Tax Implications of Selling Your Home in North Royalton

If you’re selling your home, you likely just want to get it over with and get started on the new chapter in your life in your new home. But hold on – you may have to deal with the tax man. If you made a profit on the sale of your home, you may to pay capital gains taxes. Having some understanding of the pertinent tax rules can help you minimize your tax bill. So let’s take a look at the tax implications of selling your home in North Royalton.

The Likelihood of Paying Taxes on the Sale of Your Home 

If your home as appreciated significantly, as is often the case, you’ll get a large payday when selling your home in North Royalton. But you will also probably owe the IRS money for the profits earned on the sale. For you home is an asset and so is subject to capital gains taxes.

“The biggest question at tax time for someone who recently sold a home is whether they’ll have to pay federal capital gains taxes on the profit. In short, capital gains are the amount of money you make from selling capital assets – property like homes, cars, investments, and other high-value items.”

Consider, too, that home prices rose dramatically between 2020 and 2022. And that means your home probably experienced significant capital gains. So, yes, it’s very likely that you will have to pay taxes when you sell your home.

How Capital Gains Taxes Work

Now, let’s look at how capital gains taxes work and how they apply when selling your home. 

“A capital gains tax is a tax placed on any profits earned when a capital asset is sold. The IRS considers almost everything you own and use for personal or investment purposes to be a capital asset. These taxes are due on the tax deadline after the asset is sold, and it applies to investments like stocks, bonds, and real estate.”

In addition, the IRS has two categories for capital asset gains: short-term gains and long-term gains. When it comes to selling your home, if you’ve lived there for less than a year, you’ll have a short-term gain. If you’ve lived in your home for a year or longer, the gain is considered long-term. When you sell your home, then, “the capital gains tax depends primarily on how long you’ve owned the home and your income.”

“If you have a short-term gain, you’ll be taxed at whatever your normal tax bracket is. A long-term capital gain gets preferential tax treatment and is taxed at a rate of 0%, 15%, 20%, or 28%. These rates vary according to your income and tax filing status. . . . And if you meet certain conditions, you can exclude the first $250,000 to $500,000 from the sale of your home and avoid paying taxes on it altogether.”

How to Avoid Capital Gains Tax

When selling your home, you may indeed be subject to capital gains taxes, but the IRS does allow certain exclusions you may qualify for as a home seller.

According to industry experts, “[i]f you meet certain requirements, you can exclude $250,000 from the sale of your home. That number increases to $500,000 if you’re married and filing jointly.”

For such an exclusion, you’ll have to meet these qualifying criteria . . . 

• “You’ve owned the home for at least two years during the past five years prior to the sale (this doesn’t have to be continuous). If you’re married and filing jointly, only one spouse needs to meet this requirement.”
• The home was your principal residence for a minimum of two of the five years prior to the sale. For those married and filing jointly, both spouses must meet this requirement.
• “You haven’t sold another home during the two years before the sale, or — if you did — you didn’t take the exclusion of gain earned from it.”

If you think you may qualify, be sure to consult a North Royalton agent. To discover more, call (440) 628-1321.

Special Circumstances

Even if you don’t meet the criteria delineated above, you still may be able to claim a full or partial exception on selling your home in North Royalton. The special qualifying circumstances here include . . . 

• Gaining ownership of the home during a separation/divorce
• If your spouse died during your ownership of the home
• Owning a “remainder interest” in the home when selling
• Having your previous home condemned
• Being a service member during your ownership of the home
• Releasing the home in a “like-kind” exchange

Calculating Capital Gains Tax

If, on selling your home, you want to calculate your probable capital gains tax, you will need to determine the cost basis for the home.

The cost basis includes what you spent to buy the home, as well as any money spent on improvements over the years. “For instance, if you purchased a home for $300,000 and spent $50,000 on home improvements, your cost basis is $350,000.”

“From there, you can add up the purchase price of the home, minus certain fees you paid for things like closing costs and the services of a real estate agent. Then you can subtract your cost basis from any money you earned from the sale.” This will yield the amount subject to capital gains tax.

Ways To Defer Capital Gains On Your Home

There are several ways to defer capital gains taxes on the sale of a home, including:

1. 1031 exchange: A 1031 exchange allows you to defer capital gains taxes on the sale of a property by reinvesting the proceeds from the sale into another “like-kind” property. This means that you can defer paying capital gains taxes until you sell the new property, allowing you to use your profits to acquire more valuable properties over time.
2. Opportunity Zones: Investing in Opportunity Zones can also help you defer capital gains taxes. An Opportunity Zone is a designated area in which the government provides tax incentives for investment, and you can defer capital gains taxes by investing in a qualified Opportunity Zone fund within 180 days of selling your property.
3. Installment sale: With an installment sale, you can spread out your capital gains tax liability over several years by allowing the buyer to make payments to you over time instead of paying the entire purchase price up front.
4. Charitable remainder trust: By setting up a charitable remainder trust, you can donate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of your property to a charitable organization and use the remaining funds to invest in another property. This can help you defer capital gains taxes while also benefiting a worthy cause.

It’s important to note that each of these methods has specific rules and requirements, and it’s important to consult with a tax professional or real estate attorney to determine the best strategy for your specific situation.

Get Professional Assistance

If this capital gains tax business seems complex and complicated, that’s because it certainly is. So when selling your home be sure to consult a tax professional and an experienced North Royalton. Your agent can guide you through the basics to help you arrive at the best outcome when you sell your home.

So if you have concerns about the tax implications of selling your home in North Royalton, be sure to contact us at (440) 628-1321.