You can deduct costs related to buying, improving, and selling an asset (like legal fees, agent commissions, and capital improvements) to lower your taxable capital gain, plus use capital losses from other investments to offset gains, with a $3,000 deduction limit for excess losses against ordinary income annually. Key deductions include acquisition costs, selling expenses (e.g., real estate fees, advertising), capital improvements, and certain home sale exclusions.
On a primary residence, there are a number of expenses that can reduce potential capital gains:
Taxpayers who realize a capital gain upon disposition of the shares of a qualified small business corporation or eligible farm property or fishing property (see Section VI) are entitled to a deduction of up to: $1.25M5, $625,000 of which is a taxable capital gain.
For instance, you can potentially use losses in some investments to offset a portion of capital gains taxes in others. For example, if you had a gain of $2,000 from the sale of Stock A, but saw a loss of $1,600 in Stock B, you could take the $1,600 loss and use it to offset part of your $2,000 gain.
You can deduct costs to acquire and improve assets (like sales tax, installation, and major renovations), incidental costs of selling (commissions, legal fees, advertising), and capital losses (up to $3,000 against ordinary income, with excess carrying over) from your capital gains, plus potentially exclude gains from selling your primary home if you meet IRS rules.
The lifetime capital gains exemptions (LCGE) is a tax provision that lets small-business owners and their family members avoid paying taxes on capital gains income up to a certain amount when they sell shares in the business, a farm property, or a fishing property.
On a $100,000 capital gain, you'll likely pay 15% for long-term gains, resulting in about $15,000 in federal tax (plus potential state tax), but it could be 0% or 20% depending on your total taxable income and filing status, while short-term gains are taxed as ordinary income (potentially 22-24%).
Some capital improvements include adding a room, appliances, floor, garage, deck, windows, roof, insulation, AC, water heater, ductwork, security system, landscaping, driveway, or swimming pool. All may qualify as improvements as they are meant to increase the home's value.
Examples of these items include paintings, jewellery, antiques and cars. For Capital gains tax (CGT) purposes they can be categorised as “wasting chattels” and “non-wasting chattels”. Wasting chattel – has a useful life of no more than 50 years. Wasting chattels are exempt from capital gains tax.
How can I reduce capital gains taxes?
Capital losses can offset capital gains
If you sell an investment asset for less than its cost basis, you have a capital loss. Typically, you can use capital losses from investments to offset capital gains. But you can't use them to offset gains from selling personal property.
You can deduct costs to acquire and improve assets (like sales tax, installation, and major renovations), incidental costs of selling (commissions, legal fees, advertising), and capital losses (up to $3,000 against ordinary income, with excess carrying over) from your capital gains, plus potentially exclude gains from selling your primary home if you meet IRS rules.
The primary "one-time" capital gains exemption in the U.S. allows single filers to exclude up to $250,000 (or $500,000 for married couples filing jointly) of profit from selling their main home, provided they've owned and lived in it for at least two of the last five years before the sale. While it's often called a one-time exclusion, you can use it multiple times, but you must wait two years before claiming it again on another property.
One of the simplest yet most expensive mistakes is misunderstanding the difference between short-term and long-term capital gains taxes. Short-term gains — profits from assets held less than a year — are subject to typical income tax rates, which can reach 37% for high earners.
The "5-year rule" for capital gains tax primarily refers to the IRS's 2-out-of-5-year test for excluding gain on the sale of a primary residence, requiring you to have owned and lived in the home for at least two of the five years before selling it to exclude up to $250k (single) or $500k (married filing jointly) of profit. There are also rules for investment properties, like 1031 exchanges, which involve holding periods, and state-level exceptions, but the main federal rule is for your primary home.
Capital gains tax rates
A capital gains rate of 0% applies if your taxable income is less than or equal to: $48,350 for single and married filing separately; $96,700 for married filing jointly and qualifying surviving spouse; and. $64,750 for head of household.
On a $100,000 capital gain, you'll likely pay 15% for long-term gains, resulting in about $15,000 in federal tax (plus potential state tax), but it could be 0% or 20% depending on your total taxable income and filing status, while short-term gains are taxed as ordinary income (potentially 22-24%).