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Tax advantage refers to the economic bonus which applies to certain accounts or that are, by statute, tax-reduced, tax-deferred, or tax-free. Examples of tax-advantaged accounts and investments include retirement plans, education savings accounts, medical savings accounts, and government bonds. Governments establish tax advantages to encourage private individuals to contribute money when it is considered to be in the public interest.
In countries in which the average age of the population is increasing, tax advantages may put pressure on pension schemes. For example, where benefits are funded on a pay-as-you-go basis, the benefits paid to those receiving a pension come directly from the contributions of those of working age. If the proportion of pensioners to working-age people rises, the contributions needed from working people will also rise proportionately. In the United States, the rapid onset of Baby Boomer retirement is currently causing such a problem.
However, there are international limitations regarding tax advantages realized through pensions plans. If a person with dual citizen in the United States and in the United Kingdom, they may have tax liabilities to both. If this person is living in the United Kingdom, their pension could have tax advantages in the UK, for example, but not in the US. Even though a UK pension may be exempt from UK tax, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is exempt from US taxes. In short, a US Tax payer with dual citizenship may have to pay taxes on the gains from the UK pension to the United States government, but not the United Kingdom.
In order to reduce the burden on such schemes, many governments give privately funded retirement plans a tax advantaged status in order to encourage more people to contribute to such arrangements. Governments often exclude such contributions from an employee's taxable income, while allowing employers to receive tax deductions for contributions to plan funds. Investment earnings in are almost universally excluded from income tax while accumulating, prior to payment. Payments to and their beneficiary also sometimes receive favorable tax treatment. In return for a pension scheme's tax advantaged status, governments typically enact restrictions to discourage access to a pension fund's assets before retirement.
In the United States, tax-advantaged retirement accounts include 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, individual retirement accounts, and supplemental retirement accounts. These accounts have proliferated since they were introduced in 1978. As of 2015, they accounted for half of all long-term mutual fund assets.
In the United States, real estate investments yield considerable tax advantages. One benefit is the ability to regain the cost of income producing (for example, commercial real estate) properties through depreciation. When a property is bought in the United States, the cost of the building and land are capitalized. If the building is a commercial property or a rental property, used in a business, the cost of the building is depreciated over 39 years for non-residential buildings and 27.5 years for residential buildings using the straight-line depreciation method for tax purposes. The building's cost is written off over the lifespan of the building by annual depreciation deductions. Thus, the building owner receives these depreciation deductions as tax advantages at their income tax rate. Upon the sale of a property, depreciation recapture is the part of the gains that the depreciation deductions are responsible for during the period of ownership. The following is an example to show the idea of depreciation in a clear manner. A building owner buys a building for $20 million. After 5 years the owner has taken $1 million of depreciation deductions. Now, the building owner's basis in the building is $19 million. If the owner decides to sell the building for $25 million, the building owner will realize a gain of $6 million ($25 million less $19 million). Oftentimes people wrongly assume that this $6 million is taxed at a capital gains rate. However, this is a common misconception. In this example, $1 million of the gain would actually be taxed at the depreciation recapture rate, and the other $5 million at the capital gains rate.
In New Zealand, real estate investors receive a tax advantage. Investors can claim the mortgage interest they pay as a tax deduction, while homeowners cannot. This tax advantage subsidizes investors.
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