might now think twice. So the supply of cheaper homes could be smaller. This may cause some people to rent homes longer.
Lower demand could cause lower home prices, which can be a boon for real estate investors. If you have thought about buying market value or under market value investment property, 2018 could be a great time!
