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Introduction
Section 199A, which was introduced as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) generally provides for a deduction of up to 20% of qualified business income. To be eligible for the qualified business income deduction under IRC §199A, an enterprise operated by an individual or relevant pass-through entity must first qualify as a trade or business under IRC §162. Amid the flurry of guidance on Section 199A issued in January 2019, which included both final and proposed regulations, was a safe harbor standard for rental real estate to be considered a trade or business. Notice 2019-7 includes a safe harbor proposed Revenue Procedure. Until it is published in final form, the proposed revenue procedure may be relied upon in determining when a rental enterprise may be treated as a trade or business, solely for purposes of IRC §199A.
Rental Real Estate Enterprise
A rental real estate enterprise is defined solely for purposes of the safe harbor as an interest in real property held for the production of rents and may include an interest in multiple properties. The individual or relevant pass-through entity (e.g., partnership (other than a PTP) and S-corporation owned by at least one individual, estate or trust) must hold the interest directly or through an entity disregarded as an entity for tax purposes. Commercial and residential real estate may not be combined in the same enterprise but a taxpayer may treat similar properties as a single enterprise for Section 199A. Treatment generally must be consistent year-to-year.
Safe Harbor Qualifications
A rental real estate enterprise will be treated as a trade or business solely for purposes of IRC §199A if:
Rental Services
Rental services, which may be performed by owners or by employees, agents, and/or independent contractors of the owners, include:
Rental services do not include:
Exclusions from Safe Harbor
Triple net leases traditionally refer to “turnkey” operations, where the lessor does not directly handle payment and maintenance obligations. To qualify under the safe harbor, such lessors may consider renegotiating the leases by simultaneously increasing rents and their service obligations toward the property.
Observation: In instances where a lessor handles payment and maintenance obligations and bills the lessee for these items, unless further clarification is provided, such an arrangement may not be a triple net lease for purposes of the safe harbor.
If a rental enterprise does not meet the safe harbor thresholds, it may still be treated as a trade or business, if it otherwise qualifies as a trade or business pursuant to guidance under substantial case law under IRC §162 (e.g. considerable, continuous and regular participation in the enterprise). Additionally, under Treas. Reg. §1.199A-1(b)(14), a rental activity that does not rise to qualify as an IRC §162 trade or business is nonetheless treated as such for purposes of IRC §199A if the property is rented to a trade or business conducted by the individual or a relevant pass-through entity which is commonly controlled (e.g., 50% or more ownership) under Treas. Reg. §1.199A-4(b)(1)(i).
Statement under Penalties of Perjury
Note that taxpayers and relevant pass-through entities relying on the safe harbor are required to attach a signed statement to their return that the safe harbor requirements are met: “Under penalties of perjury, I (we) declare that I (we) have examined the statement, and, to the best of my (our) knowledge and belief, the statement contains all relevant facts relating to the revenue procedure, and such facts are true, correct, and complete.” The signer must have personal knowledge of the facts and circumstances related to the statement.
Other Observations
Meeting the safe harbor to be considered a trade or business is only valid for Section 199A purposes and not any other provision of the Code. It should also be noted that the final regulations under IRC §199 require that the trade or business standard under IRC §162 must be met for each separate activity, or rental real estate enterprise, in the case of the safe harbor. Outside the safe harbor, an activity or rental real estate enterprise cannot be aggregated with another until it first meets the trade or business standard under IRC §162.
Although triple net lease arrangements are not eligible for the safe harbor of the Notice, the IRS did not preclude the possibility that triple net lease activity could rise to the level of a trade or business. Taxpayers should consider case law and the criteria of the Notice to evaluate their activities.
Next Steps
To learn more about how the TCJA may impact you or your business, contact your HCVT tax professional.
About HCVT:
Kevin Cordano is a tax partner in the firm’s Pasadena office and Rosalinda Oasay is a tax principal in the firm’s Downtown Los Angeles office. For more information, contact Kevin at kevin.cordano@hcvt.com or 626.243.5106. Rosalinda can be reached at rosalinda.oasay@hcvt.com or 213.683.8793.
HCVT provides tax, audit and assurance, business management, and mergers & acquisition services to private companies, closely held businesses, public companies and high net worth individuals and family offices. The team consists of over 600 members, including over 100 partners and principals. HCVT serves its clients from eight offices in Southern California and offices in Northern California, Ft. Worth, Texas, Park City, Utah, and Phoenix, Arizona. The firm is highly specialized and focuses on specific industries and market niches. To learn more about HCVT, see www.hcvt.com .