父母把房產過戶給子女有何風險

Parents, either to help their children out or to reduce the taxable value of their estate, sometimes weigh transferring ownership of their home to their children. But what may seem like a great idea often isn't.

父母或爲了助子女一臂之力，或爲了減少他們房產應繳的稅款，有時會考慮把房產過戶給他們的孩子。可是一個看似絕妙的主意往往並非如此。

For starters, parents often don't realize the security they're giving up, especially if they plan to continue living in the home. If your child were to get divorced, the ex-spouse could have a legitimate claim on the home. Creditors can come after the home if your child defaults on a loan. Your child could sell the property without your permission.

首先，父母們常常沒有意識到他們放棄的是安全保障，尤其是他們打算繼續在這房子裏生活的話。如果你的孩子要離婚，其前配偶對這套房產就會擁有合法主張的權利。如果你的孩子拖欠貸款，債權人可以接管房產。你的孩子可能未經你的許可就賣掉這份財產。

'There are few worse things in life then getting evicted by your kids,' says John Collins, a principal at the wealth-management firm Aspiriant.

“生活中沒有什麼比被孩子趕出家門更糟糕的事情了，”財富管理公司Aspiriant的負責人約翰·科林斯(John Collins)說。

What follows are issues to consider, and, in those rare cases where a transfer can make sense, how to do it the right way.

以下是需要考慮的問題，以及在極少數有理由過戶的情況下，如何正確進行過戶操作。

Qualifying for Medicaid

獲取納入醫療補助計劃(Medicaid)的資格

Many parents think transferring a home to one's children will help them qualify for Medicaid's long-term-care benefits.

很多家長認爲把房產過戶給孩子，會幫助他們獲得享受醫療補助計劃中的長期醫保福利的資格。

But in most cases, it won't. When an applicant gives away property within five years of applying for Medicaid coverage of long-term-care benefits, Medicaid presumes that the gift was made to qualify for Medicaid. This triggers a period of ineligibility on the theory that the property could have been used to pay for the individual's care, says Katherine Dean, managing director of wealth planning at Wells Fargo Private Bank in San Francisco.

然而在多數情況下這種資格都是得不到的。如果申請人是在把房產過戶給孩子後的五年之內向醫療補助署(Medicaid)申請長期醫保福利，醫療補助署會認爲做出贈予行爲是爲了獲取納入醫療補助計劃的資格。舊金山富國銀行私人銀行(Wells Fargo Private Bank)的財富規劃總經理凱瑟琳·迪安(Katherine Dean)說，這會導致一段時間內申請人不符合申請資格，理論依據是這份房產本來是可以用來支付個人醫保的。

In reality, the house may not have been counted in asset valuations anyway, says Ms. Dean. The five-year rule doesn't come into play, for example, if the applicant is transferring the property to his or her spouse or to a child who has been living in the house and providing necessary nursing care for at least two years.

迪安說，實際上，房子原本是可能不會計入資產估值的。比如，如果申請人把房產過戶給一直住在這套房子裏並至少提供了兩年必要護理的配偶或孩子時，那條五年時間的規定就不管用了。

Preserving Wealth

財產保值

A home transfer is not advisable for wealth preservation or tax avoidance if the value of the parents' estate is within the limit allowed for exclusion by the Internal Revenue Service or state tax authorities. In a case where federal gift tax applies, the rate can be as high as 40%. There can also be state gift taxes.

如果父母的房產價值是在美國國內稅務署(the Internal Revenue Service)或州稅務機關允許的免稅範圍之內，爲了財富保值或避稅而過戶房產是不可取的。在適用聯邦贈與稅的情形下，稅率可能高達40%，而且可能還要繳納州贈予稅。

The tax bite is likely to be far less if the home is part of a normal inheritance. The heirs will receive a step-up in the cost basis and be able to sell immediately with no impact on income or capital-gains tax, says Mr. Collins.

如果房子是正常遺產的一部分，稅務負擔很可能要低得多。科林斯說，繼承人的支出基準將會上升，並可將房子立刻出售，這樣做對收入所得稅或資本利得稅不產生任何影響。

Parents looking to downsize can sell and share the proceeds with the children. For a married couple, the first $500,000 in profit is free of capital-gains taxes, or the first $250,000 for a single taxpayer, says Mr. Collins.

希望少納稅的父母可以賣掉房產，並與孩子們分享收益。科林斯說，對於已婚夫婦來說，收益中的前50萬美元（約合人民幣311萬元）是免繳資本利得稅的，單身納稅人則是前25萬美元（約合人民幣156萬元）免繳資本利得稅。

Giving a home also removes the option of a reverse mortgage, says Stuart Ritter, senior financial planner at T. Rowe Price in Baltimore. In a reverse mortgage, homeowners borrow against a home's equity and continue to live in the house with the understanding that the loan (and accumulated interest) will be paid off, in a lump sum, when the house is sold, or the borrowers move out or die.

巴爾的摩(Baltimore) T. Rowe Price公司的高級理財規劃師斯圖爾特·裏特(Stuart Ritter)說，房子過戶 也讓人失去了反向抵押貸款的選擇。在進行反向抵押貸款的時候，房主以住房產權作抵押進行借款，按照協議規定，借款人可以繼續居住在房子裏，但當住房出售、借款人搬走或去世時，貸款（及累計利息）要一次付清。

Large Estates and Trusts

大地產及信託資產

In cases where transferring ownership would reduce the parental estate to a level where no estate tax is owed, it can be a good idea. It may be the way to preserve the most assets for the children, even if they later decide to sell and owe taxes then.

如果過戶可以將父母的房產降低到不用納遺產稅的程度，那可能是個好主意。那是爲孩子保留大部分資產的辦法，哪怕他們後來決定將其出售，然後去納稅。

If the parents want to transfer ownership but continue to live in the house, additional legal steps are recommended. One option is to set up a 'life estate' in which the parent would pay 'fair market' rent to the child, says Sal Salvo, principal of Summit Financial Resources in Parsippany, N.J. If rent isn't paid, the parent is considered to have a 'retained interest' in the house, in which case the IRS could treat the transfer as if it never occurred and decide that the house is includable for estate-tax purposes. Legal assistance is advised when setting up this kind of arrangement, says Mr. Salvo.

如果父母想將房產過戶，但要繼續住在那套房子裏，建議採取額外的法律措施。一種選擇是確立“終身財產權”(life estate)，在這種安排下，家長會付給子女“公平市場”的房租，新澤西州帕西帕尼(Parsippany, N.J.)頂級財政資源公司(Summit Financial Resources)的負責人薩爾·薩爾沃(Sal Salvo)說。如果未付房租，家長就會被認爲在家中擁有“保留利益”。薩爾沃說，在這種情況下，美國國內稅務署就會視過戶未曾發生，判定該房產應納入遺產稅徵收範圍。建議在進行這類安排時尋求法律幫助。

Another option, a qualified-personal-residence trust, allows parents to transfer their residence to their children -- through the trust -- at a substantially reduced estate and gift-tax cost. It also allows the parents to stay in the home for a predetermined period they set themselves.

另一種選擇是辦理合格個人住宅信託(qualified-personal-residence trust)，它允許父母以信託的方式將住房過戶給子女——這能大幅降低地遺產稅和贈予稅成本通過。它也允許父母按自己預先設定的時間期限住在這套房子裏。

In this type of arrangement, if the parents live on the premises, it greatly reduces the gift tax, which is imposed at the time of the transfer. Depending on how long the parents plan to stay, the taxable value of the gift can be as little as 25% of the current fair market value of the home. All appreciation in the value of the home after the initial transfer also becomes tax-free for both the trust and the children.

在這種安排下，如果家長住在房子裏，過戶時徵收的贈予稅可以大大減少，根據父母計劃在此房產里居住時間的長短，贈予房產的計稅價格可以低至該住房當前公平市價的25%。房產過戶之後的一切增值對於受託人和子女來說也都是免稅的。

Parents with large estates also can give or sell their home to a 'defective grantor trust,' says Mr. Collins. The value of the home for tax purposes is frozen, and any further appreciation during the parents' life happens outside of their estate. Any income earned by the trust is taxable to the grantor. But by giving or selling the property to the trust, the grantor reduces the value of his or her estate immediately, and all appreciation in the property will be tax-free for trust beneficiaries.

科林斯說，擁有大房產的父母也可以將住房交給或出售給一家“不完全產權贈與信託”(defective grantor trust)。住房須納稅的那部分價值就會被凍結，父母在世期間房產的任何增值都與他們的房產無關。信託基金掙得的任何收入對授讓人來說都是應稅的，但通過將房產交予或出售給信託基金，授讓人立刻降低了他或她的房產價值，而房產的所有增值部分對信託受益人來說將是免稅的。

Veronica Dagher

Veronica Dagher