Asked almost 5 years ago - Kensington, MD
FlagWhat sort of capital gains tax will two people who own a property together and have different incomes have? What if one person has lived in the property and the other signs a quit claim?
First, the answer will be impacted by how much other income you have and your state of residence. Maryland's rate appears to be 4.75% over $3,001. The Federal rate can be 0% if you have held the property for more than 1 year and your marginal rate is 10% or 15%; otherwise it will be 15%. However, there are several special rules. For that reason you must retain a competent CPA to prepare your tax projections and to prepare your tax returns.
Second, each person pays the rate due based on that person's facts.
Third, signing a quitclaim deed may constitute a gift. If the gift occurs before the sale, then the donee (the person in favor of whom the quitclaim was made) will have the same basis (for purposes of the sale) that the donor had.
What do I do now? How do I get my answer?
I'm not a lawyer or a real estate agent, but... typically, if you've used the home as your primary residence for at least 2 consecutive years of the last 5 you are exempt for any income tax unless the amount of income (ie: what you sold it for minus what you bought it for) is greater than 250K for an individual or 500K for a couple (filing jointly?). In which case it is consider regular taxable income by the IRS.
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