Selling my house

[Walker1939]

If I sell my house bought in 1996 - will I have to pay taxes on it?

[jkellett2]

There are several factors that go into the determination of whether you will have to pay taxes on the gain of the sale of your primary home.

You bought you home in 1996 and I presume you have lived in it during that time.  If so then you would meet the qualifications for the Exclusion for Gain on the Sale of your Primary Home.  If you file single the exclusion amount is $250,000, if filing Married Filing Jointly, the exclusion amount is $500,000.  

As long as the gain on the sale of the home is below those amounts, there will be no taxable income from the sale of the home.

[maureencpa]

It depends on a few things:

• Did you make a profit on the sale?  You will need to calculated a profit  including original cost plus improvements plus selling cost.  The total of these amounts will be deducted from the sale price of the home. 
• You have been in your home for many years,  if there is a profit you will be able to exclude up to $500,000 if married or $250,000 if single.   If there is a profit left after the exemption you may have a tax liability depending on your other income, deductions, etc.

The following provides more information on this:

https://ttlc.intuit.com/turbotax-support/en-us/help-article/homeowner-tax-credits-deductions/selling...