Do I have to pay taxes on property I sold for 15,000.00. if so how long do I have?

Question

This is a house with property....left to me by my grandparents. It was purchased back in the 1950s and I have no idea what they paid for it. It is located in a small isolated coal mining town, little on the poverty side. Really run down as no one had lived in it for years.

This is all happening now in 2007. I've just acquired the property and selling it for 15,000.00.

Answer 1

Depends upon what kind of "property" you're talking about, as well as what you paid for it, and how long you owned it. Details, please!

OK, your basis is the value of the property when it was bequested to you.

Subtract your basis from the net sales price. That's your gain.

If you held the property for less than 1 full year, your gain is taxed at your marginal rate. If you held the property for more than 1 year, it's taxed at the lower long-term capital gains rate of 15%.

Assuming that you sold it during 2006, you list the gain on your 2006 tax return.

Tip: If you acquired the property and disposed of it in 2006, your basis and sales price are probably the same so there would be no gain and no tax due.

Answer 2

What the first answerer said. Basically, if you made a profit on it, you'll have to pay capital gains tax on the profit. The exception is, if the property you sold is a home (it might have to be the home you lived in, not sure), you can defer paying the tax on the profit if you roll the entire sales proceeds into your next house. Eventually, when you sell the property and pocket the profit, you'll have to pay taxes on that profit.

Answer 3

Was it a house or land or something else?
If it was your home, probably not.
If it was not your home you probably will have to pay taxes if you earned a profit on it.

If you owe, you would have to send in your payment by April 16th or 17th this year (depending upon where you live).