Ten Tax Tips for Individuals Selling Their Home
Ten Tax Tips for Individuals Selling Their Home
The Internal Revenue Service has some important information for those who have sold or are about to sell their home. If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may be able to exclude all or part of that gain from your income.
Here are 10 tips from the IRS to keep in mind when selling your home:
- In general, you are eligible to exclude the gain from income if you have owned and used your home as your main home for two years out of the five years prior to the date of its sale.
- If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain from your income ($500,000 on a joint return in most cases).
- You are not eligible for the full exclusion if you excluded the gain from the sale of another home during the two-year period prior to the sale of your home.
- If you can exclude all of the gain, you do not need to report the sale of your home on your tax return.
- If you have a gain that cannot be excluded, it is taxable. You must report it on Form 1040, Schedule D, Capital Gains and Losses.
- You cannot deduct a loss from the sale of your main home.
- Worksheets are included in Publication 523, Selling Your Home, to help you figure the adjusted basis of the home you sold, the gain (or loss) on the sale, and the gain that you can exclude. Most tax software can also help with this calculation.
- If you have more than one home, you can exclude a gain only from the sale of your main home. You must pay tax on the gain from selling any other home. If you have two homes and live in both of them, your main home is ordinarily the one you live in most of the time.
- Special rules may apply when you sell a home for which you received the first-time homebuyer credit. See Publication 523, Selling Your Home, for details.
- When you move, be sure to update your address with the IRS and the U.S. Postal Service to ensure you receive mail from the IRS. Use Form 8822,Change of Address, to notify the IRS of your address change.
For more information about selling your home,see IRS Publication 523, Selling Your Home.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
We hope you found this article about “Ten Tax Tips for Individuals Selling Their Home” helpful. If you have questions or need expert tax or family office advice that’s refreshingly objective (we never sell investments), please contact us or visit our Family office page or our website at www.GROCO.com. Unfortunately, we no longer give advice to other tax professionals gratis.
To receive our free newsletter, contact us here.
Subscribe our YouTube Channel for more updates.
Alan Olsen, is the Host of the American Dreams Show and the Managing Partner of GROCO.com. GROCO is a premier family office and tax advisory firm located in the San Francisco Bay area serving clients all over the world.
Alan L. Olsen, CPA, Wikipedia Bio
GROCO.com is a proud sponsor of The American Dreams Show.
The American Dreams show was the brainchild of Alan Olsen, CPA, MBA. It was originally created to fill a specific need; often inexperienced entrepreneurs lacked basic information about raising capital and how to successfully start a business.
Alan sincerely wanted to respond to the many requests from aspiring entrepreneurs asking for the information and introductions they needed. But he had to find a way to help in which his venture capital clients and friends would not mind.
The American Dreams show became the solution, first as a radio show and now with YouTube videos as well. Always respectful of interview guest’s time, he’s able to give access to individuals information and inspiration previously inaccessible to the first-time entrepreneurs who need it most.
They can listen to venture capitalists and successful business people explain first-hand, how they got to where they are, how to start a company, how to overcome challenges, how they see the future evolving, opportunities, work-life balance and so much more..
American Dreams discusses many topics from some of the world’s most successful individuals about their secrets to life’s success. Topics from guest have included:
Creating purpose in life / Building a foundation for their life / Solving problems / Finding fulfillment through philanthropy and service / Becoming self-reliant / Enhancing effective leadership / Balancing family and work…
MyPaths.com (Also sponsored by GROCO) provides free access to content and world-class entrepreneurs, influencers and thought leaders’ personal success stories. To help you find your path in life to true, sustainable success & happiness. It’s mission statement:
In an increasingly complex and difficult world, we hope to help you find your personal path in life and build a strong foundation by learning how others found success and happiness. True and sustainable success and happiness are different for each one of us but possible, often despite significant challenges.
Our mission at MyPaths.com is to provide resources and firsthand accounts of how others found their paths in life, so you can do the same.
What’s the Biggest Mistake Young Investors Make?
What’s the Biggest Mistake Young Investors Make? There are all kinds of investors and there are even more investing strategies. There are also just as many possible mistakes you can make as an investor. Those who’ve been in the stock market a long time have likely seen it all. And if they’ve had any kind of sustainable success…
This Could Be the Year to Stop Itemizing Your Deductions
This Could Be the Year to Stop Itemizing Your Deductions Tax season is just about here again. That means millions of people are getting ready to gather up all their financial information for the year 2018 and file their returns. This year will be like no other, thanks to the Tax Cut and Jobs Act. One of…
Why Are Wealthy Families Turning Their Noses on Hedge Funds?
Why Are Wealthy Families Turning Their Noses on Hedge Funds? Many investors look to see what the wealthy are doing when it comes time to get into the stock market. After all, these investors are wealthy because they’ve played the market right. For years, many of the wealthiest investors in the country have hedged their…
These Two Phrases Are Signs of Weak Leadership
These Two Phrases Are Signs of Weak Leadership Good leaders and bad leaders have many differences. Effective leaders tend to do things well, while ineffective leaders often don’t. However, it’s interesting to note that both kinds of leaders make mistakes. No one is perfect. What sets these two kinds of leaders apart is how they…