Unlocking Tax Savings for Florida Real Estate Agents with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

On September 9, 2025, we hosted an insightful webinar for Florida real estate agents, diving into the transformative opportunities presented by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025. This legislation, coupled with Florida’s condo crisis and the growing demand for tax-saving strategies among high-income earners, offers agents a unique chance to generate sales by helping clients save significantly on their 2025 taxes. Below, we break down the key takeaways from the webinar, hosted by me, Ryan Poole, founder of RealTrade, and James Brown, attorney and founder of New Path Title.

A Golden Opportunity for Real Estate Agents

The OBBBA is a game-changer for real estate professionals, offering a “4x multiplier of opportunity” for agents who can leverage its tax benefits to attract clients—especially high-income earners like doctors, lawyers, and executives. By combining the bill’s accelerated depreciation benefits with Florida’s lack of state income tax and booming rental demand, agents can market properties as powerful tax-saving tools. This webinar, the third in a multi-part series, provided actionable strategies and marketing materials to help agents capitalize on this opportunity.

Key Highlights from the Webinar

1. Tales from the Street: Practical Real Estate Challenges

Before diving into the OBBBA, James Brown shared critical insights from real-world scenarios to help agents navigate common issues:

• The Multi-Family/Multi-Bedroom Dilemma
  Agents often encounter listings that advertise properties as multi-family or with more bedrooms/bathrooms than shown on the property appraiser’s card. For example:

  • A listing may describe a property as multi-family, but the appraiser’s card lists it as single-family.
  • A property may be listed as having 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, but the card shows 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.

  What should agents do?

  • Historically, issues like unpermitted improvements or lender restrictions made these situations straightforward, but today’s market is more permissive. Lenders are increasingly flexible, and properties with unpermitted improvements often trade hands, especially in areas like Miami-Dade.
  • The rise of shared housing models like PadSplit and extended family living arrangements is blurring zoning and code lines.
  • Best Practice: Always disclose, disclose, disclose. Inform clients of the law, refer them to professionals (e.g., structural engineers, attorneys, or CPAs), and avoid giving opinions. This protects both the client and the agent.

   

• New Condo Rider Provisions
  The updated condo rider forms have caught some agents off guard. A recent case highlighted a buyer’s agent who overlooked the new provisions, leaving their client liable for significant special assessments at closing.

  • Key Change: The new form distinguishes between special assessments levied before and after the contract’s effective date. For example, a seller may be responsible for assessments before the effective date, while the buyer assumes those approved after.
  • Takeaway: Agents must thoroughly review the condo rider to avoid costly surprises for clients. Familiarize yourself with the six required disclosure documents and ensure all parties understand their obligations.
    
    

• Utility Charges and Tenants
  Under Florida Statute §180.135, utility companies cannot lien or charge property owners for utilities consumed by tenants. However, title companies may mistakenly include these charges on settlement statements.

  • Action Item: If you spot utility charges on a closing statement for a rental property, verify whether they stem from tenant usage. While small charges (e.g., a few hundred dollars) may be ignored for convenience, larger charges (e.g., thousands of dollars) warrant a challenge. Knowing this law can make you a hero in your client’s eyes.

2. The OBBBA: A Tax-Saving Powerhouse

The main focus of the webinar was the OBBBA’s tax benefits, particularly through cost segregation and accelerated depreciation. These strategies allow property owners to reduce taxable income significantly, making Florida real estate an attractive investment for high-income earners nationwide.

What is Cost Segregation?

Cost segregation is a tax strategy that involves breaking down a property into smaller asset components, reclassifying parts from the standard 27.5- or 39-year depreciation schedules to shorter periods (5, 7, or 15 years). This accelerates tax deductions, improving cash flow. Examples of assets include:

• 5-Year Property: Carpeting, cabinetry, built-in appliances, and window treatments.
• 7-Year Property: Office furniture or furnishings (less common in residential rentals).
• 15-Year Property: Land improvements like driveways, parking lots, sidewalks, fencing, and landscaping.

Under OBBBA, owners can deduct 100% of the value of assets with depreciation periods of 20 years or less in the first year of ownership, provided the property is purchased after January 19, 2025.

Why Condos Are Ideal

Land does not qualify for depreciation, making condos particularly attractive for cost segregation. Since condos typically have no land component, a larger portion of the purchase price is depreciable, maximizing tax savings.

How It Works: A Case Study

Consider a physician earning $500,000 annually who purchases a $350,000 Florida condo after January 19, 2025. A cost segregation study reclassifies 20–39% of the property’s depreciable basis into 5-, 7-, or 15-year assets, yielding $70,000–$136,500 in first-year tax deductions. This could save the physician approximately $100,000 in taxes in year one, effectively putting real dollars back in their pocket.

The 1031 Exchange Advantage

To sustain these tax benefits year after year:

• After the first year, sell the property and use a 1031 exchange to purchase another property, avoiding capital gains and depreciation recapture taxes.
• Repeat the cost segregation process on the new property, generating fresh deductions.
• This strategy creates a cycle of sales and purchases, offering agents recurring transactions (e.g., 10 investors could mean 20 transactions annually).

Targeting High-Income Earners

High-income earners (e.g., doctors, lawyers, executives) are already planning for 2025 tax savings. Agents can tap into this market by:

• Using pre-made marketing materials to promote Florida properties to clients nationwide.
• Highlighting Florida’s no state income tax and high rental demand.
• Partnering with experts like CPA Fred Passelli (fredpasselli.cpa@gmail.com) and cost segregation consultant Zack Driscoll (zack@segprosolutions.com) to provide clients with tailored tax strategies (more information below).

3. Advanced Strategies: Short-Term Rentals and Non-Working Spouses

The webinar highlighted two powerful campaigns to attract high-income clients:

• Short-Term Rental Opportunity
  Properties rented for an average stay of seven days or less (e.g., Airbnb or Vrbo rentals) allow owners to convert passive rental losses into active losses, offsetting W2 or business income.

  • Requirements: Owners must document at least 100 hours of involvement annually (e.g., managing, cleaning, or improving the property). No real estate professional status is needed.
  • Example Social Media Post:

    Unlock massive tax savings with Florida short-term rentals! High-income W2 professionals can save big by owning a short-term rental and turning passive losses into active tax deductions. Florida’s no state income tax and booming rental demand make it the perfect market. DM for details!

• Non-Working Spouse Strategy
  For married couples filing jointly, a non-working or part-time working spouse can qualify as a real estate professional by spending at least 750 hours annually on real estate activities. This allows rental losses to offset the high-income spouse’s W2 income.

  • Key Rule: The spouse’s real estate hours must exceed 50% of their total working hours. For example, if they work 20 hours per week (1,040 hours annually) in a non-real estate job, they must spend more than 1,040 hours on real estate.
  • Example Email Campaign:

    Subject: How Your Spouse Can Save Thousands on Taxes with Florida Real Estate
    Dear Taxpayer,
    Did you know that if one spouse is a high-income earner and the other is not employed or works part-time, you can save massively on taxes by buying Florida property? The non-working spouse manages rentals for 750+ hours annually, turning rental losses into active losses to offset W2 income. Reply to explore available properties and start saving!

4. How to Get Started

To implement these strategies:

1. Find a Property: Work with a real estate agent to locate a suitable Florida property (preferably a condo for maximum depreciation).
2. Get a Cost Segregation Study: Contact Zack Driscoll to estimate first-year tax savings (contact information below).
3. Consult a CPA: Engage Fred Passelli to tailor the strategy to the client’s financial situation (contact information below).
4. Purchase and Manage: Own the property for at least a year, pocket the tax savings, and consider a 1031 exchange to repeat the process.
5. Control Title Costs: In the Far/Bar contract, specify New Path Title as the closing agent in paragraph 20 to avoid fee shifting and work with a trusted title company.

Why This Matters for Agents

The OBBBA creates a recurring revenue stream for agents. By targeting high-income clients with these tax strategies, you can secure repeat transactions year after year. For example, 10 investors could generate 20 sales and purchases annually, as clients buy, sell, and reinvest using 1031 exchanges. Florida’s condo market, combined with the OBBBA’s tax benefits, positions agents to tap into a nationwide pool of buyers seeking both investment opportunities and tax savings.

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