A qualified personal residence trust, often shortened to QPRT, is reviewed when a homeowner wants to transfer a residence into an irrevocable trust while keeping the right to live there for a fixed term. It is a specialized planning tool because the tax rules focus on residences, retained occupancy rights, and how the transfer is valued.
Last reviewed: March 9, 2026
Reviewed against: trust and estate planning references listed on the sources page.
Publisher: Larry Trustee AI Editorial Team | hello@larrytrustee.ai
The home is transferred into the trust, the retained term is defined, and the grantor keeps the right to use the property during that term. If the term is completed, the remainder interest passes under the trust design. Because of that retained-interest structure, QPRTs are usually compared with other irrevocable planning tools rather than simple living trusts.
QPRTs are specialized because the grantor must consider survival during the retained term, the rules around continuing to occupy the home after the term ends, and whether the residence fits the narrow use requirements of the trust. If the structure is not handled carefully, the expected planning result may not be achieved.
A qualified personal residence trust, or QPRT, is an irrevocable trust reviewed when someone wants to transfer a residence while retaining the right to live there for a set term.
Yes. The retained occupancy term is one of the defining features of a QPRT, subject to the trust design and tax rules.
A QPRT involves residence-only rules, retained-interest valuation, survival risk, and post-term occupancy planning.