Real Estate - Tax
Our tax lawyers have extensive experience in planning for the tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of real estate. Our tax lawyers have played leading roles in planning real estate transactions around the United States, and we have experience in all types of real estate tax planning.
Our Real Estate Tax Planning Practice is not limited to real estate developers and investors. We regularly represent several Fortune 100 corporations with respect to the tax planning for corporate-owned real estate. Indeed, some of the most important tax planning that any corporate tax director should be considering involves corporate-owned real estate, which will frequently be a valuable asset that does not produce a great return-on-equity. Planning to monetize such assets in a tax-efficient manner is something every corporation can derive benefit.
ACQUISITION AND DISPOSITION PLANNING
Every acquisition or disposition of real estate involves tax planning. There are routine transactions, such as a sale for cash. There are also somewhat complicated transactions with well-known tax consequences, such as like-kind exchanges, and there are more exotic transactions, such as leveraged partnerships. Our tax lawyers have experience in all aspects of tax planning for real estate. We have handled numerous "routine" transactions (sales for cash) in which the primary concerns have been allocation of the purchase price and transfer taxes, and we have been involved in complex real estate transactions in which the taxes saved or deferred equaled billions of dollars.
RETAILERS
We have represented several major retailers in tax planning for transactions involving corporate-owned or leased real estate. These transactions involve issues concerning transfer taxes, depreciation, deferral of gain recognition, cost-segregation analyses and similar tax-oriented considerations. Our tax lawyers have been involved in the tax planning for the acquisition and disposition of numerous retailing properties and have significant familiarity with the tax issues that a retailer must consider when it acquires or disposes of real estate.
LIKE-KIND EXCHANGES
Our lawyers have been at the forefront in developing new transaction structures for like-kind exchanges. We pioneered the development of tenance-in-common and reverse-exchange transactions, and we have extensive experience in like-kind exchange transactions involving partnerships. Our tax lawyers have participated in more than $10 billion worth of like-kind exchanges of real estate.
LEVERAGED PARTNERSHIPS
Our tax lawyers have been leaders in the utilization of so-called "leveraged partnership" transactions for real estate. In these transactions, the owner of appreciated real estate that plans to dispose of the property is able to receive cash, recognize book income and defer tax liability. There are variations that every real property owner must consider in connection with a potential disposition of real estate. Our tax lawyers were the creators of many of these techniques and can advise clients how to best take advantage of what the tax law offers in this area.
PRE-DISPOSITION PLANNING
One of the valuable services that we can provide to our clients that own real estate is pre-disposition planning. Significant tax savings can be obtained if the owner of appreciated real estate begins to "plan" for the disposition of the property several years prior to the occurrence of a transaction. In appropriate circumstances, the owner of real estate can obtain tax benefits that will have as significant a value as the underlying transaction itself. Foresight is required, however, and our lawyers provide clients with this type of advice.
REAL ESTATE WORKOUTS
Not all real estate investments are profitable—some turn into debt workouts. There are complex tax issues raised by every debt workout, particularly ones that involve real estate. Our tax lawyers have substantial experience in debt workouts for real estate, including the elimination of cancellation of debt income, basis-reduction elections, partnership transactions and "freezes" to defer gain recognition in a real estate workout.
Tax Client Services
- Accounting Methods
- Aircraft Acquisition and Operation
- Capital Markets Tax
- Captive Insurance and Reinsurance
- Closely Held Business
- Cooperatives
- Energy Tax
- Financial Products, Trading & Derivatives
- Fringe Benefits
