i have a home in florida, i bought the house in 2003, i rent in connecticut, i am selling it. do i have to pay

Question

do i have pay capital gains after i sell my property or at tax time ?

Answer 1

at tax time!

Answer 2

If you can't avoid the capital gains tax on a standard sale due to it not qualifying as a primary residence, you should look into a "1031 exchange".

What that means is, you never touch the proceeds of the sale, it gets sent to "a qualified intermediary", and is used to purchase "like kind property". i.e., if it was a home, you buy another home. This has the benefit of deferring the capital gains to when you sell the new home, which you may or may not have to pay on it anyway.

The new property has to be identified within a relatively short period of time, and it does take a little extra time to set up the exchange, so you can't really leave this to the last minute. Other than the cost of the intermediary, there's no penalty for setting up an exchange and not completing the other half of the deal in time.

Send me an email and I'll give you my phone number if you want some specifics. I happen to be a connecticut lawyer that concentrates on real estate.

Answer 3

If you didn't live in the house for 2 of 5 years, it is not a primary residence. therefore you will need to pay capital gains taxes when you file your taxes in april. (unless you are 1031 exchanging it)
If you did live in it 2 of 5 years(doesn't have to be consecutive), you can claim 250k exemption if you're single or $500k married.

Answer 4

There are a lot of other questions better answered by your accountant or tax attorney. I take it CT is your primary residence? Is Fl your primary reisdence and your moving to CT or was FL a vacation home? Your a certain amount of gains on your sale $250,000(500,000 if married) if it is your primary residence. If your moving from Fl to CT you might not ahve to pay anything at all. Best thing to do is check with an accountant.