Why do REITs have to pay out 90%?
Question: Why are U.S. REITs required to pay out at least 90% of their taxable income in dividends? Answer: Congress intended REITs to be a mutual fund of real estate so that individual investors could gain the benefits from investing in a diversified portfolio of real estate.
To qualify as securities, REITs must payout at least 90% of their net earnings to shareholders as dividends. For that, REITs receive special tax treatment; unlike a typical corporation, they pay no corporate taxes on the earnings they payout.
To qualify as a REIT, a company must have the bulk of its assets and income connected to real estate investment and must distribute at least 90 percent of its taxable income to shareholders annually in the form of dividends.
Since the companies are mostly tax exempt and are obligated to pay out the vast majority of their earnings in dividends, REIT yields are typically much higher than other types of stocks (averaging about an 8% annual yield for a 15-year investment).
A REIT must distribute at least 90% of taxable income in order to meet REIT testing requirements. It will pay tax on the remaining 10% of that income at a rate of 21%. A REIT is special because it can deduct dividends paid on its federal tax return to the extent it has earnings and profits.
Invest at least 75% of its total assets in real estate. Derive at least 75% of its gross income from rents from real property, interest on mortgages financing real property or from sales of real estate. Pay at least 90% of its taxable income in the form of shareholder dividends each year.
Typically, a REIT with a payout ratio between 35% and 60% is considered ideal and safe from dividend cuts, while ratios between 60% and 75% are moderately safe, and payout ratios above 75% are considered unsafe. As a payout ratio approaches 100% of earnings, it generally portends a high risk for a dividend cut.
The value of a REIT is based on the real estate market, so if interest rates increase and the demand for properties goes down as a result, it could lead to lower property values, negatively impacting the value of your investment.
For purposes of the REIT income tests, a non-qualified hedge will produce income that is included in the denominator, but not the numerator. This is generally referred to as “bad” REIT income because it reduces the fraction and makes it more difficult to meet the tests.
REITs should generally be considered long-term investments
This is especially true if you're planning to invest in non-traded REITs since you won't be able to easily access your money until the REIT lists its shares on a public exchange or liquidates its assets. In many cases, this can take around 10 years to occur.
Can you become a millionaire from REITs?
At that rate of return, a monthly investment of $300 in REITs would grow into $1 million in about 30 years. If you invested more money into REITs or those producing a higher average annual return, you could become a millionaire even faster.
Key Points. REITs have outperformed stocks on 20-to-50-year horizons. Most REITs are less volatile than the S&P 500, with some only half as volatile as the market at large.
| Company (ticker symbol) | Sector | Dividend yield |
|---|---|---|
| ARMOUR Residential REIT (ARR) | Mortgage | 14.7% |
| Ellington Financial (EFC) | Mortgage | 14.4% |
| Chimera Investment (CIM) | Mortgage | 14.3% |
| KKR Real Estate Finance Trust (KREF) | Mortgage | 14.0% |
“I recommend REITs within a managed portfolio,” Devine said, noting that most investors should limit their REIT exposure to between 2 percent and 5 percent of their overall portfolio. Here again, a financial professional can help you determine what percentage of your portfolio you should allocate toward REITs, if any.
One such standard is the 90% rule, which requires REITs to pay out at least 90% of its earnings as dividends. The 90% rule was created to encourage REITs to fulfill the original goal of allowing everyday investors to enjoy passive income from a diversified portfolio of real estate.
Depreciation typically covers the equity payment portion of the note or close to it. So a REIT can basically cycle it's equity from paying down debt into buying more properties and keeping it's percentage of leverage the same.
- Invest at least 75% of total assets in real estate, cash, or U.S. Treasuries.
- Derive at least 75% of gross income from rents, interest on mortgages that finance real property, or real estate sales.
- Pay a minimum of 90% of taxable income in the form of shareholder dividends each year.
For Group REITs, the consequences of leaving early apply when the principal company of the group gives notice for the group as a whole to leave the regime within ten years of joining or where an exiting company has been a member of the Group REIT for less than ten years.
A REIT will be closely held if more than 50 percent of the value of its outstanding stock is owned directly or indirectly by or for five or fewer individuals at any point during the last half of the taxable year, (this is commonly referred to as the 5/50 test).
- Cap rates (Net operating income / property value)
- Equity value / FFO.
- Equity value / AFFO.
Can you live off REITs?
Reinvesting REIT dividends can help retirement savers grow their portfolio's investment, and historically steady REIT dividend income can help retirees meet their living expenses. REIT dividends historically have provided: Wealth Accumulation. Reliable Income Returns.
| REIT | Forward dividend yield |
|---|---|
| Blackstone Mortgage Trust Inc. (BXMT) | 12.1% |
| KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc. (KREF) | 13.5% |
| Easterly Government Properties Inc. (DEA) | 8.3% |
| Realty Income Corp. (O) | 5.5% |
Can You Lose Money on a REIT? As with any investment, there is always a risk of loss. Publicly traded REITs have the particular risk of losing value as interest rates rise, which typically sends investment capital into bonds.
REITs. When interest rates are falling, dependable, regular income investments become harder to find. This benefits high-quality real estate investment trusts, or REITs. Strictly speaking, REITs are not fixed-income securities; their dividends are not predetermined but are based on income generated from real estate.
REITs do not grow too much in value. This is because they are mostly structured as pass-through entities. About 90% of the rental income that the REITs earn from these properties is paid out to the investors as a dividend. A mere 10% is retained and that too, for emergency purposes and administrative expenses.
