Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Capital Gains Tax - When does it come into play

By Dan Henn


It's tax season and folks are thinking about numerous sorts of rebates ranging from the interest paid on loans to credits for property taxes. What you may not know nonetheless , is that selling your house might also help in cutting your taxes.

People learn about capital gains taxes from property sales. What they don't realize is that you can profit from the sale of a first residence to the tune of $250,000 (single filing) or $500,000 if your married and file jointly. Property consultants should be educating sellers about this since it lessens a huge worry.

This option came about thanks to the Taxpayer Relief act (1997). Part of this law lightened the capital gains tax, granting relief to literally millions of home sellers. The exclusion sums noted previously are pre-sale, and it makes it much easier to sell a place, while nicely decreasing mounds of paperwork that used to accompany Capital Gains reporting.

If you were ignorant of the Taxpayer Relief act and slipped back on the old ways of handling Capital Gains - you've got no worries. If you sold your home after 1997, the law still applies to you can you can claim the exemption. The ensuing funds can be employed in any demeanour you deem appropriate, while before it was important to apply them to the purchase of another residence.

If you are someone that moves a good deal , the new law won't impede your utilization of the sales exemption even if you buy and sell 20 houses. You can keep making tax-free profit on each sale provided it's under the exemption limits.

Here are 1 or 2 rules to the Capital Gains Tax exemption you need to remember. You can't take part in 'flipping ' houses. The one time the relief act is applicable to a place sale is when it is your primary residence - meaning you live there. You don't get an exemption from investment property unless you transform it into your first residence and live there for no less than 2 years. For those that spend part of the year in a second home, you can still total the time you live in the house that you are intending to sell. That two year period can take place any time during the five years before the house went on sale.

One or two other small technicalities: so as to enjoy the benefits of the Relief act, there should be a 2 year period between house sales. Additionally , as a couple it is not mandatory for both folks to have lived in the house for two years. For instance, if Sally marries Harry who already owns a home that he's lived in for a year, so a year from now he could sell the home and qualify for the exclusion. The only limit to this, again, is that neither Sally nor Harry used the exemption in the last 2 years.

Traversing the waters of Capital Gains taxes can get a little muddy. When you find yourself uncertain as to the simple way to proceed, contact a tax specialist who knows the legal issues and will help you manage your home sale better.




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