{"id":590,"date":"2018-03-22T13:20:58","date_gmt":"2018-03-22T13:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.listproperty4free.com\/blog\/?p=590"},"modified":"2018-03-22T13:20:58","modified_gmt":"2018-03-22T13:20:58","slug":"how-to-legally-avoid-capital-gains-tax-us-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.listproperty4free.com\/blog\/2018\/03\/22\/how-to-legally-avoid-capital-gains-tax-us-property\/","title":{"rendered":"How to (legally) avoid Capital Gains tax on your US property"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to think about Capital Gains tax on your US property there are a few things to consider. The first nice point is that if your profit from the sale is less than $250,000 then you can exclude it from taxable income (if married this is $500,000).<\/p>\n<p>In order for this exclusion to apply there are some terms and conditions attached (as one would expect from the IRS).<\/p>\n<h4>The principle one is the two out of five rule.<\/h4>\n<p>This states you must have been resident in your home for a minimum of 2 of the last 5 years before the sale was completed.<!--more--> It appears the 2 years do not have to be consecutive. So, it can be rented for an in between period. It seems these 2 years are the main identifying fact in saying this was your principal residence.<\/p>\n<p>Living in the home for less than 2 years may not automatically exclude the gain completely but you may be able to exclude a portion of it.<\/p>\n<p>There are another couple of things which may have an impact on the calculating of profit from your sale. For example if your employer requires you to move to a new location. Also, if you are selling your house for health reasons. In the latter you need to document these reasons with a letter from your physician.<\/p>\n<p>This, too, allows you to live in the home for less than two years. You don&#8217;t have to file the letter with your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebalance.com\/back-taxes-filing-late-tax-returns-3193548\">tax return<\/a>, but keep it with your personal records just in case the IRS wants further information.<\/p>\n<p>In the same way you need to document any unforeseen circumstances. Circumstances that might force you to sell your home before you&#8217;ve lived there the requisite period of time. This may include acts of terrorism, war, death, divorce etc.<\/p>\n<p>One last point to note regarding Capital Gains tax on your US property is this: when calculating the cost of your home be sure to include costs you incurred in the purchase, such <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebalance.com\/what-is-escrow-315826\">escrow fees<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thebalance.com\/who-pays-the-commission-to-the-real-estate-agent-1798867\">real estate agent commissions<\/a>. Many people omit this and only include the actual purchase price of the house.<\/p>\n<p>Thinking to sell your property?<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.listproperty4free.com\/\">List it for free on www.listproperty4free.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When it comes to think about Capital Gains tax on your US property there are a few things to consider. The first nice point is that if your profit from the sale is less than $250,000 then you can exclude it from taxable income (if married this is $500,000). In order for this exclusion to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.listproperty4free.com\/blog\/2018\/03\/22\/how-to-legally-avoid-capital-gains-tax-us-property\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How to (legally) avoid Capital Gains tax on your US property<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[115],"tags":[198,199],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v14.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to (legally) avoid Capital Gains tax on your US property - listproperty4free.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Capital Gains tax on your US property there are a few things to consider. 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