On June 24, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) and the U.S. Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) issued final regulations (the “Final Regulations”) on the application of the “passthrough deduction” under Section 199A[1] to regulated investment companies (“RICs”) that receive dividends from real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). The Final Regulations broadly allow a “conduit” approach, … Continue Reading
On May 4, 2020, the IRS issued Revenue Procedure 2020-19, which temporarily allows a publicly-offered REIT or RIC to pay as much as 90% of a distribution in its own stock (rather than cash or other property) and still have the entire amount treated as a dividend for US federal income tax purposes. As a … Continue Reading
This blog post summarizes some of the tax considerations for REITs that have arisen in light of COVID-19, the resulting economic downturn, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Securities (“CARES”) Act, and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (the “FFCRA”).… Continue Reading
On June 7, 2019, the U.S. Treasury Department (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released proposed Treasury regulations under Sections 897, 1445 and 1446 (the “Proposed Regulations”) regarding the exception for qualified foreign pension funds (“QFPFs”) from taxation under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (“FIRPTA”) provisions of the Internal Revenue Code … Continue Reading
On January 18, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued final regulations (the “Final Regulations”) on the “pass through” deduction under section 199A[1] of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”). Very generally, section 199A provides individuals with a deduction of up to 20% of income from a domestic “trade … Continue Reading
On September 6, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released Revenue Procedure 2018-47 (the “RIC Rev Proc”), which provides that a repatriation deemed to have been received by a registered investment company (a “RIC”) under Section 965 (enacted as part of the 2017 tax reform act, commonly known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” or … Continue Reading
On Friday December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law H.R.1, commonly referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). This is the most sweeping change to the U.S. federal income tax laws in over three decades, and it will have an effect on every U.S. taxpayer, including real estate investment trusts (REITs) … Continue Reading
On Friday, December 15, the U.S. House of Representative and Senate conferees reached agreement on the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) (the “Final Bill”), and released legislative text, an explanation, and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated budget effects (commonly referred to as the “score”). Next week the House and Senate are each … Continue Reading
In the early hours of Saturday morning, the U.S. Senate passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) (the “Senate bill”), just over two weeks after the U.S. House of Representatives passed its own version of the same legislation (the “House bill”). Members of the House and Senate will next convene in conference to … Continue Reading
The UK Government has announced in today’s Budget (22 November) that it is launching a consultation on extending the scope of UK tax on real estate. Currently, non-UK residents who are investors in UK land and buildings are outside the scope of UK tax on gains on commercial property. They pay income tax on the … Continue Reading
Yesterday afternoon, the House of Representatives passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) (the “House bill”). The House bill is identical to the draft bill approved by the House Ways and Means Committee on November 10. Late last night the Senate Finance Committee approved its own conceptual version of the Tax Cuts and … Continue Reading
The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service published on January 18, 2017 final regulations (the “Final Regulations”)[1] reducing from ten years to five years the recognition period for the corporate-level tax imposed on certain property dispositions by a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) or a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under Section 337(d), and … Continue Reading
The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (“PATH Act”) included a number of significant changes to the U.S. federal income tax rules related to real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) and investments by non-U.S. investors in U.S. real estate (commonly referred to as “FIRPTA”). For a detailed overview of these PATH Act changes, please … Continue Reading