Whether it’s your first time, or you are dreaming of a revisit, this is a great opportunity to visit St. Croix (for less). Escape from winter cold weather and snow and take advantage of the air credits and discounted room accommodation rates now available for a vacation to sunny St. Croix! The V.I. Dept. of Tourism introduced discounted air and hotel packages for travel to USVI that provide travelers with $200 per person air credits and 10 percent savings at selected hotels and resorts with a five-night minimum stay. Bookings made through March 1, 2023, for travel through April 30, 2023.
Why visit St. Croix?
The U.S. Virgin Islands has received top honors from several prestigious media companies for 2023 and accolades for a successful 2022. Porthole Cruise and Travel Magazine, Yahoo! Life and Frommers all underscored the territory for its ease of travel and new developments. Condé Nast Traveler highlighted the USVI as one of the Best Places to Go in 2023; Travel + Leisure ranked USVI as one of the 50 best destinations to travel to thanks to our beach vibes.
Since the USVI is an American territory, no passports are required to enter St. Croix. Major airlines, including American, Delta, Spirit, and Jetblue, offer direct daily flights from the U.S. mainland and Puerto Rico to St. Croix’s Henry E. Rohlsen Airport (check airlines for the latest itineraries).
Winter Air and Hotel Package Details (book by March 1, 2023!)
Bookings must be made through the participating hotels using the VIBE2023 promotion code. This offer is for people over 16 years of age, does not apply to current reservations, and must be packaged as air and hotel together with back-to-back room nights. Bookings without purchase of a flight to St. Croix do not qualify.
For full information of the package offer details and all the participating partner hotels, go to https://www.visitusvi.com/vibe. Reported by VI Consortium in this article.
Here are some of the participating hotels and resorts’ contact information:
Question: “What are the basic qualifications for a 1031 Exchange?”
Chris’ Answer:
Your new purchase also needs to be an investment property and not a primary residence. The new investment property must be of “like-kind” to the property being sold.
Vacation homes or condos can qualify.
Key Considerations:
To achieve the maximum tax benefit, the reinvestment must be of equal or greater value.
The Qualified Intermediary must ensure that all eligibility requirements are adhered to. The investor must not have access to the funds from the sale.
There are limitations on the amount of capital gains that may be tax deferred.
Did you see our other article about 1031 exchanges and how can you benefit from them? Read it here. *For more information on 1031 Exchanges, their requirements and additional stipulations, consult a licensed tax professional before making arrangements to begin a 1031 Exchange.
Question: “What is a 1031 Exchange, also referred to as a Like-Kind Exchange? How could I benefit?“
Christie’s Answer:
If you have owned investment or rental property for at least 2 years, a 1031 Exchange enables you to defer some of the tax liability from the sale of that property by reinvesting those proceeds into a similar kind of property of the same or greater value.
With the sale of your property, the funds go to a Qualified Intermediary who will hold those funds until you purchase the next property. Usually you close the sale of your current property before you close the sale of the new property. Although, a “Reverse 1031 Exchange” can be done.
There is a 45 day period after the sale of your property to identify up to 3 properties for your new purchase, and a 180 day period, which runs concurrently, for you to close on your new investment property.
In addition to deferring capital gains taxes, other advantages could include:
The potential to increase investment income by moving to more profitable real estate markets.
Property consolidation; combining multiple investment properties into a single property.
Diversification; dividing one investment property into several properties.
For the basic qualifications, visit our other article here. *For more information on 1031 Exchanges, their requirements and additional stipulations, consult a licensed tax professional before making arrangements to begin a 1031 Exchange.
Dream of owning a home?Are you in a moderate income household?Do you need help in financing a mortgage?
Back in October, we mentioned a collaboration with Governor Albert Bryan Jr, the Office of Disaster Recovery, and the EDA in partnership with local banks and mortgage companies to help residents a new home loan program for moderate income Virgin Islanders. Starting January, the V. I. Economic Development Authority (EDA) has opened the V.I. Slice Moderate-Income Homeownership Program. The VI Slice program aims to help residents who wants to be a homeowner and need some help to make their first home purchase. It is a homeownership assistance program created to provide eligible, moderate-income families with up to $200,000 in gap financing on a down payment, closing costs for buying or rehabilitating a home, or the cost of constructing a home on land the resident owns.
To be eligible for Slice, applicants on St. Croix must have at least an annual income of $43,501; on St. Thomas, $45,000, and on St. John, $47,000. For residents who are interested in the program, we encourage you to visit the new VI Slice website: www.vislice.com, where one can find information on how the program works, its eligibility requirements, and how an applicant can use the program’s funds.
The website also includes a directory of participating local banking institutions and mortgage companies (below are the organizations listed on January 24, please see the www.vislice.com/lenders website as information may change over time).
National Heritage Areas (NHA) are places where historic, cultural, and natural resources combine to form cohesive, nationally important landscapes. There has been only 21 areas in the US with this designation, and we are so excited to hear that St. Croix has been added in 2023! For nearly 20 years, many individuals, community groups, and stakeholders have worked tirelessly to achieve this designation according to Congresswomen Plaskett who first introduced legislation for the St. Croix National Heritage Area Act two years ago.
Congresswomen Plaskett announced in a press release on January 6, 2023:
“I am tremendously pleased to announce that President Biden signed S.1942, the National Heritage Area Act, which includes the designation of St. Croix as a National Heritage Area, into law on January 5, 2023. The effort to achieve this designation started with former Congresswoman Donna M. Christensen in 2003 with a bill to authorize a feasibility study for the NHA designation on St. Croix.
“The Virgin Islands State Historic Preservation Office is the local coordinating entity and will oversee and develop programs and projects that recognize, protect, and enhance important resource values in the Heritage Area. The National Heritage Area designation provides funding to develop recreational and educational opportunities to inform and engage our youth on the heritage of St. Croix.
“Before signing this legislation there were only 21 areas in the United States designated as National Heritage Areas. This is a tremendous boon for our beautiful, culturally rich home and an honor to our ancestors.”
