In most cases, your home is exempt
The single biggest asset many people have is their home, and depending on the real estate market, a homeowner might realize a huge capital gain on a sale. The good news is that the tax code allows you to exclude some or all of such a gain from capital gains tax, as long as you meet three conditions:
- You owned the home for a total of at least two years in the five-year period before the sale.
- You used the home as your primary residence for a total of at least two years in that same five-year period.
- You haven't excluded the gain from another home sale in the two-year period before the sale.
If you meet these conditions, you can exclude up to $250,000 of your gain if you're single, $500,000 if you're married filing jointly.
Length of ownership matters
If you sell an asset after owning it for more than a year, any gain you have is a "long-term" capital gain. If you sell an asset you've owned for a year or less, though, it's a "short-term" capital gain. How much your gain is taxed depends on how long you owned the asset before selling.
- The tax bite from short-term gains is significantly larger than that from long-term gains - typically 10-20% higher.
- This difference in tax treatment is one of the advantages a "buy-and-hold" investment strategy has over a strategy that involves frequent buying and selling, as in day trading.
- People in the lowest tax brackets usually don't have to pay any tax on long-term capital gains. The difference between short and long term, then, can literally be the difference between taxes and no taxes.
Capital losses can offset capital gains
As anyone with much investment experience can tell you, things don't always go up in value. They go down, too. If you sell something for less than its basis, you have a capital loss. Capital losses from investments—but not from the sale of personal property—can be used to offset capital gains.
- If you have $50,000 in long-term gains from the sale of one stock, but $20,000 in long-term losses from the sale of another, then you may only be taxed on $30,000 worth of long-term capital gains.
- $50,000 - $20,000 = $30,000 long-term capital gains
If capital losses exceed capital gains, you may be able to use the loss to offset up to $3,000 of other income. If you have more than $3,000 in excess capital losses, the amount over $3,000 can be carried forward to future years to offset capital gains or income in those years.
You typically do not benefit from any special tax rate on short-term capital gains. Instead, these profits are usually taxed at the same rate as your ordinary income. This tax rate is based on your income and filing status.
2020 Long-Term Capital Gains Tax Rates
Tax Rate
0%15%20%
Filing StatusTaxable Income
SingleUp to $40,000$40,001 to $441,450Over $441,450
Head of householdUp to $53,600$53,601 to $469,050Over $469,050
Married filing jointlyUp to $80,000$80,000 to $496,600Over $496,600
Married filing separatelyUp to $40,000$40,001 to $248,301Over $248,301
