7999 / What is a taxable REIT subsidiary (TRS)?
A taxable REIT subsidiary (TRS) is a corporation in which the REIT owns interests, whether directly or indirectly, if both the REIT and the corporation agree to elect that the corporation will be treated as a TRS.1 A corporation will automatically become a TRS if another TRS owns either (a) securities representing 35 percent or more of the voting power of the corporation or (b) securities representing 35 percent or more of the total value of the corporation.2
Corporations that own or manage lodging or health care facilities cannot qualify as a TRS.3Other than this limitation, a TRS is permitted to provide many of the services that a REIT might otherwise be restricted from providing because of the asset and income tests required to maintain REIT qualification.
For example, a REIT that owned residential apartment buildings was permitted to use a TRS in order to provide housekeeping services to its tenants without risking disqualification. The services provided by the TRS did not cause the rental income received by the REIT to fail to qualify as income derived from real property even though the REIT itself would have been unable to provide the housekeeping services in question.4