Holding companies help in tax and privacy issues involving real estate

A holding company or qualified intermediary offers real estate investors an option to paying capital gains tax after selling one property and waiting for a desired property to become ready for purchase. “It doesn’t avid the gain forever,” said James Havens, partner in the Columbus law firm of Havens Willis LLC and president of the Cardinal Title Agency, a licensed commercial real estate title insurance company. But the Internal Revenue Service does allow the investor to literally hold the transaction for up to 180 days without paying capital gains as part of a 1031 Exchange.