CAPITAL GAINS TAX - HELP!

Re: CAPITAL GAINS TAX - HELP!
Rob: I wouldn't want you to think that everyone is ignoring you, but that is the only kind of reassurance I can offer. I'm an attorney, but two things I have never touched are real estate law and tax law, so I have absolutely no clue what's going on here. It sounds like you need to consult an accountant more than a lawyer. I don't know if there are any CPA's on A2K.

Good luck.

I believe roger and Rae are CPAs.

Oh, and welcome to A2K, Rob! :-D

What is it about the IRS, sheesh. The only thing I know about capital gains and house sales is that you can deduct certain home improvements from the total - but not home maintenance costs.

For example: Adding a bathroom improves the property while paying a gazillion dollars for a plumber to fix the old one is not even if it is an improvement.

Roger just has an associate degree in accounting, and this one is out of my depth. Sorry.

Maybe Mac11 or PaL?

Oops, sorry roger. Well, you'll always be a CPA to me. :-D

At one time (it may still exist) there was a rule that if you were over 55 and used the proceeds of a home sale to purchase a new home, you could exclude up to $125,000 of the gain from capital gains. This was a one time opportunity.

The exclusion for those over 55 was done away with in 1997 I think. But I do not know how that effects not re-investing the capital gains from real estate sales. At one time the only way to avoid the capital gains unless you were 55 was to re-invest all of the moneyt in a porperty of higher value.

Tax law is so confusing - a government plot I do believe.

Try this link to IRS - I do not know if it will help but it might lead you somewhere.

Sale of Residence