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Loophole

§266 Carrying Cost Election

Capitalize property taxes and interest on undeveloped land.

Overview

Instead of losing the deduction on unimproved investment land (where SALT caps and passive rules block it), elect under §266 to CAPITALIZE mortgage interest, property tax, and carrying costs into basis — reducing cap gains at eventual sale.

Best fit
Land bankersDevelopment investorsHigh-SALT-state owners
Estimated impact
Convert lost deductions into 20–23.8% cap gain reduction

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