Deed in lieu no income

[gmhigbee]

I read a response that stated "With a deed in lieu of foreclosure, any forgiven loan amount that is more than the value of the property will be considered taxable income and you should expect to receive a form 1099-C for cancellation of debt"

We have the opposite, the value of the property is MORE than the foreclosure. It does not seem using the reasons on form 982 are applicable to us.  I've been told by numerous people that there should be no taxes owed since we had no income but TT is calculating that we owe taxes on the entire foreclosed amount.  At this point I'm not sure what to do.

[Anita01]

You would not fill out a 982 for this.  Doesn't the mortgage company plan to send you any excess over loan balance when they sell the property?  was this a primary residence?

[gmhigbee]

No excess monies were sent to us.  A simple transfer of the deed and yes it was our primary

[Anita01]

Is there a checkmark in Box 5?

[Anita01]

I'm assuming you received a 1099-C?

[gmhigbee]

Yes 1099C was received

[Anita01]

Box 5 checked?

[gmhigbee]

Yes box 5 was marked because the lender told me that we at one time we were financially responsible for the loan.  No money transferred hands

[Anita01]

thanks, will come back to finish answer in a short while

[Anita01]

deleted

[Anita01 · Accepted solution]

In your case,since this was recourse debt,you are considered to have sold the property for the Fair Market value of the property as shown on the 1099-C.  The difference between the Fair Market value on the 1099-C and your cost basis is considered a capital gain.  You would enter all this as the sale of your home, and can exclude gain on up to $500,000 for a married joint couple,if you owned and lived in the house for 2 years prior to the "sale".  Keep the 1099-C for future reference but enter all the amounts under Sale of Home.

[gmhigbee]

Ok great, thank you for that. I have now entered it as a sale and TT is showing the taxable portion of the difference of 400,000 and 331,000  I had previously filled in the Misc  income cancellation of debt portion for 1099C in TT.  When I go to edit there is no option for me not to include it.   How do I work around that?

[Anita01]

If you go back through that interview and delete each entry, you should then be able to say you didn't receive one.

[gmhigbee]

I was able to take the 1099C portion out and went thru all the questions that shows that the gains are to be excluded, but when I look at the income page it still shows the amount.  Is that normal?  Showing the # does not mean that it is taxable correct?

[Anita01]

If you mean on an income summary page, it does not mean it's taxable.