I sold and bought a house in 2011. The house I bought in 1999 was 247,000 with all settlement cost and I sold same house in Jan. 2011 for 627,000. I got a divorce in 2010 and had to sell the house in 2011 because I could no longer afford the mortgage payments after the divorced. I bought a house in NC for 113,000 cash in June 2011. I had approx. 20,725.00 in income in 2011 which includes soc. security benefits, pension benefits and final independent contractor income. I am totally retired. Can you tell me if I have to pay capital gains tax. I am now single and have no dependents as my children are all grown and work for themselves.
Already Tried: nothing
OK if the house you sold was legally titled to you and your ex-spouse did not share in the gain or proceeds then you can exclude up to 250K of the gain on sale. (it would be 500K if your ex-spouse was also legally titled to the house)
(This is assuming that the home was your primary residence for 2 out of 5 years prior to the date of sale.)
Since your total gain is 380,000 you will have a taxable gain of 180,000. The tax rate on this gain will be 15% since it would be a long term capital gain.
I hope I have provided the clarity you were looking for, please let me know if you have any further questions.
Best regards,
Sorry, the gain is 130K not, 180K.
does that mean i have to pay 15% of that? or what can i deduct from that? does my income have anything to do with that 15% amount i have to pay back?
Yes, that means you would have to pay 15% of the gain. Generally you can deduct the cost of sales and other significant improvements you made to the property such as a new roof, driveway, etc. These improvements would increase your "cost basis."
Your income would have something to do with the 15% tax rate but only if your total income was less than 46,250. Since your total income is the 20,725 + the gain amount you will be subject to the 15% rate as you exceed 46,250.
I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any further questions.
Experience: Professional in capital gains and finance related questions
So are you saying it does not matter if we were married most of the 12 yrs? What about my salary? for the year 2011? How does MY income relate to capital gains? Does that matter that I made so little money? Does it matter that I had to sell the house because of my divorce?
So are you saying it does not matter if we were married most of the 12 yrs? - this is correct. Depending on who owns the home will derive the gain exclusion. If you both own it then the gain which can be excluded in total could be 500K (250 for you and 250 for your ex-spouse)
What about my salary? for the year 2011? How does MY income relate to capital gains? Does that matter that I made so little money? Does it matter that I had to sell the house because of my divorce? - Unfortunately it does not matter that you had to sell the home as a result of the divorce. There are no tax breaks for that. Your salary and capital gains make up your "adjusted gross income" (AGI). Your AGI less your standard deduction (or itemized deductions) less your personal exemptions make up your taxable income. Your taxable income is what determines whether or not capital gains are taxable. If your taxable income is less than 34.5K (for 2011) then the gains would be tax free. In your case, since your gain itself is well over 34.5K it will be taxable.
Best,