Multifamily real estate investment has been well known for bringing about tax benefits in multiple forms to assist residents in increasing their cash flows respectively.

This article aims to explain these benefits in sufficient detail so that you may be able to make the right saving decisions in your living complex. What must be noted, however, is that these benefits come at a cost of their own which start showing upon overuse, so be as optimal in capitalizing on your multifamily tax benefits as you can.

1. Depreciation Retrieval

For a fixed place such as a Multifamily house, the principles of depreciation are applicable through and through. This means that each year, a certain amount has to be set off from the total earnings of the owner to account for the depreciated material within the house and its repair/maintenance, which is done through the federal depreciation table.

27.5 years is the maximum lifetime of this fixed ownership, which may sound absurd considering how a maintained house is always habitable, but 3.6% of your property tax gets saved annually as a provision for this depreciation. This means that the government allows residents to separate out the depreciation as part of the income tax, not as an after-tax payment. This, in turn, helps in saving money in the short term because the depreciation expense does not have to be dealt with, and increases cash flow in the long run.

2. Cost Segregation

This has been a major benefit of Multifamily housing since its inception, and it is so because dividing the fixed assets present in the household according to their useful life period and then dealing with their depreciation helps in saving a lot more money. To understand this, think of a multifamily real estate which has assets such as carpets, windows, doors etc. Their useful life is much shorter than the house itself, usually taken to be around 7-10 years.

Because of this difference in time span, depreciation is allowed to be sped up within the time frame because most of these assets will have their depreciation accounted for earlier on, but the amount you save annually on taxes will remain unchanged. Thus, this increase in cash flow further adds to your personal benefits.

3. Renting Deductions

In a multifamily home, there are many chances that you will be able to allow a portion to another family staying for rent. Now the entire house may belong to you, but that portion is housing a separate family, meaning that it is completely legal for you to present the payment of the tax for that portion to that group living on rent.

In addition, because they do not own any part of the property, they are not liable to receive any direct tax benefits from the depreciation savings.

4. Low Taxes

For regular citizens, the tax rates on multifamily usually quite accommodating and less than income and earning taxes overall. This is solely done by the state to assist the living of your family, and what your take from these low taxes help you in saving even more in the long run.