A few options to legally avoid paying capital gains tax on investment property include buying your property with a retirement account, converting the property from an investment property to a primary residence, utilizing tax harvesting, and using
Use a 1031 Exchange
A 1031 exchange, a like-kind exchange, is an IRS program that allows you to defer capital gains tax on real estate. This type of exchange involves trading one property for another and postponing the payment of any taxes until the new property is sold.
As long as you lived in the property as your primary residence for 24 months within the five years before the home's sale, you can qualify for the capital gains tax exemption.
There are various methods of reducing capital gains tax, including tax-loss harvesting, using Section 1031 of the tax code, and converting your rental property into your primary place of residence.
If you have a capital gain from the sale of your main home, you may qualify to exclude up to $250,000 of that gain from your income, or up to $500,000 of that gain if you file a joint return with your spouse. Publication 523, Selling Your Home provides rules and worksheets.
Current tax law does not allow you to take a capital gains tax break based on age. In the past, the IRS granted people over the age of 55 a tax exemption for home sales. However, this exclusion was eliminated in 1997 in favor of the expanded exemption for all homeowners.
Here's how it works: Taxpayers can claim a full capital gains tax exemption for their principal place of residence (PPOR). They also can claim this exemption for up to six years if they moved out of their PPOR and then rented it out.
Routine maintenance and repairs normally aren't tax deductible and can't be included in the basis of your home. However, repairs and maintenance that are part of a larger home improvement project can be rolled into the adjusted basis for your home.
In addition to the home's original purchase price, you can deduct some closing costs, sales costs and the property's tax basis from your taxable capital gains. Closing costs can include mortgage-related expenses. For example, if you had prepaid interest when you bought the house) and tax-related expenses.
If you sell your primary residence, you qualify for an exemption from capital gains up to $250,000 for an individual or $500,000 for a couple filing jointly. In the past, this exemption was restricted to people who bought another house or reached a threshold age, but that's no longer the case.
This means right now, the law doesn't allow for any exemptions based on your age. Whether you're 65 or 95, seniors must pay capital gains tax where it's due.
Frequently Asked Questions about Capital Gains Tax
You might be able to defer capital gains by buying another home. As long as you sell your first investment property and apply your profits to the purchase of a new investment property within 180 days, you can defer taxes.
Second, capital gains taxes on accrued capital gains are forgiven if the asset holder dies—the so-called “Angel of Death” loophole. The basis of an asset left to an heir is “stepped up” to the asset's current value.
Reinvest in new property
The like-kind (aka "1031") exchange is a popular way to bypass capital gains taxes on investment property sales. With this transaction, you sell an investment property and buy another one of similar value.
Expenses to fix up a home for sale, such as a fresh coast of paint, cannot be deducted from the sales proceeds, nor can they be added to basis, says Gray. For rental properties, the cost basis rules are similar to those for residences.
When Does Painting Qualify as a Capital Improvement? According to the Internal Revenue Service, painting may qualify as a capital improvement if it's part of large-scale improvements to a rental property. Painting by itself, however, is generally not considered a capital improvement.
But typically, simple things like painting, replacing the glass in a broken window, etc, are either maintenance or repair expenses and are not deductible as such, nor do they add to the cost basis of the property. Allowable sales expenses must not make changes to the home. For example, advertising.
Do I Have to Pay Capital Gains Taxes Immediately? In most cases, you must pay the capital gains tax after you sell an asset. It may become fully due in the subsequent year tax return. In some cases, the IRS may require quarterly estimated tax payments.
If you inherit property or assets, as opposed to cash, you generally don't owe taxes until you sell those assets. These capital gains taxes are then calculated using what's known as a stepped-up cost basis. This means that you pay taxes only on appreciation that occurs after you inherit the property.
For example, in 2023, individual filers won't pay any capital gains tax if their total taxable income is $44,625 or below. However, they'll pay 15 percent on capital gains if their income is $44,626 to $492,300. Above that income level, the rate jumps to 20 percent.
Social Security earnings are often exempt from federal income taxes. If you file as an individual and your Social Security and other earnings total less than $25,000 per year, you may not have to pay federal income taxes.