Can I deduct improvements made to a house I sold in '06, and do I have to pay taxes on profits from the sale?

Question

I sold my primary residence in 2006, for $125,000 and bought a new house for $205,000 in the same month. I used 75% of the profits from the sale ($30,000) as the down payment for the new place. My question is twofold. Do I have to pay taxes on the profit I made from the sale of my house, and secondly, can I deduct the improvements I made on that house, such as appliances, bathroom remodeling, etc.?

Answer 1

The profit from the sale of your primary residence is a Capital Gain, as long as you reinvested that in a new residence within 24 months it is not taxable. It doesn't matter what down payment was. As to improvements in your old house, they are not deductible. Those were Capital Improvements and increase you basis. Lets say you purchased the house for $125,000 and remodeled your kitchen for $12,000, you now have a capital investment of $137,000 (repairs and maintenance are not capital improvements). This only becomes important if you are subject to tax on your capital gain.
You may want to talk to an accountant, even if the sale of your home is not taxable, it does have to be reported on your tax return.

( I DID SAY PRIMARY RESIDENCE NOT PROPERTY)

Answer 2

You can no longer roll over a gain on the sale of your house into a new property. That provision went away over 10 years ago. The current rule is that if you owned AND used the house sold as your principal residence for at least 2 years out of the previous 5 (counting back from the date of sale), you can exclude the first $250,000 ($500,000 if filing jointly) of the gain on the sale from tax. If the house sale was a result of a move due to work, then you can still exclude a portion of the gain even if you do not meet the 2 year use test.

Improvements made on your new house is not deductible, unless the house was income producing property (i.e. rental). In that instance, the appliances would be depreciated over 7 years, and capital improvements such as the bathroom remodeling would be depreciated over 27.5 years (for residential rentals, 39 years for commercial property). For the case of your principal residence, the cost of the improvements would be factored into your basis in the property in determining your taxable gain in the future when you sell the property.

Answer 3

The profit from the sale of your primary residence is a Capital Gain, as long as you reinvested that in a new residence within 24 months it is not taxable. It doesn't matter what down payment was. As to improvements in your old house, they are not deductible. Those were Capital Improvements and increase you basis. Lets say you purchased the house for $125,000 and remodeled your kitchen for $12,000, you now have a capital investment of $137,000 (repairs and maintenance are not capital improvements). This only becomes important if you are subject to tax on your capital gain.
You may want to talk to an accountant, even if the sale of your home is not taxable, it does have to be reported on your tax return.

****************************************************************
U CAN HAVE SUM EXITING COUPONS FOR YOU GO THROUGH ITTTTTTTTTT

Answer 4

No taxes on anything. You replaced the primary residence with another.

www.IRS.gov
Forms, Schedules - INSTRUCTIONS - AND SEARCH SECTION.

You did not make a profit - see residential real estate - replaced primary residence with another.
Down payment has nothing to do with the IRS regulations.
Major improvements increase the basis of the old house.
That is gone forever because you have the basis for the new home.

The basis for your new primary residence home is the purchase price of $205,000.


CPA-retired
MBA-Boston Univ.

GOD bless us.

Answer 5

If you lived in the home as your primary residence for at least two years of the five years immediately prior to the sale, and owned it for two of those same years, the first $250,000 of gain would not be taxable ($500,000 if married filing joint). It doesn't matter whether or not you bought another home, or what you used the proceeds for. The rules on this changed a few years back, and you are benefitting from those changes. So if you meet these conditions, there's nothing to claim, either on gain from sale, nor deductions for the espenses you had.

If you lived there less than two years but moved because of job or health reasons, you might be able to take a prorated exclusion, and that would probably cover your gain.

Answer 6

Nope - you get a standard deduction. $125k for individual; $250k for spouse & individual. It doesn't matter what you did with the money, but can only take the deduction once every 5 years (can pro-rate for special circumstances) and it has to be your primary residence.

You don't pay any tax on your capital gain up to $125k if you haven't used the deduction. You bought the property for $85k made $5k of improvements and sold it for $125k, you have a capital gain of $35k, which is under the total allowed deduction.

Answer 7

If you were in the house for more then 24 months that sold you do not have to pay capital gains taxes on that, and as far as the improvements you cant write those off unless its an income producing property (investment, duplex etc.) hope this helps

Answer 8

Part one - no. The gain on the sale of a residence (less than $250K or $500K for a joint return) is no longer taxable. Part two - also no. If the income is not taxable, you don't get to deduct the expenses (although if it were not a principal residence it's a whole 'nother ball game).

Answer 9

Generally, home repairs are not deductible. Major repairs could add to your basis in your home. New carpet and a new roof are examples of major repairs.The following site will give u full information.

Answer 10

You will have pretty complex return. I suggest you hire a CPA to do your return. They'll make sure that it's done right.