Business owners may not want their C corporations to own assets with high potential for appreciation. The appreciation will probably be hit with double taxation if they sell the assets and try to remove the resulting cash from the company. Double taxation will also apply if the appreciated assets are distributed to the owner rather than being sold. An owner might keep the ownership of the assets personally and lease them back to the company. The lease payments are deductible to the corporation, which is another way to get cash out of the corporation in a tax-efficient manner. The owner reports the lease income and claims the depreciation and interest deductions. If the assets are sold at a big gain, the owner pays tax only once. The most obvious candidate for leasing to the company is real estate used in the business, but an owner may be able to use the same arrangement for intangible assets, such as patents and copyrights. Also, remember that owning valuable assets outside the corporation generally means they’re not exposed to corporate creditors and business-related liability claims. If the company has several owners, set up a jointly owned partnership, Limited Liability Company or S corporation to lease the assets. The above benefits will still be available.
