Tax Saving Strategies for Capital Gains on Rental Property

Have you recently sold any of your rental property? Are the taxes on your capital gains are a burden for you? Are you looking for some way out to reduce these taxes and keep most of the profits you made from this transaction?

Then you need to know some intricacies of capital gains tax rules.
If you had purchased rental property at a lower price and now sold it with a respectable margin on it, this difference you could get is the capital gain and the same is taxable.

Remember, IRS gives preference to home owners. An average home owner will be charged leniently as compared to a property investor. So the capital gains tax varies as per different types on property owners.

One good thing about the capital gains tax is that it is lower than the income tax. It is convenient if you buy the property and wait for one year before you sell it. This way you will have to pay taxes at an average rate of 10 to 25 %. But if you plan to sell your rental property before one year, then your earning is considered as short term capital gains and you have to pay heavy taxes on it which may be same as the ordinary income tax.
If you have your rental property overseas, you need to check the capital gains taxes rules over there. As in some countries like United Kingdom to encourage foreign investors, they do not charge any tax from them for their capital gains.

Some proven tips for saving on this tax:

You can avail the benefits on tax savings by becoming a home owner than a property investor.

To qualify to the criteria of home owner, you have to stay in your rental property for a minimum of 2 years. You may have rented it in past but then you have to stay in it for two years out of five years block before you sell off. Then it will be considered as your own home for tax purposes.
If you are a married couple selling your own home, the profit of first $500,000 is not taxable as against a sole owner who is eligible for tax exemption on the first $ 250,000.

If your sale is just a rollover, you may be charged absolutely nothing towards your capital gains. So you are selling your rental property only to purchase a new property of that type, it will be a rollover.

This rollover refers to section 1031 of the internal revenue code. To satisfy the clauses of this section you have to finalize on a new property within 45 days of the sale and the deal has to be completed within 6 months.
Remember, selling your rental property in cash emergencies is not a good idea. Then it is difficult to reduce the liability on capital gains. And this is the reason why I advise property owners to put aside some of your funds for emergencies such as major repairs.

If you sell a rental property, you should be aware of your responsibility to pay capital gains tax on its sale. This tax can be reduced by some smart strategies. Chintamani Abhyankar explains.

Chintamani Abhyankar, is a well known expert in the field of finance and taxation for last 25 years. He has written many books explaining inside secrets of the magic world of personal finance. His famous eBook Stop donating your money to IRS which is now running in its second edition, provides intricate knowledge and valuable tips on personal finance and income tax.