Could Buying a Rental Home Really Help Pay for College?

It’s back to school and for many that means school supplies and new clothes, but what about kids who are heading off to college? Their expenses are much greater than a few new outfits, pencils, paper and glue sticks. Besides the cost of tuition, most college students have to deal with the added expenses of room and board. Add it all up and college is definitely expensive. But what if there were a way to make your room and board expenses work for you, in the form of a nice tax break?
It is possible and it could actually be a great way to save. Here’s how it works. You buy a rental property for your own child to live in and have him/her find a few roommates. There are several advantages to this arrangement if you do it right. First, you get to keep the normal tax deductions that you would from owning a rental property. You can also hire your child to be the property manager and then use the net income you pay your child towards his/her tuition, with either very little, or no tax at all. Meanwhile, the monthly rent payments from the roommates can go towards the mortgage payment.
After graduation, you have two options. You can hold onto the property and continue renting it until it’s paid off and then use it as a retirement property. You could also use it for a 1031 exchange, which would allow you to defer the tax on your capital gain if you buy another “like-kind” property. So, if you have the ability to invest in a rental property you could save yourself thousands in college expenses and taxes.
India Gets Help From the IRS to Track Down So-Called “Black Money”
India Gets Help From the IRS to Track Down So-Called “Black Money” We’re all aware of the U.S. government’s efforts to bring home tax dollars from those who either hold or earn money in foreign countries. Whether a company or an individual taxpayer is open about their money or purposely trying to hide it, the…
Strategic Asset Management With a Revocable Living Trust
Strategic Asset Management With a Revocable Living Trust Developing a sound investment management strategy is more than allocating assets and diversifying among the various asset classes. It is also about attaining your financial goals in life. The long-term security of your family is likely to be a key goal. To reach it, you want to…
A Safer Way to Invest in Stocks
A Safer Way to Invest in Stocks Investing in stocks can be really risky—particularly when somebody invests a lot of money at once and expects quick results. But it’s also true that investing in stocks can be surprisingly safe for certain investors. The men and women who are putting regular amounts into stock funds through…
IRS Makes It Difficult to Use “Separate Share” Trusts
IRS Makes It Difficult to Use “Separate Share” Trusts By Mary Kay Foss California CPA, August 2003 The IRS has issued a series of private letter rulings (LTRs 200317041, 200317043, 200317044) this year that make it difficult to use “separate share” trusts. A separate share trust is a trust named as an IRA beneficiary that…