Maximizing Capital Gains Taxes On Home Sales, Post Recession

Capital gains taxes are required on the sale of any home.  If you are an average homeowner, you may not have to pay a significant amount of capital gains taxes, but you should know the laws regarding the tax to avoid bad situations. The U.S. tax law currently allows a great tax break for home sellers. Most of the time, if you buy an asset at a low price, then sell it for a higher price, you owe a tax on the increase in value of the asset , called the capital gain.

Repeat Exemptions

Homeowners who are single can claim an exemption of $250,000 in the profit on the sale of a home. Married homeowners can claim up to $500,000 exemption. For most people, you can take advantage of this exemption of profit, as many times as you want. However, the rule is: the property must be from the sale of your primary residence, and you must live in it for two of the five years prior to the sale.