Defer paying taxes on selling primary residence

Defer paying taxes on selling primary residence

Bethpage, NY · Member since 2017 · 8 posts · 0 votes
Hi all, A friend of mine is planning to sell a primary house he bought many years ago. He bought it for 400 and spent 100k on it and now it is appraising for 1.4 million. His total profit will be around 900k. I think first 500k of profit is exempt from tax, what can do for the next 400k. He wants to buy a 600k primary house and rest of money for investment property. Can he do 1031 exchange to defer taxes. Or if he just wants to pay the tax, would it be at long term capital gain rate of 20%?
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  • Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes
    8y

    1031 exchanges are for investment property only.  They cannot be used for a primary residence.  If he's married he can use the $500K exclusion.  Any excess (it will be less than the $400K you might think) will be taxed at the long term capital gains rate.  Could be 15% or 20% depending on his other income.

  • Real Estate Technology · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2016 · 262 posts · 265 votes
    8y

    @Shak Amir

    Shak: Your friend can also consider selling the property as a monetized installment sale or what I call a "simplified" monetized installment sale. There are a few providers in the US and typically have a generous referral program for leads.

    Full disclosure: The providers of this service justify a fee on your sale proceeds by facilitating the deferral of taxes on your sale.

    This might be a good option for your seller!

  • Basit SiddiqiBusiness Member
    Accountant · New York, NY · Member since 2015 · 8k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    8y

    @Shak Amir

    It looks like he will have to pay capital gains tax on the remaining 400,000.
    He will be excluded from having to pay tax on the first $500,000.
    at the federal level capital gains tax is 0%, 15% or 20%
    NY/NYC tax would be around 10%

    He is saving $125,000 from the exclusion of the $500,000 gain.

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