For many, a home is the most valuable asset we might ever own. Whether you’re building equity in a primary residence or buying a vacation home or investment property, understanding how to best prepare for, and manage, a real estate purchase is a critical piece of any personal financial plan. In this article, we’ll dive into the many tax and financial considerations of buying and selling real estate, how real estate fits into estate planning, and the role that a wealth manager or financial planner can play in guiding your decision-making.
This article builds upon our series on financial planning, following our other guides, What is a Financial Plan, and How Do I Make One?, and Financial Planning for Estate Planning.
Table of Contents
- Buying Your First Home
- Tax Considerations for a Primary Residence
- Vacation Homes and Investment Properties
- How does Real Estate Factor into Estate Planning?
- Working with a Wealth Manager or Financial Planner
- Harness Can Help
Buying Your First Home
Generally speaking, a primary residence is the home in which you either spend the most time, or the one to which you are the most connected. Purchasing a primary residence represents a significant financial milestone. If you’re thinking about buying your first home, here are some financial planning considerations to keep in mind:
Preparing for a down payment
For mortgages in the United States, the most common down payment amount is 20%. This can be an unattainable target for many people, given that the median sale price of a home in May 2023 was $416,300, of which 20% would be $83,260.
Fortunately, for first-time home buyers, there are options that can reduce the cost of a down payment:
- An FHA loan is a mortgage backed by the Federal Housing Administration and allows for a 3.5% down payment. For a quick example, in the case of a $500,000 home, an FHA down payment would be $17,500 versus $100,000 for a traditional mortgage. FHA loans do have both lower and upper limits, ranging from $472,030 to $1,089,300 for 2023. FHA loans do not have income limits.
- A VA loan is a mortgage backed by the US Department of Veterans Affairs and is available only to current or former members of the US military. VA loans generally do not require any down payment, and similar to FHA loans, they do have limits on the total purchase price of the home. VA loans have no limits on the value of the home, and, like FHA loans, VA loans do not have income limits.
Keeping the above options in mind, let’s compare the total purchase price over a 30-year period of a $500,000 single-family home based on a traditional mortgage and an FHA loan.
| Traditional Mortgage | FHA Loan | |
| Down Payment | $100,000 | $17,500 |
| Monthly Payment | $2,661 | $3,210 |
| Total Cost After 30 Years | $1,057,960 | $1,173,100 |
Based on an example 7% interest rate
For larger budgets, consider a Pledged Asset Line
If you are considering a home that could be too expensive for an FHA loan, and you don’t qualify for a VA loan, there are still ways to reduce the size of—or eliminate the need for—a down payment. One popular method for that is the pledged asset line.
A PAL is a type of loan that allows you to borrow against your investment portfolio without having to liquidate any assets, which subsequently allows you to avoid incurring any capital gains taxes. This can be particularly attractive to those with large investment portfolios who wish to purchase a more expensive home.
PAL Example for a $2,000,000 home
Let’s consider an example where a potential homebuyer has a $3,000,000 investment portfolio. Most PALs allow for 70% of the portfolio size to be borrowed, giving this individual access to a loan of $2,100,000. As you can see in the below example, this method would allow for no down payment on the purchase of a $2 million home.
| Initial Down Payment | $0 (loan covers cost) |
| Monthly Payment | $13,982 |
| Total Cost of Home After 30 Years | $5,033,520 |
Based on an example 7% interest rate
The downside to be aware of with a pledged asset line is that there is no fixed maturity date, meaning that your lender can demand repayment in full at any time. To account for this, you could consider using a PAL for the initial purchase of your home, then refinancing it with a traditional mortgage lender. This strategy will allow you to spread out payments over a standard 15 to 30-year mortgage period, while still enabling you to avoid a down payment.
Tax Considerations for a Primary Residence
Once you purchase your first home, you’ll start to face many costs associated with home ownership. Fortunately, the IRS has a number of tax deductions available, including:
Mortgage Interest Deduction
The Home Mortgage Interest Deduction allows homeowners to deduct mortgage interest on their primary residence from their taxable income. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), and per IRS guidelines, the deduction limit applies to the first $750,000 in mortgage debt for the 2023 tax year, or $375,000 if married filing separately. The deduction can go as high as $1 million, or $500,000, if married filing separately, pending that the mortgage interest was incurred before December 16, 2017.
You can use this guide from the IRS to help determine how much, if any, of your mortgage interest can be deducted from your taxable income.
Personal Property Tax Deduction
The IRS also allows for the deduction of personal property taxes on a primary residence, up to $10,000 for the 2023 tax year, or $5,000 if married filing separately. However, be aware that this $10,000 limit applies to the total amount of your state and local taxes, including income, sales, and property tax, combined.
Home Energy Tax Credits
If you make any improvements to your home that relate to sustainable or renewable energy, you may be eligible for a tax credit under the following two programs:
- The Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit offers a 30% tax credit up to a maximum of $1,200 for qualifying expenses, including exterior doors, windows, skylights, central air conditioners, home energy audits, and more.
- The Residential Clean Energy Credit offers a 30% tax credit with no maximum or lifetime limit on qualifying expenses, including solar, wind, or geothermal power generation, solar water heaters, fuel cells, or battery cells.
Tax Credits when Selling Your Primary Residence
If you sell your primary residence, you may qualify for an IRS Section 121 capital gains tax exclusion of up to $250,000 for the 2023 tax year, or up to $500,000 if filing jointly with a spouse. To be eligible, you’ll need to have used the house as your primary residence for at least two years out of the five years leading up to its sale date. Additionally, you must not have already claimed this exclusion on a previous primary residence within the last two years. The Section 121 Exclusion differs from a 1031 Exchange, which applies to property held for business or investment purposes.
Vacation Homes and Investment Properties
Many of us dream of owning a vacation home or a second residence someday. They can offer tremendous opportunities for wealth creation over time, as well as the potential for rental income.
Tax Considerations for Vacation Homes
Owning a vacation home comes with certain tax implications:
- Mortgage Interest: As with a primary residence, the IRS permits a mortgage interest deduction on a second home or vacation home.
- Property Taxes: Just as with your primary residence, property taxes on a vacation home are deductible.
- Rental Income: If you use your vacation home for personal use and rent it out for fewer than 15 days per year, you don’t have to report the income to the IRS.
Tax Considerations for Investment Properties
Some tax considerations related to investment properties include:
- Rental Income: As mentioned above, if you rent your property for more than two weeks out of the year, rental income must be reported to the IRS, but this can be offset by deducting rental expenses.
- Depreciation can be applied to the value of your rental property over time, potentially aiding in the total cost of ownership over the years. The rate of depreciation used by the IRS is 3.63% per year over the course of 27.5 years. For rental property, you can only claim a tax credit on depreciation for the months that the rental property was in use. Complete details of how to claim a depreciation tax credit are available on the IRS website.
- Expenses: You can deduct expenses related to the operation and maintenance of the property, including insurance, property management fees, mortgage interest, repairs, and even travel expenses related to the property maintenance.
- A Section 1031 Exchange, also known as a Like-Kind Exchange, lets you defer capital gains taxes when you sell an investment property and reinvest the proceeds in a new property. In essence, it allows you to swap one investment property for another, deferring tax liability into the future.
Understanding the specific tax considerations of owning vacation and investment properties can help you optimize your financial plan and minimize your tax burden. As the tax rules are complex and continually changing, it’s advisable to work with a Harness Tax Advisor or other tax professional or advisor who can guide you in navigating these regulations.
IRS Tax Forms for Investment Properties
There are many tax forms that you’ll encounter if you own investment properties. Here are a few to get you started:
- Schedule E (Supplemental Income and Loss): Report your rental property income and expenses on Schedule E of your tax return. Be sure to include income from tenants, as well as expenses such as property management fees, mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, and property maintenance.
- Form 1099-S (Proceeds from Real Estate Transactions): This form is used to report the sale or exchange of real estate.
- Form 4562 (Depreciation and Amortization): Use this form to claim your depreciation deduction for assets, including rental property, as well as to report amortization.
- Form 8825 (Rental Real Estate Income and Expenses of a Partnership or an S Corporation): This form is used if your business is in a partnership or an S Corporation to report income and deductible expenses from rental real estate activities.
- Form 4797 (Sales of Business Property): This form is used to report gains made from sales or exchanges of property, involuntary conversions, and the disposition of non-capital assets.
- Form 6252 (Installment Sale Income): If you sell your property and receive payment in installments, you can use this form to report the income.
How does Real Estate Factor into Estate Planning?
A family home can hold tremendous sentimental value, but when it comes to taxes, passing down real estate to the next generation is not as simple as just handing over the keys.
Real estate is an asset commonly held by an individual’s estate, and taxes may apply to the transfer of an estate to its beneficiaries. At the federal level, estate taxes apply when the value of the estate exceeds $12.9 million. Twelve states impose their own separate estate taxes, with thresholds going as low as $1 million in 2023.
For those estates with high-value real estate and other assets, there are several ways to minimize taxes owed. Here are two common strategies to consider:
- Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QRPT): A QRPT is a legal framework that enables a home to be transferred out of an individual’s estate and into a trust. There can be many beneficiaries who can be granted access to the home, including the original owner.
- Forming an LLC: A LLC (Limited Liability Company) is a legal entity and business structure that is commonly used in real estate, and can be an alternative to a QRPT for estate planning purposes. Like a QRPT, an LLC can allow many different people to benefit from the property owned by the entity. In the case of the LLC, however, these people are members of the company, as opposed to beneficiaries of a trust.
Working with a Wealth Manager or Financial Planner
When you’re saving for a down payment or building a real estate portfolio, it could make sense to work with a wealth manager or financial planner.
A financial planner can help you create a roadmap for purchasing your first home, or help you understand if purchasing a vacation home is something you might be capable of.
A wealth manager, on the other hand, can actively manage your assets and investments for you, taking work off of your plate when it comes to the tax and financial intricacies of managing property.
No matter your unique financial situation, seeking professional help for a large purchase can be a smart decision, and it can potentially save you on taxes in both the short and long term.
Harness Can Help
For many of us, a home is the most valuable asset we’ll ever own. At Harness, we understand the importance of protecting personal assets, and effectively incorporating them into a comprehensive financial plan. Our experienced team of financial planners and wealth managers can work closely with you to understand your financial situation, goals, and risk tolerance to provide a personalized plan that aligns with your aspirations. If you need help building a personalized financial plan, get started with Harness today.
Tax services provided through Harness Tax LLC. Harness Tax LLC is affiliated with Harness Wealth Advisers LLC, collectively referred to as “Harness Wealth”. Harness Wealth Advisers LLC is an internet investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Harness Wealth Advisers LLC solely acts as a paid promoter for unaffiliated registered investment advisers. Harness Wealth Advisers LLC’s registration as an investment adviser with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training.
This document should not be considered tax, legal or financial planning advice. It does not constitute advice or a recommendation or offer to sell or a solicitation to deal in any security or financial product. It is provided for information purposes only. To the extent that the reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific topic discussed above, please consult a tax, legal and/or financial professional for advice specific to your individual circumstances.
