Owning home is considered part of the American Dream. Unless you are extremely unlucky, homeownership leads to tremendous wealth building. You simply sit in your home, make the monthly payment and reap the benefits of appreciation and increased equity. A bit of the luster, however, can be lost when it comes time to sell.
Capital gains taxes are the problem. The federal government encourages homeownership, but also wants a chunk of a change when you sell. The capital gains tax is a percentage of the profit you have realized from the home, to wit, the difference between the price you purchased it at and the price it is sold. You can deduct mortgage costs, improvements and so on, but there is still the tax.
Fortunately, there are some large safe harbor exemptions to the home capital gains tax. If you are single, you can exclude the first $250,000 in profit from being taxed. If you are married and filing jointly, you can merge your individual exemptions and protect the first $500,000 from being taxed. In most parts of the country, these exemptions will completely protect you from home capital gains tax. Even if they don't, the tax savings should be substantial.
To claim the exemptions, you must meet a few requirements. Obviously, you have to actually own the home. You must also have lived in the home two out of the previous five years. It must have been two years since you tried to claim the exemption on any other home. Put another way, you cannot claim the exemptions for investment property or second homes. Still, these healthy exemptions are a windfall for most homeowners.
Americans are notorious for being horrific savers when it comes to financial planning. Homeownership provides a relatively straightforward savings method and the government promotes it as such by providing these large home capital gains tax exemptions. If you can pull it off, buying a home is one of the smartest moves you will ever make.
Selling Home Capital Gains
The bathroom and kitchen are the most important features of a house. It is said that the kitchen could be the most important selling point, but we should consider the bathroom as important or close to it. The are the two most heavily used rooms in the house, so it is important to pay attention to both. There is a good amount of time spent in the bathroom, it is a private place, but it still needs a feel of style and elegance, especially when you are showcasing your house. Before selling your house it is a good idea to upgrade your bathroom and make it a focal point when viewing your residence.
The main focus of a bathroom is the sink and or bathroom vanity. When someone walks into a bathroom, this part of the room is usually the center piece. So why not make the bathroom vanity into something special? New bathroom vanities have become stylish and relevant. In years past, bathroom vanities were merely functional parts of the bath, but now it has become a piece of furniture. You can go to any home improvement store to find these types of new vanities, but you will be paying a lot more money than you need to. Going online is now the best way to find a large selection of bathroom vanities at a great price.
Since the internet revolution, all things are selling on line. Bathroom accessories and vanities are no exception. Customers are finding that even with shipping costs, you can save thirty to forty percent over a retail purchase. Why is this? Most super stores have huge amounts of overhead, and because of this they have to mark their prices up a great deal. I realize that we have all been trained to think these mega stores have great prices, but in reality buying online is going to save you a good deal of money. Plus online stores ship directly to your house and this will save you money and time.
Doing a search for vanities will produce lots of results, however, you want your bathroom vanity to be the focal point of your bathroom, so when looking online, go with a more direct search. Key words are always important, words like high end vanities, special vanities, or extraordinary bathroom vanities could give you the results needed to find a special piece of furniture for your bathroom. Going into different searches will produce the desired results and will instantly help towards upgrading your bathroom.
In the end, you want to have something unique about your house. You want a potential buyer or even a visitor to walk away from your house and remember that unique bathroom. Finding these types of vanities is not hard, but getting a good price takes a little searching, but is well worth it. Stay away from retail stores and look online for that special piece of furniture that will also serve as your bathroom sink.
Both Richard A. Chapo & Jason Delmar are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Richard A. Chapo has sinced written about articles on various topics from Finances, Tax Deductions and Tax. Richard A. Chapo is with BusinessTaxRecovery.com - providing information on . Visit us to read more about. Richard A. Chapo's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.
Jason Delmar has sinced written about articles on various topics from Bathroom Vanity, Kitchen Renovation Ideas and Kitchen Home Improvement. I have been remodeling house for 15 years, and I have the secret to getting high quality at an affordable price. Interested in finding out my secret. Jason Delmar's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.
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