A could occur as a result of a flood, hurricane, tornado, mudslide or other natural disaster. The intuitive thought pattern is: “My apartment complex worth ,000,000 suffered key harm totaling ,500,000 for repairs and rent loss. Fortunately, I was fully covered for each physical harm and rent loss, other than a modest deductible. There is clearly no I can claim as a tax deduction, right?”
Tax deductions are the basis for tax reduction. Tax deductions reduce taxable income but do not directly decrease federal income taxes. For example, ,000 of tax deductions reduces federal income taxes by ,000 (,000 X 35%), assuming a 35% tax rate. Most tax deductions demand a cash expenditure (labor, material, supplies, utilities, and so on). A present period money expenditure is not needed for some genuine estate tax deductions and may possibly not be needed for a casualty loss. Most actual estate owners and investors do not think about casualty losses as a source of tax deductions. Few investors claim the casualty loss tax deduction the federal income tax code makes it possible for them. Let’s review the criteria for a casualty loss tax deduction and the believed approach with regards to acquisition of a property that has suffered a casualty. Real estate owners suffer a casualty loss when the market place value right away soon after the casualty plus insurance proceeds is less than the industry value right away prior to the casualty. The complex problem is how to value the property right away after the casualty. Let’s think about a 1-story suburban office park in Mississippi which suffered 3-feet of flooding due to Hurricane Katrina. Let’s further assume: 1) 8 feet of sheet rock ought to be replaced in the entire property to rebuild, 2) although the property was 90% occupied ahead of the flood, occupancy is expected to only be 5% even though rebuilding occurs, three) stabilized occupancy soon after renovation is not clear since some companies could not return, 4) construction will take 12-18 months due to the labor constraints and 5) the owner has casualty insurance to rebuild but did not have rent loss/organization interruption insurance. It is clear the market place worth after the casualty is less than the industry value prior to the casualty much less construction expenses. Other factors to think about are: rent loss, market place risk that not enough tenants will be accessible soon after construction is completed, cost of construction management, a illiquid marketplace with few buyers just soon after the casualty, construction risk, interest rate risk (rates could rise in the course of the construction period negatively affecting value), risk that operating costs could boost in the course of the construction period (possibly insurance) and compensation for entrepreneurial effort to induce a buyer to coordinate labor capital, management and compensation for capital for the duration of the reconstruction and releasing process. A cautious analysis by an appraiser may well show the improvements have no value following the flood. In appraisal assignments performed by the writer, a casualty loss of 10-30% of the marketplace worth ahead of the casualty has occurred (in a straight-forward, defensible analysis) is typical. This can create a meaningful casualty loss (and tax deduction). For example, a property with a industry value of ,000,000 suffers a 30% casualty loss. Although the casualty is a critical hardship for the owners, the ,500,000 (,000,000 X 30%) tax deduction will mitigate the monetary loss. Congress provided a casualty loss tax deduction to encourage investment in real estate. If you have the misfortune to suffer a casualty loss, take the helping hand supplied by congress and take the tax deduction. Cost segregation produces tax deductions and reduces federal income taxes across the country and in each size marketplace. Below are just a couple of examples of cities where price segregation generates meaningful tax deductions.
Memphis, TN
San Francisco, CA
New Orleans, LA
New York, NY
Hartford, CT
Las Vegas, NV
Los Angeles, CA
Atlanta, GA
Orlando, FL
Miami, FL
Louisville, KY
Salt Lake City, UT
Boise, ID
Lakeland, FL
Wichita, KS
McAllen, TX
Columbus, OH
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
San Antonio, TX
Durham, NC
Allentown, PA
Youngstown, OH
Little Rock, AR
Greensboro, NC
Greenville, SC
Kansas City,
