Most people are aware that if they make a profit or earned income, then it will be taxable. In other words, the person doesn’t get to keep the whole amount of the sale. In the case of real estate, this is known as capital gains tax, and it applies to the profit made on a real estate property sale.
The California Capital Gains Tax is due to both federal (the IRS) and state tax agencies (the Franchise Tax Board or FTB), so it’s common to feel like one is being double-taxed in the process of a home sale. Fortunately, there is also an exemption built into the various tax laws, known as the capital gains real estate tax exemption. This clause in the tax law allows $250,000 per taxpayer per tax year. The exemption can essentially equal $250,000 for a single person and a married person filing separately. For a married couple filing jointly, the exemption is double, or $500,000, combining their two individual exemptions under law.
Who gets to claim the exemption?
There are eligibility criteria that have to be met to use the tax exemption. First, this exemption was put in place applicable to any transaction sale after May 6, 1997. If the sale was made before that date, the exemption can’t be used, but this likely doesn’t apply anymore for most folks unless one has to file back taxes (and if that’s the case, the exemption has likely be wiped out mathematically by all the late tax penalties and interest due for paying taxes very late – still filing late is better than not filing at all which is a crime).
The other criteria that need to be met include the fact that the property has to have been owned and lived in by the named taxpayer for at least two of the last five years owned before selling and using the exemption. The exclusion can be used every two years. So, for example, if one has a home for a year and a half and then tries to sell it and the end of year two, the sale met the second criteria and could make an argument for meeting the first as well. On the other hand, a house rented out for four years out of five and then sold would not meet the exemption.
It’s important to note that just because the full exemption criteria is not met does not mean the exemption of capital gains tax is entirely lost. Partial tax reductions are possible. Let’s continue.
Applying the Gain Math
Let’s go back to profit for a moment. Assume for discussion that there is no exemption available right now. Then everyone would be subject to capital gains tax. But what is gain? Simply net profit? It’s a bit more complicated even though that’s the quick summary we gave at the beginning of this article. The usual assumption is that one buys a house for $100,000 and sells it for $400,000, so the $300,000 difference must be the gain. Not quite. Gain can be reduced by a number of things such as:
- Closing costs that are deductible (not all costs paid count)
- Selling costs
- Tax basis in the property
- Depreciation
- Casualty losses
- Insurance payments
Then there are figures that are added to the sales price total, which include:
- Purchase expenses
- Capital improvements
It’s started to feel like a bit of complicated math, right? So back to our earlier example, the home was bought for $100,000 and sold for $400,000. The math would play out as follows:
Sale price: $400,000
Plus home improvements: +10,000
Sales expenses fixing up: -5,000
Sales commissions paid: -24,000
So the net gain would be: $381,000
Then one would apply the $250,000 exemption to the sale as a single owner (remember, married folks have up to $500,000), which would produce a net taxable capital gain of $131,000. This is a simple example, believe it or not, and there can be a lot more involved. So it’s important to consider IRS Publication 551, Basis of Assets, specifically the part on the sale of real property (i.e. homes and land).
Partial California Capital Gains Tax Exemptions
Now let’s consider where not all the criteria is met for a full exemption. This is a common situation, especially where people have to move repeatedly due to work, move quickly, divorce, rent their property out a lot, and similar. In most cases, the threshold deficiency involves the living in the property for at least two years out of five. A partial exemption is still possible. Situations that allow for partial exemptions include:
- A sudden and quick move due to employment
- A doctor-recommended move for health reasons
- A sale due to divorce
- A sudden death in the family or multiple child births (i.e. triplets)
The California Capital Gains Tax partial exemption would be calculated as follows. Start with the number of months actually met if the minimum two years is not possible. So, if one was in the home for 12 months or 50 percent of the minimum, then the partial exemption allowed would be $125,000 versus $250,000 (50 percent of the total exemption). In such an instance, if the capital gain is less than $125,000, then the sale would be entirely exemption. So it’s important to always check and not just assume one is immediately locked out on a tax basis.
Another common situation is the transfer of a senior to a nursing home. In these cases, the ownership duration is lowered to only one year out of five instead of two discussed above. Further, residency duration in the nursing home can be added to the ownership time of the property. So, for example, Doris buys a smaller home but after a year she has to move to a nursing home. She’s in the nursing home for a year before her house is sold. In total she has two years of eligible ownership and gets the full $250,000 exemption on her sale.
There are more complicated situations regarding the California Capital Gains Tax, so it’s important to have a certified tax preparer or tax attorney look over your tax filing before sending it in to the IRS and California Franchise Tax Board. And, if you find you made a mistake, be proactive and file a tax amendment return as soon as possible. This avoids any allegation of inappropriate tax submittals and puts you in good stead identifying the mistake first versus an auditor. And always, always keep documented proof of your sales, costs and exemption. If you can’t document it, don’t claim it.
