Should I buy a property in a company, a trust or in my personal name?

Should I pay myself a salary, a dividend or draw down on my loan account? Vital information for ALL entrepreneurs. • Salary vs Dividend vs ...
In the first scenario the property in owned your personal name. If you live in the property it is considered to be your primary residence. This is good news from a tax perspective, as the first R2m of profit you make on the sale is exempt from Capital Gains Tax. However, this exemption does not apply to second properties you own in your personal name as they are deemed to be investment properties and will be taxed at 18% CGT when you sell it. This is still less than the 22% CGT if the property was held by a company.
Another important tax consideration for homeowners is the tax deductibility of bond interest. If you live in the property, the bond interest is not tax deductible. But, if you choose to rent out your investment property, you are able to deduct the bond interest as well as other costs such as insurance, rental agent fees, and rates as expenses. The net rental income is then added to your personal income (salary included) and taxed at your marginal income tax rate. It is a good idea to ascertain which ownership entity is more tax efficient; your personal capacity or a company.
Given these considerations, if you own only one property which is your primary residence, it may be beneficial to register the property in your personal name to take advantage of the R2 million CGT exemption when you sell the property.
2. Company
The second scenario is to own a property in a company. The first benefit is that of limited liability which means that your assets are separated from your personal liabilities. This protects the property from unforeseen financial events such as insolvency as the property cannot be attached by the courts as it is held in a separate legal entity and not in your personal capacity. However if you have signed personal surety or are the shareholder of the company owning the property this protection falls away. This is where the company shareholding of a Trust can play a role but more on that later.
If the company is VAT registered you can claim back the transfer fees for commercial, industrial and short-term rental properties (maximum of 20 days), but not for residential properties. Additionally, if the property is newly built and bought from a VAT registered developer, there is no transfer duty as by law it must be included in the purchase price. I must mention that when buying from a VAT registered developer the transfer fee exemption applies to all three forms of ownership.
There are other tax incentives specifically for companies such as Section 13sex and the Urban Development Zone which are designed to encourage investment in new property developments. These can be very beneficial for the investor as it can increase the ROI by 3.5% or put other way; over a ten-year period 55% of the value of property is exempt from taxable income which effectively means you get 23% of the property for free, but these benefits only apply if you meet their criteria and the property is held in a company.
More sophisticated investors who take a long-term view, structure their property portfolio in such a way that their company owns the properties and the shareholding of the company is held by a Trust. This structure ensures that the properties are not part of the individual’s estates, which can be beneficial from an estate planning perspective as it does not attract so called inheritance tax. The downside is that these structures are more costly to maintain especially in terms of accounting fees.
There is further complexity to property ownership in a company which relates to getting the money out of the company and into your name. This can be done in one of four ways namely; Loan accounts, dividends, salaries or a combination of the three. This is vital information that every business owner must understand. I have made a separate video on this topic and left a link in the description.
The alternative is to keep the profits in the company and continue to purchase more properties. Once you have reached this level of investing, tax efficiency plays a greater role in your investment strategy.
Assuming you are fortunate enough to own multiple properties, it can be hugely beneficial to own them all in the same company. You can now push all related expenses through this business which in turn lowers the tax liability. In addition to the previously mentioned tax incentives, the company may also qualify for the small business tax incentive provided you meet the SARS criteria and the properties are not residential in nature. So, if you're looking for a tax-efficient way to own multiple investment properties, the company option may be worth considering.

[@jschompzy8017]

You are now my favourite South African youtuber. Keep up the amazing work brother ❤

[@swiftreg]

Wow, thanks

[@benvandermerwe1372]

Man this guy really knows his stuff! Suspiciously handsome too, I wonder where he gets these great ideas from. Keep up the great work! Subscribed!

[@swiftreg]

Hi Ben thanks for the compliment, the tax incentive will be different in the States, however I am sure many of the broad principles will be similar. keep grinding Captain!

[@user-jb8rz7le4m]

I have learned something powerful involving trust wow 😮 alot of putting properties in a trust was all over

[@swiftreg]

I am glad it was helpful.

[@Haosqy]

Just started consuming your content recently, from the mining village i reside in your knowledge is needed here. Keep on teaching

[@swiftreg]

Awesome, thank you!

[@matsika_pride]

Love your content

[@swiftreg]

Thank you, I appreciate the compliment.

[@rupertdutoit1618]

Thanks this was very informative. best I've seen.

[@swiftreg]

Awesome, thank you!

[@TheSwordandPearl]

Thank you for this!

[@swiftreg]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ojambo8694]

Hi, this is great stuff. How Can we reach out for more detailed advice if possible.

[@swiftreg]

Thanks for the compliment, you can email by using the office email [e-mail]

[@RS-tc2yc]

Amazing video!!!! If you start a company and have the trust as a shareholder, does it have to be a certain type of trust and are you then as a person, separate from said company and trust, dont you have to sign surety upon starting the company or does the trust sign. Im a little confused with the trust shareholding of the company aspect....😢 would love clarification as i want to go that route! You just got a new subscriber!

[@swiftreg]

Hi there, Thank you for the compliment. I will deal with surtey separately. The type of Trust depends on the wording in the Trust Deed. For example if you are the sole Trustee and sole beneficiary, then institutions will NOT view the Trust as independent as it will be seen as a sham or a see-through Trust. So best you get some advice on the Trust side. The banks are aware of all of the structures and therefore get the "warm body" behind the structure to sign surety in their personal capacity. I hope this answers your questions.

[@jabumthimunye8675]

This Content is very help full, thank you. can you please explain after registering company trust how do you operate it

[@swiftreg]

Hi there, after registering your company most people open a bank account in the name of the company and then start generating sales. I hope this answers your question.

[@lonewolfdomo]

I am looking to purchase my first property in Baltimore, MD and came across your video. I do not plan to live in the residence but also want to have a better understanding of purchasing this business under my name versus my LLC. Any advice you provide would be appreciated or even an email address I could reach!

[@swiftreg]

Hi there, that's exciting news, good luck! My video is aimed at the South African property market an the tax laws in this country. I am however sure the concepts and principles will be similar just with differing tax rates. I therefore can't comment on legislation outside South Africa. Our tax rates are generally much higher than in the US.

[@sibusisosiyabongandaba698]

Infact I have a few questions: 1. I have company already running for my 9-5 job. Is it wise to use the same company to build a property portfolio? 2. I want to do Flipping (Buy, renovate and sell) and also Buy renovate and rent out 3. Which strategy will work best for me for doing the above, point 2? 4. Do I need a Trust at this strategy?

[@swiftreg]

Hi Sibusiso, as a general rule most business people separate their trading company from their investment company to reduce the risk. Your scenario is sightly more complex as your trading business is closely linked to your investment business as they are in the same industry. This makes it hard for SARS to differentiate between the two which complicates your tax. My advice is to work closely with your accountant to find which options work best for you.

[@sibusisosiyabongandaba698]

@@swiftreg thank you, let me hear what my accountant says.

[@rohikam4205]

Hi new to property investment. how do I contact you and are you from Australia , Enjoyed you content vert much.

[@swiftreg]

Hi there, I am based in South Africa, so the tax rates and regulations I referred to are related to South Africa

[@sibusisosiyabongandaba698]

Company seems to be the way 🤔

[@swiftreg]

For investment property, I would agree.

[@makasiparsad]

What if u only buy and sell 1 house at a time while still owning ur primary residence.. are all those buys & sells of ur non primary residence taxed? 🤔

[@swiftreg]

Yes, that is correct your company will be considered as a "trading" company not an investment company and therefore taxed at the normal company tax rate.

[@kgabomoabelo2712]

Hi There! I love your content, it’s so informative. We have a company, we haven’t started operating but we will soon. We want to do 3 different things in this company and therefore opted to open 3 different companies. So my question is, can we make the already registered PTY LTD a holding company and open the 3 companies under it?

[@swiftreg]

Hi there, yes you can. I have made a separate video on holding companies which explains the concept and if you haven't seen it please use this link. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hnLSgoKtrsqhq6csi=h92Hah-8B0RMOMT8 It happens to be my most popular video. In order to change the company into a holding company all three trading companies need to change their shareholding. When you are ready to proceed please use the following link. www.swiftreg.co.za/swiftreg/products/Director_Shareholder_Changes.aspx It sounds like you have more than one shareholder. If this is the case, I would highly recommend a shareholders agreement. Please let me know if you are interested in a shareholders agreement as I have also made a video on this topic. Good luck!

[@user-jb8rz7le4m]

May i ask can am idea of you owning the company and making that company own the properties while A trust owns a certain amount of shares ??

[@user-jb8rz7le4m]

Can that also work

[@swiftreg]

Yes, this is possible, the accounting will be adjusted according to the percentage ownership.

[@siyabonga-rw9xf]

Hi. I would like to invest for my kids. Got two properties I'm interested in buying both are commercial. My question is should I put my kids name and mine or put them in a company or trust.

[@swiftreg]

Hi Siya, well done for being is such a great position to be able to provide for your children in such a generous manner. I would put both properties in the same company. If they are commercial properties you can register the Pty for VAT and then claim back the transfer fees. The other positive could be if the shares of the company are held by a Trust then the assets with fall outside your estate meaning there is no estate duty (20%) on your passing.

[@jancovanderwesthuizen8070]

Can you elaborate on the liability aspect of a Pty Ltd if youre the share holder?

[@swiftreg]

Hi Janco, a shareholder can't lose more money than they has invested in the company. This effectively means that their shareholding can't be valued less than zero. However if you signed personal surety then yes you could possibly lose more money. I hope this answers your question.