Spouse Real Estate Write-offs

A tax reduction strategy for high-income W2 employees by having their spouse qualify as a real estate professional, enabling significant tax write-offs through real estate depreciation against W2 income.

Key Points:

• Core Strategy:

  • Have spouse become qualified as a real estate professional
  • Use real estate depreciation to offset W2 income
  • One of few ways W2 employees can significantly reduce tax burden

• Target Market:

  • High-income W2 employees (particularly tech workers)
  • Couples where one spouse can dedicate time to real estate
  • Common in places like San Francisco with high-paying tech jobs

• Implementation:

  • Spouse gets real estate professional status
  • Buy investment properties (like Airbnbs)
  • Use property depreciation to offset primary earner's W2 income

• Context:

  • One of very few strategies available for W2 employees to reduce taxes
  • Popular among tech employees making $400k+ annually
  • Can save substantial amounts on combined federal and state taxes
  • Used tongue-in-cheek as a marriage strategy for tax benefits