Our Tax attorneys have substantial experience advising on tax issues that arise in real estate transactions. Our experience ranges from providing tax counsel in connection with fund formation for real estate funds to tax planning for investments by a non-U.S. party’s real estate fund and individual real estate projects to negotiating tax provisions of joint venture agreements.

In addition, our tax practice professionals have a broad range of experience working with development funds seeking treatment as a qualified opportunity zone fund. We also advise on the use of the Delaware Statutory Trust (DST) structures in both traditional offerings of DST interest to like-kind exchange investors and nontraditional situations where an existing real estate fund is seeking to raise convertible capital from like-kind exchange investors. 

Working closely with Polsinelli’s national real estate practice members, our tax attorneys provide tax planning advice on real estate transactions throughout the United States.

Tax Planning for Real Estate Funds

In connection with the formation of a real estate fund, tax planning is one of the more important parts of the process. Our Tax attorneys work on an integrated basis with members of our funds’ practice in identifying the appropriate structures for optimizing the tax benefits available in a real estate fund. The tax practice is deeply involved in the fund formation process including matters involving implementing strategies for maximizing capital gain treatment in respect to interests in the fund held by affiliated of the fund’s sponsor or drafting various tax provisions of the fund document to avoid the acceleration of income. 

Tax Planning for Foreign Investment in U.S. Real Estate

Our Tax attorneys advise both U.S.-based real estate funds and foreign investors in developing the appropriate structures to facilitate investments by foreign investors in U.S. real estate projects on a tax-advantaged basis. The tax practice regularly provides U.S. tax advice on the use of leveraged blocker corporations and structures designed to maximize the use of “portfolio interest” in transactions involving the investment in capital in U.S.-based real estate by foreign investment funds, high-net-worth investors based outside of the United States and other foreign investors.

Tax Planning for Real Estate Joint Ventures

In many real estate joint ventures, the negotiations related to the parties’ allocation of tax benefits are critical to the venture’s success. Members of the Polsinelli tax practice have significant experience in the complexities of the U.S. income tax rules that apply to limited liability companies (LLC), limited partnerships (LP), statutory trusts and other flow-through entities that are typically used in joint ventures involving the development of real estate. In addition, our Tax attorneys represent clients throughout the United States in developing tax-advantaged structures for the disposition of the underlying real estate and in situations involving the buyout of a joint venture partner.