toc_links

Capital Gains Tax and Ways How to Avoid it

An outline of all the possible ways to avoid capital gains taxes on the sale of an investment, rental, or private property.

Get My Free Home Valuation

How to avoid capital gains tax?

How to avoid capital gains tax on real estate?

How to avoid capital gains tax on rental property?

How to avoid capital gains tax on house?

How to avoid capital gains tax on land sale?

How to avoid capital gains tax when selling investment property?

Can you avoid capital gains tax by buying another house?

How to avoid capital gains tax when selling a house?

How to not pay capital gains tax?

How to avoid tax on savings account?

How to avoid depreciation recapture tax on rental property?

How do I avoid capital gains tax on gifted property?

How long do you have to reinvest capital gains?

How to get around capital gains tax?

Can I avoid capital gains by paying off mortgage?

How long to reinvest capital gains?

What is capital gains tax on rental property?

How to avoid capital gains tax?

If you are looking for a way of avoiding the capital gains tax then you may be happy to know that there are ways in which you can either decrease or completely avoid the tax that you are meant to pay. The most common way of avoiding the capital gains tax is by either donating or spending the amount of the capital gains within a certain period. For example, if you are trading stock and some of your stock has appreciated, a way of avoiding the capital gains tax is by either selling that stock and reinvesting the profits, or by donating the stock to a charity. Another option would be to contribute to your 401(k) or your Roth IRA. All of these moves will mean that the tax that you were originally meant to pay on your capital gains no longer needs to be spent on them as you have spent the money already. Oftentimes, donations to charity or adding money to your retirement fund can also mean further tax breaks. This is where a good accountant can assist you in setting up ways to avoid paying capital gains taxes.

How to avoid capital gains tax on real estate?

There are many different ways of avoiding capital gains tax on real estate, but those ways are dependent on the type of real estate that one owns. For example, there are certain tax breaks available for a person’s primary residence. This is because the capital gains tax can have negative effects on families who have stayed in one home over a long period of time, while it can benefit those who move around. To balance this out there is a Primary residence exclusion that the owner of the home may apply for if the capital gains tax is regarding their residence.

Other ways of avoiding the capital gains tax are:

1. Renovations and Home improvement projects

If you are purchasing a fixer-upper under the primary residence exclusion, you can avoid paying the capital gains tax while at the same time reaping the profits from the house once you sell it.

2. Contributions towards your Roth IRA, 401(k), and Health Savings Accounts

All three of the accounts mentioned above can provide tax deductions for the contributions that you make in them. Therefore, if you are looking for an easy way of reducing your taxes making contributions in these accounts can be a great way of paying less on taxes and saving more money in the long run.

3. Buy and Hold

In most cases, if you are simply holding on to your appreciated investments, including your real estate properties that have appreciated over the past few years, you should not be obliged to pay any capital gains taxes. In many cases, this is the reason that people choose to leave their investments as an inheritance instead of liquifying their assets since the individuals who inherit the investments will not be required to pay capital gains.

How to avoid capital gains tax on rental property?

If you are looking to avoid paying the capital gains taxes on a rental property you will need to consider what moves you want to make after selling a rental property. In most cases, if you take the amount of the sale and use them to purchase a similar type of investment. The new investment needs to take place within 180 days from the sale of the previous rental property. This is known as the 1031 exchange and it relates to a specific tax code, so if you are looking to proceed with such an exchange it is always best to contact your tax accountant for advice on how to successfully complete the process.

How to avoid capital gains tax on house?

Avoiding capital gains from the sale of a house can be easy if you know what you are going to do with the money after the sale is completed. In some cases, if you are liquifying your assets so as to leave the money as part of inheritance it may be best to consider leaving the house as the inheritance. This is because the person who gets the house will not be obliged to pay the capital gains taxes. In other cases, after the sale of your house, you can look into potential tax reductions and avoiding the capital gains tax by donating the money to charity, gifting it to a family member, or by re-investing the amount. If the house was your primary residence, then you may also be able to apply for exclusions as paying taxes on a home sale can often fall under a different tax code.

Sell your home faster, with no upfront cost using our For Sale By Owner solution.

It’s easy, fast and simple. List your home for free with Richr with Richr’s happiness guarantee.

With Richr:

Call us now on 1-844-957-4247 or start listing for your home now!

How to avoid capital gains tax on land sale?

Avoiding capital gains tax on land sales is fairly similar to avoiding capital gains tax in all real estate. For example, much like with home improvements you are able to cut your capital gains, any improvements and construction you made on this land may allow you to reduce your taxes for this property. In some cases, you may be able to qualify for exceptions, however as most exceptions are associated with your primary residence unless your land had a home that you lived in, you may be unable to find an exception that applies. Finally, if a 1031 exchange is available to you, you may be able to roll over capital gains on a property through the closing of new investment.

How to avoid capital gains tax when selling an investment property?

Avoiding capital gains tax on an investment property begins before you start considering the sale of the property. In many cases property investors can purchase rental or investment properties through the use of their retirement fund, this includes the IRA, Roth IRA, and 401(k). This means that the properties will not be subject to capital gains and the rental income may also be left to accumulate in the retirement account tax-free. However, if you already own your investment property and it was not purchased through your retirement fund you may want to consider converting your investment property into your primary residence. In general, primary residence can experience many tax deductions and they are a great way of reducing the taxes that you need to pay. Finally, you can always roll over capital gains on a property by purchasing a new investment property. In most cases, this would be known as a 1031 exchange, and it is something that you can arrange with the help of your tax accountant.

Can you avoid capital gains tax by buying another house?

Through a 1031 exchange, you would be able to roll over capital gains on property. This means that instead of paying taxes on a house sale, you would take those gains and put them towards the purchase of a new property. This new property will allow you to not only avoid the capital gains tax in real estate, but it will also allow you to purchase your new property.

How to avoid capital gains tax when selling a house?

Avoiding capital gains tax when selling a house can be harder than it sounds as it may require a lot of pre-planning. If you have lived in the property for more than two years and it is your primary residence you will be able to request some tax exemptions for the sale of the house. What’s more if, during the time of living in the house you had to repair or renovate parts of the house, you can use the receipts from that to reduce the amount of taxes that you need to pay for the sale of the house.

How to not pay capital gains tax?

Individuals whose taxable income comes below a certain amount are exempt from paying a capital gains tax. Therefore it is best to always check the income requirements for exemption as they change yearly. Another way of avoiding the capital gains tax is by either gifting the amount to a relative, a friend, or donating it to a charity. All of these will lead to a tax exemption for that amount. If the property is your primary residence, you will also be able to apply for a capital gains tax exemption.

How to avoid tax on savings account?

Contributions to your Roth IRA or 401(k) are non-taxable, which means that if you contribute the money from your capital gains to those accounts you may be able to get a tax reduction or avoid the capital gains tax.

How to avoid depreciation recapture tax on rental property?

The depreciation recapture tax rate can at times be even higher than the capital gains tax, which means that there are many reasons for owners to want to avoid paying taxes on the sale of a rental property. The sale of rental property depreciation recapture can bring on a tax that may be avoided through the 1031 exchange. Essentially, what that means is that if the owner chooses to reinvest, they may be able to receive a reduction on their taxes. Another way of avoiding this tax is by selling the property at a loss. If you have been claiming depreciation in your property selling at a loss means that you will not risk paying any taxes from the sale. Selling at a loss can also qualify you for other tax reductions.

Get My Free Home Valuation

We provide you a free home valuation and a breakdown of your closing costs to show you how much you will save and the amount of cash you will receive at closing

How do I avoid capital gains tax on gifted property?

There are some cases in which you may avoid paying capital gains tax on gifted property. Capital gains tax always falls on the shoulders of the person who is gifting the property and not in the hands of those who receive it.

If you are gifting your property to a spouse, you may be eligible for an exemption from the capital gains tax

If you are gifting your primary residence, which has been your residence for the entire time that you have owned it, to your children you will also be eligible to avoid the capital gains tax

In all other cases you may be required to pay the capital gains tax if you are gifting property to someone, so it is always best to check what the requirements and conditions for gifting a property in your state are.

How long do you have to reinvest capital gains?

Capital gains need to be reinvested in a similar type of investment within 180 days if you want to avoid paying a capital gains tax.

How to get around capital gains tax?

There are many ways of avoiding the capital gains tax, these include:

  • Contributing the gains towards your Roth Ira or 401(k)
  • Buying and Holding
  • Donations to charities
  • Attaching your investments to your retirement plan
  • Using capital losses to reduce your taxation
  • Using a 1031 exchange
  • Apply for exemptions for your property’s capital gains tax

Depending on the type of investments that you hold these methods may allow you to avoid paying a capital gains tax entirely. In other cases, they will allow you to roll over the capital gains on property, retirement funds, or other investments.

Can I avoid capital gains by paying off my mortgage?

While you could use your capital gains to pay off another mortgage, and that could allow you to avoid the capital gains tax, that may not always be a financially sound idea. The main reason for this is that mortgages tend to be tax-deductible, and it may be a better choice to roll over the capital gains on a new property or investment instead of using it to pay off a mortgage. This will widely depend on the terms of your mortgage so to decide whether this is a good way of avoiding the capital gains tax you will need to calculate whether it would be beneficial in your case.

How long to reinvest capital gains?

Normally the period that you have to reinvest capital gains is 180 days, this is only if you want to avoid the capital gains tax from the sale of your property or investments. Normally, the new investment needs to be of a similar type if you want to fall under the 1031 exchange tax break. To learn more about this process it is always best to contact your accountant so that you can see what the best way of rolling over your capital gains from a property or investment are.

What is capital gains tax on rental property?

The capital gains tax on a rental property is calculated based on two factors.

1. The amount that the property was bought for and is now getting sold for

2. Whether it had short-term or long-term capital gains

In most cases holding a property for a longer time will result in lower capital gains taxes on a property. This is because the capital gain tax for short-term capital gains tends to be higher as it relates to the federal income tax. Long-term capital gains fall under their own set of rules that dictate how much the owner will need to pay in capital gains for selling their rental property.

Managing to avoid the capital gains tax from the sale of a property can depend on several factors, including whether you are planning on rolling over the capital gains or if you are planning on contributing the amount to a Roth IRA and 401(k) account. Therefore, avoiding a capital gains tax may require research so that you can see what exemptions are available to you.

Get free advice from Richr’s Concirege service

If you’re looking to buy or sell a house and would like to discuss your option, Richr can help you!
Our fully licensed Concierge Team is here to answer questions and provide free, objective advice on how to get the best outcome with your sale or purchase.

Ready to get started?

Give us a call at 1-844-957-4247 or enter your basic info below. Our Concierge Team will be in touch shortly to help. Remember, this service is 100% free and there’s never any obligation.

We hope you enjoy reading this blog post.

If you want the Richr team to help you save thousands on your home just book a call.

Book a call
Richr Skip to content