Did You Sell Your Home After Making Improvements?
Keeping track of the cost of capital improvements to your home can really pay off on your tax return when it comes time to sell.
It’s no secret that finishing your basement will increase your home’s value. What you may not know is the money you spend on this type of so-called capital improvement could also help lower your tax bill when you sell your house.
Tax rules let you add capital improvement expenses to the cost basis of your home. Why is that a big deal? Because a higher cost basis lowers the total profit—capital gain, in IRS-speak—you’re required to pay taxes on.
The tax break doesn’t come into play for everyone. Most homeowners are exempted from paying taxes on the first $250,000 of profit for single filers ($500,000 for joint filers). If you move frequently, maybe it’s not worth the effort to track capital improvement expenses. But if you plan to live in your house a long time or make lots of upgrades, saving receipts is a smart move.
What Counts As a Capital Improvement?
Although you may consider all the work you do to your home an improvement, the IRS looks at things differently. A rule of thumb: A capital improvement increases your home’s value, while a non-eligible repair just returns something to its original condition. According to the IRS, capital improvements have to last for more than one year and add value to your home, prolong its life, or adapt it to new uses.
Capital improvements can include everything from a new bathroom or deck to a new water heater or furnace. Page 9 of IRS Publication 523 has a list of eligible improvements.
There are limitations. The improvements must still be evident when you sell. So if you put in wall-to-wall carpeting 10 years ago and then replaced it with hardwood floors five years ago, you can’t count the carpeting as a capital improvement. Repairs, like painting your house or fixing sagging gutters, don’t count. The IRS describes repairs as things that are done to maintain a home’s good condition without adding value or prolonging its life.
There can be a fine line between a capital improvement and a repair, says Erik Lammert, former tax research specialist at the National Association of Tax Professionals. For instance, if you replace a few shingles on your roof, it’s a repair. If you replace the entire roof, it’s a capital improvement. Same goes for windows. If you replace a broken window pane, repair. Put in a new window, capital improvement.
One exception: If your home is damaged in a fire or natural disaster, everything you do to restore your home to its pre-loss condition counts as a capital improvement.
How Capital Improvements Affect Your Gain
To figure out how improvements affect your tax bill, you first have to know your cost basis. The cost basis is the amount of money you spent to buy or build your home including all the costs you paid at the closing: fees to lawyers, survey charges, transfer taxes, and home inspection, to name a few. You should be able to find all those costs on the settlement statement you received at your closing.
Next, you’ll need to account for any subsequent capital improvements you made to your home. Let’s say you bought your home for $200,000 including all closing costs. That’s the initial cost basis. You then spent $25,000 to remodel your kitchen. Add those together and you get an adjusted cost basis of $225,000.
Now, suppose you’ve lived in your home as your main residence for at least two out of the last five years. Any profit you make on the sale will be taxed as a long-term capital gain. You sell your home for $475,000. That means you have a capital gain of $250,000 (the $475,000 sale price minus the $225,000 cost basis). You’re single, so you get an automatic exemption for the $250,000 profit. End of story.
Here’s where it gets interesting. Had you not factored in the money you spent on the kitchen remodel, you’d be facing a tax bill for that $25,000 gain that exceeded the automatic exemption. By keeping receipts and adjusting your basis, you’ve saved about $5,000 in taxes based on the 15% tax rate on capital gains. Well worth taking an hour a month to organize your home improvement receipts, don’t you think?
The top rate for most homesellers remains 15%. For sellers in the 39.6% income tax bracket, the cap gains rate is 20%.
Watch Out for These Basis-Busters
Some situations (below) can lower your basis, thus increasing your risk of facing a tax bill when you sell. Consult a tax adviser.
- If you use the actual cost method and take depreciation on a home office, you have to subtract those deductions from your basis.
- Any depreciation available to you because you rented your house works the same way.
- You also have to subtract subsidies from utility companies for making energy-related home improvements or energy-efficiency tax credits you’ve received.
- If you bought your home using the federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers, you’ll have to deduct that from your basis too, says Mark Steber, chief tax officer at Jackson Hewitt Tax Services.
Today is a special day for all of us to say thank you for all the men and woman that have served in the military. These men and woman have helped to protect our country and maintain our freedom. Just think, major combat in World War I ended 100 years ago today.
What’s happening on the Eastern Shore of Alabama–Spanish Fort, Daphne, Montrose, Fairhope and Point Clear? Yesterday, we had temperatures in the 70’s and tonight in the 40’s, brisk wind, and magnificent sunsets. Our market has been active. Presently our multiple listing service reports 782 homes on the market which is low for our area. 343 homes are under contract with 379 homes have closed since January 1, 2018. Last year at this same time, we had 412 homes closed. Our average listed price is $326,137 with an average sales price of $315,479 which is 97% of the listed price. Definitely our average sales price has gone up. Due to less being on the market, prices are firmer than in the past but still condition plays a factor. Our largest competition to resales are new homes. To sell your homes quicker, look at your home critically and fix what bothers you. Paint is cheap, but get in the know what is current. Give me your thoughts as to what you have learned in marketing your home, I would like to hear.
Did you have a great day today? Easter is always a busy time for our family, normally sun-rise service at the Grand Hotel but today we went to the early service. After breakfast, we headed to our pier which is on Hwy.1, located about 10 miles from Fairhope on Mobile Bay. The family started coming around noon. Before we knew it, we had an abundance of food, fried chicken, ham, baked beans, string beans, and fruit as well as vegetable salad and great family time.
I had to share with all of you. After finishing a beautiful family dinner of lamb, ham and many extras, all of us went into the living room to enjoy full tummies and good conversation. Gus, my wonderful Schnauzer decided to help himself to the left-overs. Yes, this has taught me–clear the table. Fortunately for Gus, the plates were almost empty. Of course, he looked at me to say that he should have been invited.
Welcome to this special day of Halloween. Yes, we are five days away but people are getting ready. Knox McMurphy who was on duty at Ashurst Niemeyer dressed for the occasion. She was appropriately dressed with her witches hat. And tonight our little city of Fairhope, witches rode the streets on bicycles beginning at 5:30pm raising money for a local animal rescue charity. It was an Incredible turn out and great way to raise money. Of course after the parade, witches ended up celebrating at one of our local pubs. Enjoy this holiday but please be safe.