Owning Land

Property Lines: Trump and Biden’s Tax Policies that Shape the Land Market

Property Lines: Trump and Biden’s Tax Policies that Shape the Land Market

We’ve made it to election day and emotions are running high. It’s the most contentious presidential election in years, in a country bitterly divided. A cascade of crises have washed over our nation in 2020. More than control of the White House and Congress is at stake this year; the handling of COVID-19, battered economy, raging wildfires, civil unrest, and that’s a shortlist. President Trump and Joe Biden have radically different visions of America, and Americans have a lot riding on the outcome. 

Depending on the results of the election, new tax laws could have an effect on the real estate land market. Both candidates have provided glimpses into their tax plans, so let’s examine and compare the tax policies of President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden and how their approach could affect the land market.

Conservation Easements

A conservation easement is a legal agreement, in which a property owner donates development rights on a piece of land to a public agency or qualified charity, usually a land conservancy. The donor retains ownership of the land but contributes its development value in perpetuity, that is, what the property could be at its highest and best use. Conservation easements incentivize property owners to conserve land and historic sites by offering a charitable deduction. The purpose of the conservation easement can be to protect wildlife, plants or ecosystem, preserve historical structures, preserve areas for recreation or education, or to preserve open space. 

Trump Plan
Conservation easements account for most of the charitable contributions he has made over the years. Trump has placed conservation easements on several of his properties. One on the Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, prohibiting the construction of houses. In 1995, he donated a conservation easement on Mar-a-Lago to the National Trust for Historic Preservation that protects special features of the historic building and property, and later expanded the easement to limit home development. In 2005, Trump took a $39 million deduction for an easement on his private golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey. In 2015, Trump signed a conservation easement with a land conservancy, agreeing to avoid development on his Seven Springs estate in Westchester County, New York. Like other land owners in the United States, Trump avails himself of the benefit of conservation easements. But conservation easement transactions have been under heavy scrutiny from the Internal Revenue Service lately. On August 25, 2020, the Senate Finance Committee released a bipartisan report condemning syndicated conservation easements as abusive and encouraging the IRS to take further action.

Biden Plan
Biden’s stand on Conservation Easements is one area that has not been verified. After scouring articles on the internet, Biden’s position on this tax deduction is hard to determine. Conservation easement law was passed with bipartisan support and was approved by both the Bush and Obama administrations. The deduction for conservation easements has enjoyed broad bipartisan support, but in December 2016, in the waning days of the Obama Administration, the IRS issued Notice 2017-10 in response to concerns about conservation partnerships (easements claimed by partnerships (and LLCs, S-corporations) with the benefits of the deduction spread out among the multiple partners). It took aim at taxpayers by subjecting them to complex paperwork and fees.

1031 Exchange

If you own investment property and are thinking about selling it and buying another property, you should know about the 1031 tax-deferred exchange. Named for the IRS tax code to which it pertains, it allows an investor to sell a property, to reinvest the proceeds in a new property, and to defer all capital gain taxes. The 1031 Exchange is vital to brokers and agents (more deals), banks and mortgage lenders (more borrowers), and property owners (increased demand). It helps farmers, ranchers and other rural landowners put the return on their investment to work when exchanging one property for another. Until recently, the exemption applied to an array of assets, such as industrial equipment and rental cars.

Trump Plan
No change; President Trump’s tax plan is to simply secure the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), the Trump administration’s signature legislation. When the Republican Congress rolled out its tax-reform plan in 2017, it proposed eliminating 1031 exchanges altogether. Congress eliminated the provision for most industries under the TCJA, but left it open for real estate. The legislation also included a provision meant to spur investment into underdeveloped areas, called “opportunity zones.” The final law that Trump signed preserved Section 1031 like-kind exchanges for real estate. President Trump is heavily invested in the real estate space, encourages investment and is in favor of simplifying the tax code. If re-elected, he is expected to continue to protect favorable tax laws currently in place. 

Biden Plan
As part of his plan to raise taxes by an estimated $4 trillion, Joe Biden is proposing to repeal Section 1031 like-kind exchanges, as a means to pay for enhanced child care benefits and elder care over the next decade. Biden is selling a false promise – his proposed tax increase would finance a fraction of the cost of his new spending plan. Repealing 1031s would harm economic growth, threatening jobs and new investment in housing and land real estate.

Estate Taxes

Estate tax is a tax on the transfer of property after death. It is such a minor tax, yet it has continued to be a major partisan battleground. Democrats dislike estate taxes; they favor taxing wealthy people more at a time of surging wealth inequality. Republicans say it amounts to double taxation that places an unfair burden on family-owned businesses, like ranches and farms. The federal estate tax generally applies when a person’s assets exceed $11.58 million in 2020 at the time of death. Currently taxed on a graduated rate basis from 18 percent on estate values up to $10,000 to a maximum of 40 percent plus $345,800 for estates over $1 million.

Trump Plan
In the 2016 campaign, Trump was specific about his plan to repeal the federal estate tax. Republicans haven’t succeeded in an outright repeal of what they call the “death tax”, but the tax overhaul that President Donald Trump signed into law in December 2017 doubled the amount of wealth that escapes the 40 percent estate tax. As landowners, ranchers and farmers recognize the value of the president’s tax cuts. Trump championed the efforts and outlook of farmers and ranchers, recognizing that there are no better stewards of the land than those who depend on it for their livelihood.

Biden Plan
The Biden tax plan entails two changes to the federal estate tax. It would reduce the estate tax exemption by approximately 50 percent from its current level of $11.58 million of estate assets, thereby restoring the threshold for taxable estates to its pre-Trump level. The long-term Democratic tax policy is to continuously cut taxes on the middle class and the poor, and asking rich people for more money.

Today is election day, and a handful of states could decide if Donald Trump or Joe Biden is elected president. The election outcome and the resulting changes in future tax legislation remain unclear, but the real estate land industry has prospered under the Trump Administration and Republican-led senate. President Trump has succeeded in creating a strong overall economy, with increased income, spending power, and consumer confidence- all factors that fuel a healthy real estate market. Currently, optimism is strong among land investors and it has created a strong demand for land for sale. Let’s hope consumer confidence and enthusiasm continue post election and keep fueling an already surging land market.

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19 Comments

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    • It’s really the truth, unlike the biased treatment from the other side. I can probably guess you’re a resident of an urban area with no real understanding of the stewardship of the land exercised by the folks in the agricultural areas of our country. That’s why the rural areas of our country are so beautiful to visit and why now so many city dwellers want to move there to social distance. Multiple generations of families have preserved the land because they know that if they abuse it, production diminishes. That is why they can continue to provide you filet mignon and hamburger, chicken, fish, grains, vegetables, etc. for your dining pleasure at affordable prices.

      If President elect really wants to build the economy for everyone in this country, the last thing he should do is repeal Section 1031 which has been part of the tax code for 99 years because it just makes good sense. If someone sells a property and simply rolls the proceeds into another property without cashing out why should they pay a tax or how can they? The trickle down effect those types of transactions have on main street economies across this countries is essential because that exchange transaction creates work for title companies, banks, contractors, surveyors, real estate agents, property managers, etc. and all the people they employ. Biden proposes to use the revenue from 1031 repeal to dump money into child care and elderly facilities not realizing that many of the people who own these types of properties are incentivized to improve those properties as part of an exchange. Moreover the use of 1031 exchanges creates the incentive for property owners to enter into conservation easement to create wildlife habitat, improvement of fisheries, open space and recreational opportunities for the general public. That win-win situation will dry up since there is no landowner who can afford to make that decision if they are just going to have to pay a tax to do so.

      • I deal with these people all the time, Max. They have a cog missing in their DNA and that cog is where their common sense should be. Theirs is a narcissistic cult-religion of never ending entitlement, welded to and based on being forever in a self-imposed losing existence that is 180 degrees out of phase with reality and truth. I’ve tried for 15 years to reach them. They already know all there is to know about ANY given subject, including their well-rehearsed CNN mantra of hatred, “orange man bad.” Yet Joe Biden, a criminal, treasonous politician and pedophile is somehow our savior. Go figure.

  • Wished I had access to this article earlier. I would have shared and hoped it would make us less razor- tight on these election outcome in the battle ground states. I am not sure the average person would fully comprehend how this would eventually affect them personally even outside of real estate. I would have loved to have this article a week ago!

    • I Agree. From President’s plan (Both Trump/Biden) to State Governor’s, City Planners, politics always plays into it. Their Plan always affects you to understand how you adapt to Taxes, Tax Breaks and so on.
      You may be faithful to one party, but that doesn’t mean you can’t thrive with (Insert Party/Politician) here.
      I learn a lot from this article.

  • The #1 thing in common amongst Conservatives is that they all seem to believe they’re billionaires when the harsh reality is, they are most definitely not. In fact, it’s the RED states who are most dependent on welfare. Unless you make MORE THAN $400,000 annually (average annual income in the US is $65,000, what does that tell you?), you do not have to worry about Biden’s tax plan. Perhaps refraining from political opinions and just giving us land listings would be a good idea from here on out, unless you want to provide FACTUAL data as opposed to a clearly biased opinion by the author.

    • Misheru-
      You want facts- here you go: Trumps Tax Plan positively benefitted 82% of working and lower income families, increasing take home pay. Biden lies about NO taxes unless making over $400,000, because he also states he is removing the tax cuts Trump put in place, which will REMOVE the increased take home pay for the 82%, and INCREASE the taxes and DECREASE the deductions to Small Business. The same BS that Obama/Biden did before when they said they wouldn’t raise taxes on low and middle income families but they INCREASED taxes on liquor, gas, and cigarettes. Oh, I guess they overlooked the fact that low-middle income families don’t drink, smoke, or drive a car!

    • There are a lot of main street and other business owners across this country who may be the last in multiple generations who have worked their guts out 24/7/365 for years to accumulate a business or investment property which is easily valued at more than $400K. That one deal puts them over the Biden limit with a resulting tax that creates problems for them and the families who rely on them. Look at the big picture!

  • I have been looking for farm/hunt land. I don’t think either side wants country people to be self sufficient. Inflation will kill innovation. The country is boarding up business than working. You can’t sell plywood forever. UBI is financial control of means of production.

  • You sound almost as despicable as the man himself; wrong platform to discuss politics. Ethics 1.0 business is business, politics is politics, and religion is religion; no matter how they intertwine. Your bias opinion is misleading, and you should never treated as information. Oh by the way, what you described as benevolent acts, are nothing but tactics to avoid or lower taxes. But the whole world knows how he has allegedly mastered tax evasion; of curse, until he’s out of office and can be legally prosecuted.

    • The article was not biased. It explains facts. If you don’t like the truth, watch the news. I appreciate them exposing the truth.

  • Thank you for the interesting opinion which as seems common now days, people turned into a political editorial. Those interested in reading further will click on it and the negative responses below should be treated as what they are and just another “biased opinion” who apparently did not like what they read. I was unaware and surprised that Biden thinks repealing 1031 Exchanges will fund Elder & Child care as planned.

  • Thanks for sharing this. You gave valuable information. I am not a Trump or Biden supporter but I think that biased comments especially when it comes to politics should be avoided in this platform, or else there will be a lot of distractions that will take us off the main points of this article- which I am seeing through the comments below. Thanks.

  • Well I guess if you want a president who wants to be a dictator and lies are part of everyday life and money is more important than the constitution, then yes you only have one choice.

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