{ “@context”: “https://schema.org”, “@type”: “BlogPosting”, “headline”: “The Intrafamily Loan Strategy: How to Be the Bank for Your Kids and Beat Mortgage Rates”, “description”: “A strategic guide to Intrafamily Loans. How to use the IRS Applicable Federal Rate (AFR) to lend money to family members at below-market rates.”, “datePublished”: “2025-12-10”, “dateModified”: “2025-12-10”, “mainEntityOfPage”: { “@type”: “WebPage”, “@id”: “https://bestmoneytip.com/intrafamily-loan-strategy-family-banking” }, “mainEntity”: { “@type”: “FAQPage”, “mainEntity”: [ { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “What is the Applicable Federal Rate (AFR)?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “The AFR is the minimum interest rate the IRS requires on family loans to avoid gift tax. It is typically much lower than commercial mortgage rates.” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Do I have to pay taxes on the interest?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Yes. The lender must report the interest as taxable income. However, the money stays within the family rather than going to a bank.” } }, { “@type”: “Question”, “name”: “Can I forgive the loan later?”, “acceptedAnswer”: { “@type”: “Answer”, “text”: “Yes. You can use your Annual Gift Tax Exclusion ($19,000) to forgive interest or principal each year, converting the loan into a gift over time.” } } ] } } /* Base Layout */ .sbt-container { font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, “Segoe UI”, Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.75; color: #333; max-width: 900px; margin: 0 auto; padding: 0 15px; box-sizing: border-box; } h1 { font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 2.4rem; font-weight: 700; color: #1a1a1a; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; letter-spacing: -0.5px; line-height: 1.2; text-align: center; } /* H2 Center Swoosh (Red) */ h2 { font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.6rem; color: #c0392b; margin-top: 3.5rem; padding-bottom: 0.5rem; position: relative; text-align: center; border-bottom: none !important; } h2::after { content: “”; position: absolute; bottom: 0; left: 50%; transform: translateX(-50%); width: 0%; height: 3px; background: #c0392b; transition: width 1.0s cubic-bezier(0.22, 0.61, 0.36, 1); } h2.is-visible::after { width: 100%; } h3 { font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.3rem; font-weight: 700; color: #2c3e50; margin-top: 2rem; } p { font-size: 1.1rem; margin-bottom: 1.2rem; color: #444; } img { max-width: 100%; height: auto; display: block; margin: 0 auto; } /* Reveal Animation */ .reveal { opacity: 0; transform: translateY(26px); transition: opacity 1.1s ease, transform 1.1s cubic-bezier(.2,.8,.2,1); will-change: opacity, transform; } .reveal.is-visible { opacity: 1; transform: translateY(0); } /* Key Takeaways (Pastel Red) */ .key-takeaways { background: #fdf2f2; color: #333; padding: 1.8rem; border-radius: 4px; margin-bottom: 3rem; border-left: 10px solid #c0392b; } .key-takeaways h3 { color: #c0392b; margin-top: 0; border-bottom: 1px solid #dcdcdc; padding-bottom: 10px; margin-bottom: 1.2rem; } .key-takeaways ul { list-style: none; padding-left: 0; margin: 0; } .key-takeaways li { margin-bottom: 0.8rem; font-size: 1.05rem; font-weight: 500; position: relative; padding-left: 1.5rem; color: #333; } .key-takeaways li::before { content: “➤”; position: absolute; left: 0; color: #c0392b; } /* Scenario Box & Table */ .scenario-box { background: #fff5f5; border-left: 5px solid #c0392b; padding: 1.5rem; margin: 2rem 0; } .scenario-table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin-top: 10px; background: transparent; } .scenario-table th { text-align: center; padding: 8px; color: #c0392b; border-bottom: 2px solid #eecaca; } .scenario-table td { padding: 8px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eecaca; font-size: 0.95rem; text-align: center; } .scenario-result { font-weight: 800; color: #c0392b; padding-top: 15px; display: block; text-align: center; } /* Chart & Tables */ .chart-wrapper { width: 100%; height: 350px; margin: 2.5rem 0 0.5rem; } .table-wrapper { overflow-x: auto; margin: 2.5rem 0; -webkit-overflow-scrolling: touch; } .comparison-table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; min-width: 600px; background: #fff; border-top: 3px solid #c0392b; } .comparison-table th { background: #fff; color: #c0392b; padding: 16px; font-weight: 800; border-bottom: 2px solid #eee; text-align: center; } .comparison-table td { padding: 16px; border-bottom: 1px solid #eee; text-align: center; } /* Action Steps (Red Triangle Kick) */ .action-step { display: flex; align-items: flex-start; background: #fff; padding: 1.2rem; border: 1px solid #eee; margin-bottom: 1.5rem; border-left: 5px solid #c0392b; border-radius: 6px; position: relative; overflow: hidden; transform-origin: center; transition: transform .25s cubic-bezier(.2,.8,.2,1), box-shadow .25s; } .action-step::after { content: “”; position: absolute; bottom: 0; right: 0; width: 0; height: 0; border-style: solid; border-width: 0 0 0 0; border-color: transparent transparent #c0392b transparent; transition: all 0.3s cubic-bezier(0.25, 0.8, 0.25, 1); z-index: 1; } .action-step:hover { transform: translateY(-4px) scale(1.015); box-shadow: 0 14px 28px rgba(0,0,0,0.10); } .action-step:hover::after { border-width: 0 0 50px 50px; } .step-num { background: #c0392b; color: #fff; width: 32px; height: 32px; border-radius: 50%; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; margin-right: 15px; font-weight: bold; flex-shrink: 0; } /* Decision Box */ .decision-box { background: #fff; border: 2px solid #c0392b; padding: 1.5rem; margin: 3rem 0; position: relative; } .decision-box::after { content: “STRATEGIC CONCLUSION”; position: absolute; top: -12px; left: 20px; background: #c0392b; color: #fff; padding: 0 10px; font-size: 0.8rem; font-weight: bold; } /* FAQ (Accordion) */ .faq-box { background: #fff; border: 1px solid #eee; padding: 1.5rem; margin-top: 3rem; } .faq-box details { margin-bottom: 1rem; border-bottom: 1px solid #f0f0f0; padding-bottom: 1rem; } .faq-box details:last-child { border-bottom: none; } .faq-box summary { font-family: Georgia, serif; font-weight: 700; color: #c0392b; cursor: pointer; list-style: none; outline: none; font-size: 1.1rem; } .faq-box summary::-webkit-details-marker { display: none; } .faq-box summary::after { content: “+”; float: right; font-weight: bold; color: #ccc; } .faq-box details[open] summary::after { content: “-“; color: #c0392b; } .faq-box p { margin-top: 10px; font-size: 1rem; color: #555; } /* Related Links (Ribbon) */ .related-box { margin-top: 4rem; padding-top: 2rem; border-top: 2px solid #eee; } .related-list { display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(250px, 1fr)); gap: 1.5rem; } .related-link { display: flex; align-items: center; gap: 15px; padding: 1.2rem; background: #fff; border: 1px solid #eee; border-left: 5px solid #c0392b; text-decoration: none; color: #444; font-weight: 600; font-family: Georgia, serif; transition: all 0.25s ease; position: relative; } .related-link:hover { border-color: #c0392b; background: #fdf2f2; transform: translateY(-2px); } .related-link::after { content: “”; position: absolute; top: -20px; right: 15px; width: 18px; height: 28px; background: #c0392b; border-radius: 0 0 3px 3px; box-shadow: 2px 2px 5px rgba(0,0,0,0.15); opacity: 0; transition: all 0.4s cubic-bezier(0.25, 0.8, 0.25, 1); } .related-link:hover::after { opacity: 1; top: -6px; } .shield-icon { font-size: 1.4rem; color: #c0392b; } .disclaimer { margin-top: 4rem; padding: 1.5rem; background: #fafafa; font-size: 0.85rem; color: #7f8c8d; line-height: 1.6; border-top: 1px solid #eee; font-style: italic; font-family: Georgia, serif; } /* Pro Mode Hidden Logic */ /* .mode-student-only { } */ /* .mode-pro-core { } */ (function() { // [1] Reveal Animation const els = document.querySelectorAll(‘.reveal’); if (‘IntersectionObserver’ in window) { const io = new IntersectionObserver((entries) => { entries.forEach(e => { if (e.isIntersecting) e.target.classList.add(‘is-visible’); }); }, { threshold: 0.1 }); els.forEach(el => io.observe(el)); } else { els.forEach(el => el.classList.add(‘is-visible’)); } // [2] Chart Logic (Bar Chart) const chartEl = document.getElementById(‘chart_family_loan_savings’); window.drawLoanChart = function() { if (!window.google || !google.visualization) return; var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([ [‘Loan Source’, ‘Total Interest Paid ($)’, { role: ‘style’ }, { role: ‘annotation’ }], [‘Commercial Bank’, 697000, ‘#c0392b’, ‘$697k (Lost)’], [‘Family Bank’, 412000, ‘#27ae60’, ‘$412k (Kept)’] ]); var options = { title: ‘Total Interest Cost ($500k, 30 Years)’, titleTextStyle: { color: ‘#2c3e50’, fontSize: 16, bold: true, fontName: ‘Georgia’ }, hAxis: { title: ‘Interest ($)’, minValue: 0, textStyle: { color: ‘#777’ } }, vAxis: { textStyle: { color: ‘#2c3e50’, fontName: ‘Arial’ } }, legend: { position: ‘none’ }, chartArea: { top: 40, width: ‘85%’, height: ‘55%’ }, bar: { groupWidth: ‘60%’ }, colors: [‘#c0392b’, ‘#27ae60’], animation: { startup: true, duration: 1500, easing: ‘out’ } }; new google.visualization.BarChart(chartEl).draw(data, options); }; function loadGoogleCharts() { if (window.google && google.charts) { google.charts.load(‘current’, { packages: [‘corechart’] }); google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(window.drawLoanChart); } else { const s = document.createElement(‘script’); s.src = ‘https://www.gstatic.com/charts/loader.js’; s.async = true; s.onload = function() { google.charts.load(‘current’, { packages: [‘corechart’] }); google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(window.drawLoanChart); }; document.head.appendChild(s); } } if (chartEl) { if (‘IntersectionObserver’ in window) { const ioChart = new IntersectionObserver((entries, obs) => { if (entries[0].isIntersecting) { loadGoogleCharts(); obs.disconnect(); } }, { threshold: 0.1 }); ioChart.observe(chartEl); } else { setTimeout(loadGoogleCharts, 1500); } } let t; window.addEventListener(‘resize’, () => { clearTimeout(t); t = setTimeout(() => { if (window.google && google.visualization) window.drawLoanChart(); }, 250); }); })();