2016 Year in Review: Top Tax Issues Impacting the Real Estate Industry, Part One

The next tax filing season may seem far away, but as 2016 ends, taxpayers will begin the task of year-end tax planning. While 2016 was not a year for major tax reform or legislative action, there have been some notable regulatory changes. 2016 saw several pieces of regulatory guidance that could have an impact on acquisition and disposition transactions, entity structuring activities, taxable income calculations and tax accounting method options. As real estate owners and operators, construction companies, developers and REITs embark on analyzing their tax situation for 2016 and beyond, it’s critical to be aware of these new developments.

Though many tax changes proposed or finalized in 2016 could impact the real estate industry, in this article we highlight two areas that should be top of mind for leaders in the real estate industry at the start of the new year, including IRC Section 385 regulations, and a series of final, temporary and proposed regulations under IRC Sections 704, 707 and 752.

IRC Section 385 Regulations

Debt equity regulations under IRC Section 385 were finalized in October. The proposed regulations, issued in April, were set to re-characterize certain intercompany debt instruments as equity, most likely preferred equity. If finalized as they were proposed, these regulations could have adversely impacted REITs and caused qualification issues with the REIT testing provisions. The finalized regulations significantly altered parts of the proposed regulations and, in general, give the IRS authority to re-characterize certain intercompany debt instruments as stock. The new IRC Section 385 regulations are intended to curb certain earnings stripping situations often used as domestic and international tax planning strategies. The regulations were specifically directed at curtailing inversion transactions, or those involving the movement of a multinational U.S. group’s tax residence outside of the United States.

While the new regulations do not appear to adversely impact SEC-registered REITs and their interaction with Taxable REIT Subsidiary (TRS) entities and subsidiary REITs, there is some impact to Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) “blocker” structures involving a C corporation owning controlling interests in subsidiary REITs. The final regulations exempt “non-controlled” REITs from all aspects of the regulations. As a result, unless controlled by 80 percent or more of vote or value by an includible member of an expanded group, such as a non-REIT C corporation, a REIT will not be part of a member of an expanded group. Based on this change, there will not be any requirement of additional documentation or re-characterization of debt for the following:

1. Lower-tier REITs of non-controlled REITs; or
2. Taxable REIT subsidiaries of non-controlled REITs.

However, a non-REIT C corporation and its 80 percent-or-more-owned REIT would be within the scope of the final regulations. Because of the new IRC Section 385 regulations, it is critical for taxpayers with “blocker” REIT structures to analyze the new regulations and consider their potential impact and requirements.

Final, Temporary and Proposed Regulations under IRC Sections 704, 707 and 752

In October, the U.S. Treasury and the IRS released long-awaited guidance on liability allocations under IRC Section 752, disguised sales under IRC Section 707 and deficit restoration obligations under IRC Section 704. IRC Sections 704, 707 and 752 apply to entities that operate as partnerships, and given that many taxpayers in the real estate industry utilize partnerships in their structures, it is critical to evaluate these new rules. The regulations represent significant changes in partnership taxation and will have a critical impact on planning for partnership formation and restructuring transactions, as well as ongoing operations.

When the IRS proposed these regulations in January 2014, it was widely perceived that the regulations could change whether certain obligations resulted in a partner having economic risk of loss for a partnership liability under IRC Section 752. This, in turn, could impact a partner’s ability to deduct losses and receive tax-deferred cash distributions from the partnership. Additionally, the originally proposed disguised sale regulations and clarified certain aspects of existing exceptions. The final regulations take a multifaceted approach and address some of the provisions that were accepted when proposed, while withdrawing and re-proposing some of the aspects that tax advisors were concerned about.

• Final and temporary regulations under IRC Sections 707 and 752 provide guidance around disguised sales of property to or by a partnership and impact existing regulatory exceptions. The regulations severely limit the effectiveness of the debt-financed distribution exception. This is accomplished by changing the way liabilities must be allocated under IRC Section 752 for purposes of the debt-financed distribution exception. Further, the regulations clarify that the preformation expenditure exception generally applies on an asset-by-asset basis with limited opportunity to aggregate assets. The regulations also eliminate the ability to apply the preformation expenditure exception to expenditures funded with qualified liabilities.
• Final and temporary regulations under IRC Section 752 provide rules around when certain obligations are recognized for the purpose of determining whether a liability is a recourse partnership liability. The regulations effectively eliminate a taxpayer’s ability to use “bottom-dollar guarantees” to create economic risk of loss. Without economic risk of loss, partners may be allocated fewer partnership liabilities, resulting in a lower overall tax basis. A lower tax basis may limit the ability of the partner to deduct allocated losses. Further, partners with negative tax capital accounts may be required to recognize taxable income to the extent at which they are allocated fewer partnership liabilities.
• Proposed regulations withdraw and re-propose regulations under IRC Sections 752 and 704. These proposed regulations strengthen anti-abuse rules in determining whether a partner bears economic risk of loss for partnership liabilities under IRC Section 752, and would create similar anti-abuse rules relating to certain obligations to restore a deficit in a partner’s capital account under IRC Section 704.

The new regulations are important because real estate taxpayers often operate in a partnership format or use partnerships in their organizational structures. Within the REIT industry, these new provisions could significantly impact the operating partnership under REITs or UPREITs, including the formation of UPREITs.

Conclusion

As we barrel toward the start of another year and a new president prepares to take office and potentially institute more significant tax reform, the time to review regulatory tax changes is now. Real estate owners and operators, construction companies, developers and REITs face an array of opportunities and challenges in the new year. With forthcoming uncertainty due to market fluctuations and a potential increase in interest rates, getting into compliance with new tax provisions now could establish a sturdier foundation for real estate companies to weather potential disruptions ahead.

For more information on these important issues and Smith and Howard’s real estate accounting services, please contact us at 404-874-6244 or fill out the form below.

By Tanya Thomas and Jeff Bilsky. This article originally appeared in BDO USA, LLP’s Real Estate & Construction Monitor Newsletter (Winter 2017) Copyright 2016 BDO USA, LL. All rights served. www.bdo.com.