Tax Breaks for Home Sellers

Almost everybody has heard about the $7,500 tax credit for first-time home buyers, but what about tax breaks for home sellers?

Sellers get the best break of all -- a $250,000 exclusion for single filers and up to $500,000 for married couples who file joint returns. This means if a husband and wife own a home with a tax basis of $250,000, they can sell that home for $750,000 (without an allocation for expenses) and not pay a penny to the Internal Revenue Service. That's sweet. And they can take this exclusion every two years.

But what happens if that same $250,000 home sells for a million bucks? How is the tax figured on the profit then? How much is excluded? Or, let's say that $250,000 home sells for $1,200,000 with all the furnishings. How is the personal furniture taxed? Is there a tax? Julian Block, our favorite tax lawyer, has the answers for you . . . read more about Home Selling Tax Breaks.

More Articles from Julian Block:

• Tax Breaks for Turning Your Home Into a Rental
  
• How to Write Off Uninsured Home Losses
  
• Tax Consequences for Home Businesses

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