REITs: Developments in REIT Conversions, FIRPTA and the 2017 Tax Reform Act

The REIT market continues to be robust. Real estate and tax counsel must have a thorough understanding of REIT formation and investment, including rules relating to REIT subsidiaries (QRSs and TRSs), UPREIT structures, and REITs that own partnership and LLC interests.

REITs must satisfy complex IRS requirements regarding the organization of the entity, its income, assets and distribution of income, and its ownership base. REITs also enjoy tax advantages, such as no entity level tax and the ability to attract tax-exempt and foreign investors. Tax-exempt investors and sovereign wealth funds can reduce or eliminate the tax they would otherwise pay when investing in U.S. real estate.

Recent tax reform should have a positive impact on REIT investment, but there are new provisions to consider in REIT transactions. They include new tax rates for certain pass-through income, including ordinary REIT dividends and new rules regarding deductions relating to REIT dividends (including mortgage REITs), “earnings stripping” under Section 163(j), and recovery periods for investment in improvements, among others.

Listen as our authoritative panel of tax and real estate attorneys guides you through navigating the complex tax rules for structuring REIT investments and the tax treatment of REIT transactions.

1. Organizational requirements
2. REIT income and asset tests
3. REIT distribution requirements
4. Impact of tax reform
5. Qualified REIT subsidiaries and taxable REIT subsidiaries
6. UPREIT structures
7. Best practices for confronting and managing risk

The panel will review these and other relevant issues:

• What are the organizational and operational tax rules for REITs?
• What does counsel need to know when involved in a potential conversion to a REIT?
• What are the economic limitations and benefits of REIT status?
• What does counsel need to know when contributing properties to REITs?

Learning Objectives

Upon completing this seminar you will be able to:

• Identify organizational and operational tax benefits of REITS
• Recognize the REIT income and asset tests
• Discern REIT distribution requirements

• Field of Study: Taxes
• Level of Knowledge: Intermediate
• Advance Preparation: None
• Teaching Method: Seminar/Lecture
• Delivery Method: Group-Internet (via computer)
• Attendance Monitoring Method: Attendance is monitored electronically via a participant's PIN and through a series of attendance verification prompts displayed throughout the program
• Prerequisite: Three years+ business or public firm experience at mid-level within the organization, preparing complex tax forms and schedules; supervisory authority over other preparers/accountants. Specific knowledge and understanding of corporations, LLCs and trusts, and taxes related to each.

Strafford Publications, Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of Accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE Credits. Complaints regarding registered sponsons may be submitted to NASBA through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

IRS Approved Provider

Strafford is an IRS-approved continuing education provider offering certified courses for Enrolled Agents (EA) and Tax Return Preparers (RTRP).