Hi ~
We are moving to a town 70+ miles away for a new job in town B. In order to keep the for sale home that we loved in town B, we are purchasing it while still selling our current home in town A. The town A real estate market is going well and we do not foresee having it listed for long. We have been in our current town A home 8 months. Will we have to pay a capital gains tax on our town A home when it sells? It is likely to sell close to the purchase price that we bought it for.
I saw that moving due to a job is a help to this issue. We have also made improvements and will be closer to a health facility that is useful for our family.
I always file our taxes myself using self-employed and am worried about recording this correctly and also putting us under water with the capital gains issue we didn't know about before!
Any help would be appreciated! Thank you! 😁
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Here is some info I found... I wasn't sure what partial eligibility meant in this case and how to record all of that.
https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/taxes/selling-home-capital-gains-tax/
- See whether you qualify for an exception. If you have a taxable gain on the sale of your home, you might still be able to exclude some of it if you sold the house because of work, health or “an unforeseeable event,” according to the IRS. Check IRS Publication 523for details.
- Keep the receipts for your home improvements. “The cost basis of your home not only includes what you paid to purchase it, but all of the improvements you’ve made over the years,” says Steven Weil, an enrolled agent and president at RMS Accounting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. When your cost basis is higher, your exposure to the capital gains tax is lower. Remodels, expansions, new windows, landscaping, fences, new driveways, air conditioning installs — they’re all examples of things that can cut your capital gains tax, he says.
Does Your Home Qualify for a Partial Exclusion of Gain?
If you don't meet the Eligibility Test, you may still qualify for a partial exclusion of gain. You can meet the requirements for a partial exclusion if the main reason for your home sale was a change in workplace location, a health issue, or an unforeseeable event.
Work-Related Move
You meet the requirements for a partial exclusion if any of the following events occurred during your time of ownership and residence in the home.
- You took or were transferred to a new job in a work location at least 50 miles farther from the home than your old work location. For example, your old work location was 15 miles from the home and your new work location is 65 miles from the home.
- You had no previous work location and you began a new job at least 50 miles from the home.
- Either of the above is true of your spouse, a co-owner of the home, or anyone else for whom the home was his or her residence.
Health-Related Move
You meet the requirements for a partial exclusion if any of the following health-related events occurred during your time of ownership and residence in the home.
- You moved to obtain, provide, or facilitate diagnosis, cure, mitigation, or treatment of disease, illness, or injury for yourself or a family member.
- You moved to obtain or provide medical or personal care for a family member suffering from a disease, illness, or injury. Family includes your:
- Parent, grandparent, stepmother, stepfather;
- Child (including adopted child, eligible foster child, and stepchild), grandchild;
- Brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, half-sister;
- Mother-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law;
- Uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece.
- A doctor recommended a change in residence for you because you were experiencing a health problem.
- The above is true of your spouse, a co-owner of the home, or anyone else for whom the home was his or her residence.
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p523#en_US_2016_publink10009003
