Capital Gains Tax - Community Forum (2024)

FAQs

Are there any loopholes for capital gains tax? ›

Use a 1031 exchange for real estate

Internal Revenue Code section 1031 provides a way to defer the capital gains tax on the profit you make on the sale of a rental property by rolling the proceeds of the sale into a new property.

A few options to legally avoid paying capital gains tax on investment property include buying your property with a retirement account, converting the property from an investment property to a primary residence, utilizing tax harvesting, and using Section 1031 of the IRS code for deferring taxes.

Here's how it works: Taxpayers can claim a full capital gains tax exemption for their principal place of residence (PPOR). They also can claim this exemption for up to six years if they move out of their PPOR and then rent it out. There are some qualifying conditions for leaving your principal place of residence.

Sale of your principal residence. We conform to the IRS rules and allow you to exclude, up to a certain amount, the gain you make on the sale of your home. You may take an exclusion if you owned and used the home for at least 2 out of 5 years. In addition, you may only have one home at a time.

Billionaires (usually) don't sell valuable stock. So how do they afford the daily expenses of life, whether it's a new pleasure boat or a social media company? They borrow against their stock. This revolving door of credit allows them to buy what they want without incurring a capital gains tax.

Capital Gains Tax for People Over 65. For individuals over 65, capital gains tax applies at 0% for long-term gains on assets held over a year and 15% for short-term gains under a year. Despite age, the IRS determines tax based on asset sale profits, with no special breaks for those 65 and older.

As long as you lived in the property as your primary residence for 24 months within the five years before the home's sale, you can qualify for the capital gains tax exemption. And if you're married and filing jointly, only one spouse needs to meet this requirement.

It is generally paid when your taxes are filed for the given tax year, not immediately upon selling an asset. Working with a financial advisor can help optimize your investment portfolio to minimize capital gains tax.

Do I have to buy another house to avoid capital gains? ›

You can avoid capital gains tax when you sell your primary residence by buying another house and using the 121 home sale exclusion. In addition, the 1031 like-kind exchange allows investors to defer taxes when they reinvest the proceeds from the sale of an investment property into another investment property.

To limit capital gains taxes, you can invest for the long-term, use tax-advantaged retirement accounts, and offset capital gains with capital losses.

For the 2024 tax year, individual filers won't pay any capital gains tax if their total taxable income is $47,025 or less. The rate jumps to 15 percent on capital gains, if their income is $47,026 to $518,900. Above that income level the rate climbs to 20 percent.

Is there a way to avoid capital gains tax on the selling of a house? You will avoid capital gains tax if your profit on the sale is less than $250,000 (for single filers) or $500,000 (if you're married and filing jointly), provided it has been your primary residence for at least two of the past five years.

This means that if you sell your home for a gain of less than $250,000 (or $500,000 if married, filing jointly), you will not be obligated to pay capital gains tax on that amount.

Reinvest in new property

The like-kind (aka "1031") exchange is a popular way to bypass capital gains taxes on investment property sales. With this transaction, you sell an investment property and buy another one of similar value. By doing so, you can defer owing capital gains taxes on the first property.