Renting a from self owned LLC for tax purposes

Renting a from self owned LLC for tax purposes

Homeowner · Stephenville, TX · Member since 2020 · 1 post · 0 votes

My wife and I currently own our own house in our own names. I've been looking in to ideas of how to write off rental income. The way we have the LLC set up, it roles its income directly in to our joint income, Texas if you were wondering.

My question. Can I quick deed the property in to the LLC's name, then rent the property from the LLC for, say, $100 a month? Far far less than market rent. Personally, I wouldn't be able to deduct property tax or mortgage interest from my personal taxes, however the LLC would be able to deduct those from its income, prior to rolling net income up to us. While the LLC would make $1200 more over the year that it is right now, once the property is a rental, it would be eligible for normal depreciation, which is much more that that $1200. I'm not even going to get in to the weeds about selling it for current market rate, how much more that would be for depreciation vs. the increase cost in the mortgage interest (I think it still works out, but not getting in to it).

I know that I've read rules about a business (LLC) not being allowed to rent office space to itself for below market rent, but are there any actual IRS rules about that for residential properties?

Trying to think outside the box and see what happens

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  • Real Estate Broker · Coppell, TX · Member since 2011 · 5k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    4y

    #1 person to ask is your CPA...as they are going to have to help defend you on whatever actions you take.

    My guess is you cannot do what you want to do, and actually all this probably would hurt you if you could do it in the long run.

    I would think there are rules about self dealing that would prohibit this.

    The second concern I can think of is capital gains taxes....so the LLC would have to recapture the depreciation when you sell it and pay capital gains taxes on the profit....vs if it is your personal home, chances are you will have no capital gains.

    Nice way of creative thinking, but I think if it were this easy to make big profits, everyone would be doing it.   I think for the most part LLCs do not make you money or save you money.  If anything they probably cost you money and complicate things for 90% of people.  You pay to set them up, pay extra to file your tax return, etc...and most people probably don't maintain properly.  90% of the people don't set them up correctly to maintain anonymity
    so nothing gained there either. I see so many set up as John Smith LLC, mailing to their home address. So that just tells everyone who you are and where you live.

    One way I think LLCs can simplify your life is when you want to transfer ownership.....lets say to one kid and you have 10 homes in the LLC....one document can probably do that, vs 10 deeds and 10 filings at the courthouse.

    Good luck and let us know what your CPA says.

  • Investor · Carrollton, TX · Member since 2020 · 12 posts · 5 votes
    4y

    A bit unclear what you would like to do but assuming you are renting to a tenant ....LLC is a legal entity, not a tax entity. For IRS, considered a disregarded entity. So if you have a rental property, you can report via Schedule E even if you don't have an LLC. Many choose to have an LLC for legal protection, not tax purposes. Same expenses regardless. Yes, you can have depreciation, insurance and property tax expenses if you turn a primary home into a rental but income significantly below market is NOT recommended. If you get audited, it will cause serious pain. Many do report paper loss with rent at market. Home office deduction is available if you have a rental property and designated space exclusively used for rental property business. If you try to rent out own house through your LLC, I recommend NOT to do. Please talk to a tax lawyer and CPA for a legal strategy. I had a tax strategy session ($450 lol) with a lawyer and had a similar question, not the same tho. If change things around with a corp and a business, it was possible but too much hassle not worth my time and money. You can maybe house hack and deduct a portion legally. Or rent the current one, move out and get a new primary. Keep on searching and you will find a legal way! Good luck!

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