United States REIT Structure and Real Estate Assets

REITs are becoming increasingly popular in the United States with investors and the variety of assets that REITs own has also been increasing. This article explains the formation and basic taxation scheme of REITs, so that the reader can have a clear view of how these trusts are formed and what they are composed of. After exploring the inner workings of REITs, the article continues on to discuss the different types of companies that can be organized as REITs, based on IRS revenue rulings and IRS private letter rulings. The article ends with a look at some potential types of businesses that might benefit from REIT organization.