Taxpayers Relief Act of 1997 allows you to write off capital gains on a home sale

Before you pay taxes on that home you sold…*

Filed Under Taxpayer relief act of 1997, taxes |

Nobody likes tax time, I know, but I wanted to remind those of you who have sold real estate in the last year that there is good news. Remember the Taxpayers Relief Act of 1997? You probably do, but do you remember what it says about homes sales? Pay attention, because if this was the first home you’d ever sold, you’ll want to know this.

The good news is that you probably don’t have to pay taxes on the profit of the home you sold. The 1997 act states that if your gains didn’t exceed $250,000 if single and $500,000 if married, you pay zero taxes on those gains. None.

The law used to be that you had to rollover your gains into another home, but now you can use that money for whatever you please.

Of course, if you sold a secondary residence that you didn’t live in for two out of the last five years, then you can’ t take advantage of the tax break, but you can if it was your primary residence. Isn’t that great news?

Hopefully now you’re not feeling so bad about tax time.

*My service doesn’t stop here! In addition to maintaining The Salt Lake City, Utah Real Estate Blog, I also help people buy and sell homes. When you need help with either of those, contact me!

If this is your first time here, you might want to subscribe to my RSS feed!

No related posts.