Company: PEB
Filing Date: 2025-02-26
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001474098-25-000039
Chunk: 116

Company: Pebblebrook Hotel Trust
Filing Date: 2025-02-26
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 116
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 will fail to qualify as a REIT. Each of the hotel management companies that enter into a management contract with our TRS lessees must qualify as an “eligible independent contractor” under the REIT rules in order for the rent paid to us by our TRS lessees to be qualifying income for purposes of the REIT gross income tests. Among other requirements, in order to qualify as an eligible independent contractor a manager must not own, directly or through its shareholders, more than 35 percent of our outstanding shares, taking into account certain ownership attribution rules. The ownership attribution rules that apply for purposes of these 35 percent thresholds are complex. Although we intend to monitor ownership of our shares by our hotel managers and their owners, there can be no assurance that these ownership levels will not be exceeded. 

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Dividends payable by REITs do not qualify for the reduced tax rates available for some dividends. 

The maximum U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income payable to certain non-corporate U.S. shareholders is 20 percent. Dividends payable by REITs, however, generally are not eligible for the reduced qualified dividend rates. For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2026, non-corporate taxpayers may deduct up to 20 percent of certain pass-through business income, including “qualified REIT dividends” (generally, dividends received by a REIT shareholder that are not designated as capital gain dividends or qualified dividend income), subject to certain limitations, resulting in an effective maximum U.S. federal income tax rate of 29.6 percent on such income. Although the reduced U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income does not adversely affect the taxation of REITs or dividends payable by REITs, the more favorable rates applicable to regular corporate qualified dividends and the reduced corporate tax rate could cause certain non-corporate investors to perceive investments in REITs to be relatively less attractive than investments in the stocks of non-REIT corporations that pay dividends, which could adversely affect the value of the shares of REITs, including our shares.

Complying with REIT requirements may limit our ability to hedge our liabilities effectively and may cause us to incur tax liabilities. 

The REIT provisions of the Code substantially limit our ability to hedge our liabilities. Any income from a properly identified hedging transaction we enter into to manage risk of interest rate changes, price changes or currency fluctuations with respect to borrowings made or to be made to acquire or carry