Selling Your Primary Residence and Tax Implications
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Most single homeowners can exempt $250,000 of the profit from the sale of their primary residence, and married couples can exempt $500,000. In the past, that profit had to be re-invested in the purchase of a new home if the sellers were under 55 years of age and could be used only one time if they were over 55. Those restrictions are no longer valid, since 1997, and the profit can be used for anything.
Bankrate.com has an excellent discussion of the capital gains tax implications of selling your primary residence. The link to the article is http://www.bankrate.com/finance/real-estate/capital-gains-home-sale-tax-break-a-boon-for-owners-1.aspx.
Now that the holidays are over, we tend to reevaluate our life situations. Where are we financially? What would we like to do spruce up our living space? Do we, perhaps, want to change our living space entirely, either downsizing to a smaller home or expanding to a larger home? If this describes your situation, take a moment to read the Bankrate article and talk with your accountant, with specific numbers and goals in hand. You may be pleasantly surprised with your options, particularly in the fast-paced Austin housing market.
Of course, we at Sunny Day Real Estate would love to help you sell your home and buy (or rent) that next perfect house for you for this time in your life.
