Capital gains on rental?
5 Replies
Edgar Martin
from Peoria, Arizona
posted over 3 years ago
Hi BP,
I have currently owned my property for 6 years and am curious to know if I rent it out for one year, then sell, will I have to pay capital gains since it's been rented for less than two years? Or, since I have already owned for so long, could I avoid capital gains on renting it even if renting for one year?
Thank you in advance.
Michael Seeker
Investor from Louisville and Memphis, TN
replied over 3 years ago
Hey @Edgar Martin - you must have owned and lived in the home as your primary residence at least 2 of the last 5 years to be able to forego taxes on $250K single/$500K married of capital gain. Given what you've described, you should be fine renting the house out as long as you sell within the next 3 years (so last 2 years count towards owner occupancy).
Edgar Martin
from Peoria, Arizona
replied over 3 years ago
Thank you for the reply Michael Seeker!
I appreciate you taking the time and giving me this helpful information.
Kebron Girma
from Aldie, Virginia
replied over 3 years ago
@Michael Seeker lets say I bought a bought my rental property 10+ years ago for $300K and now it's worth $1Mil plus. I have a mortgage of $400k+ and want to sell it for what's it's worth now. How can I save on capital gains taxes and I am over 62 years of age? I understand it puts me in a higher tax bracket at 39% and will be paying 20% on the gains. I don't want to do a 1031 exchange, I don't want to a seller finance...what other creative financing options are there that will allow me to save on taxes.
Natalie Kolodij
(Moderator) -
Accountant from Charlotte, NC
replied over 3 years ago
@Edgar Martin Even though capital gains will be excluded you will pay a 25% depreciation recapture tax on any depreciation taxed while it was a rental
Michael Seeker
Investor from Louisville and Memphis, TN
replied over 3 years ago
Originally posted by @Kebron Girma :
@Michael Seeker lets say I bought a bought my rental property 10+ years ago for $300K and now it's worth $1Mil plus. I have a mortgage of $400k+ and want to sell it for what's it's worth now. How can I save on capital gains taxes and I am over 62 years of age? I understand it puts me in a higher tax bracket at 39% and will be paying 20% on the gains. I don't want to do a 1031 exchange, I don't want to a seller finance...what other creative financing options are there that will allow me to save on taxes.
I'm definitely not a tax expert and given the amount of money in question here your best bet is to consult a tax expert. For a few hundred dollars they could save you serious money. That being said, the two options that I'm aware of are to do owner financing which would allow you to pay taxes based on an installment sale (you do not get all of your money out right away, but only pay taxes on what you get out and still pay all the taxes) or to live in the property for 2+ years before sale.
Here is a thread with a lot more information about the installment sale option: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/51/topics/142582-tax-implications-of-seller-financing-via-note