Ten Tax Tips for Individuals Selling Their Home

Sunday, August 21, 2011

The Internal Revenue Service has some important information to share with individuals who have sold or are about to sell their home. If you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may qualify to exclude all or part of that gain from your income. Here are ten tips from the IRS to keep in mind when selling your home.

  1. 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.
  2. 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).
  3. You are not eligible for the exclusion if you excluded the gain from the sale of another home during the two-year period prior to the sale of your home.
  4. If you can exclude all of the gain, you do not need to report the sale on your tax return.
  5. 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.
  6. You cannot deduct a loss from the sale of your main home.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. If you received the first-time homebuyer credit and within 36 months of the date of purchase, the property is no longer used as your principal residence, you are required to repay the credit. Repayment of the full credit is due with the income tax return for the year the home ceased to be your principal residence, using Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit. The full amount of the credit is reflected as additional tax on that year’s tax return.
  10. When you move, be sure to update your address with the IRS and the U.S. Postal Service to ensure you receive refunds or correspondence from the IRS. Use Form 8822, Change of Address, to notify the IRS of your address change.

Long term mortgage interest rates are NOT based on the 10 year note

Do you know what long term [tag]mortgage[/tag] [tag]interest rates[/tag] are based on? The only correct answer is Mortgage Backed Securities or Mortgage Bonds. They are NOT based on the 10-year Treasury Note, the stock market, or the prime rate. While the 10-year Treasury Note sometimes trends in the same direction as [tag]Mortgage Bonds[/tag], it is not unusual to see them move in completely opposite directions. Be sure that you are working with a lender who is tracking the correct index. Interest rates are still at historic lows (50 year low)!! It may be time to look at your refinance.

End of Summer Close-out Sale (Now studio’s & 1 bdrm’s almost sold-out)

Friday, August 19, 2011

See more details about Wildhorse

Summer is fleeting, and so are the opportunities at First Tracks. After 35 successful sales in the past two years, only 12 residences remain. Now’s the perfect time to purchase at First Tracks with great financing options and some of the best residences still available. Just Released: New Close-out pricing starting from: MLS# 132314 Studio - $119 (only 3 remain) MLS# 132312 1 Bedroom - $199K (ONE left!) MLS# 132315 2 Bedroom - $299K

See more details about Wildhorse

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