Home Transfer Strategy

Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT)

Transfer your home to your children at a fraction of its gift tax value while continuing to live in it. A QPRT can save hundreds of thousands in transfer taxes on high-value residences.

25-75%
Gift Tax Discount
2
Residences Allowed
72hr
Document Delivery
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Understanding the Basics

What Is a QPRT?

A Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT) is an irrevocable trust that allows you to transfer your primary residence or vacation home to your beneficiaries at a substantially reduced gift tax value. You retain the right to live in the home for a specified term of years, and at the end of that term, the home passes to your beneficiaries.

The gift tax value of the transfer is based on the present value of the remainder interest, which takes into account the value of the home, the length of the retained term, and the IRS Section 7520 interest rate at the time of the transfer. The longer the term you retain, the lower the taxable gift. For example, a 65-year-old transferring a $2 million home with a 15-year retained term might have a taxable gift of only $500,000.

You can create up to two QPRTs: one for your primary residence and one for a vacation home. After the trust term ends, you can continue living in the home by paying fair market rent to your beneficiaries, which has the additional benefit of transferring more wealth outside of your estate.

Is It Right for You?

Who Is a QPRT For?

Owners of High-Value Homes

If your home represents a significant portion of your estate, a QPRT can transfer it to your heirs at a deep discount to its market value, preserving your gift tax exemption for other assets.

Families With Vacation Properties

A QPRT is ideal for transferring a family vacation home or lake house to the next generation while ensuring you can enjoy it for years. Each person can create two QPRTs for two separate residences.

Retirees Planning to Downsize

If you plan to downsize or relocate after a set period, a QPRT aligns perfectly. The home transfers to your children when the term ends, and you move to a smaller residence or begin paying fair market rent.

What You Get

Key Features

Continue Living in Your Home

Retain full use of your residence for the entire trust term. Your daily life does not change during the retained interest period.

Deep Gift Tax Discount

The taxable gift is only the present value of the remainder interest, which can be 25-75% less than the home's market value depending on your age and term length.

Appreciation Transfers Tax-Free

All appreciation in the home's value after the transfer date passes to your beneficiaries without any additional gift or estate tax.

Rent Payments = More Transfers

After the trust term ends, rent payments to your children are another way to shift wealth out of your estate without gift tax implications.

The Process

How It Works

1

Valuation & Term Selection

We appraise your home and our AI optimizes the trust term based on your age, the 7520 rate, and your estate planning goals to maximize the gift tax discount.

2

Trust Creation & Deed Transfer

We draft the QPRT, execute the deed transfer, and file the gift tax return documenting the discounted gift value.

3

Retained Term

You continue living in your home as before. You remain responsible for maintenance, property taxes, and insurance during the term.

4

Term Expiration

At the end of the term, the home passes to your beneficiaries. You can continue living there by paying fair market rent under a lease agreement.

Transfer Your Biggest Asset

Your Home Deserves a Smart Transfer Strategy

For many families, the home is the largest asset. A QPRT transfers it at a fraction of the gift tax cost while you keep living in it. Let our AI calculate your savings.

Schedule Free Consultation

No credit card required. 30-minute consultation. 100% confidential.

Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

If you die before the trust term ends, the full value of the home is included in your taxable estate as if the QPRT had never been created. However, you are no worse off than if you had never established the QPRT. Any gift tax exemption used for the transfer is restored. This mortality risk is why term length should be carefully chosen based on your age and life expectancy.
Yes, but the proceeds must be used to purchase a replacement residence within two years or the trust converts to a Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT) for the remaining term. Our attorneys include these contingency provisions in every QPRT we draft to protect you if circumstances change.
No. Because the home is a completed gift, your children receive your cost basis (carryover basis), not a stepped-up basis at your death. This means they may owe capital gains tax when they sell the property. However, if the estate tax savings exceed the capital gains tax, the QPRT still provides a net benefit. Our AI models both scenarios.
You can enter into a fair market lease with your beneficiaries and continue living in the home. The rent payments you make are an additional way to transfer wealth out of your estate to your children without gift tax consequences. The rent must be at fair market value to avoid IRS challenges.

Transfer Your Home at a Fraction of the Cost

Keep living in your home while reducing the gift tax cost by up to 75%. Start with a free consultation and let our AI calculate your exact savings.

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