How to Avoid Capital Gains Tax on Real Estate

Home prices have nearly doubled in the last 10+ years – and that could mean you owe some serious taxes if you are selling your home. After bottoming out at around $259,000 in 2011, the average sale price of a house has marched steadily upward to more than $430,300 at the time of writing. This type of growth often leads to the sale of assets. Unfortunately, if you sell real estate for a profit you will owe capital gains taxes on the money. And, unlike the taxes held from wages, the IRS doesn’t take that money upfront. There are ways to make that hurt less though.

If you want help minimizing your tax bill from a home sale, consider working with a financial advisor.

What Are Capital Gains Taxes on Real Estate?

The capital gains tax is levied on any profits you make from selling an investment. This applies to most money that you make through buying and selling assets such as stocks, bonds and even real estate (such as your house). In the case of real estate, you would calculate your taxable profits as follows:

The price you sold the property for – The price you paid to buy the property = Taxable profits

So, for example, say you bought your home for $260,000 ten years ago. You sell it today for $450,000. You would owe capital gains taxes on $190,000 (the difference between your purchase price and your sale price).

Long-term capital gains, or gains on assets held for at least a year, are generally taxed at a much lower rate than earned income (money that you get from working). In 2024, for single/married filers the capital gains tax rates have been set at:

Filing Status	0% Rate	15% Rate	20% Rate
Single	$0 – $47,025	$47,025 – $518,900	Over $518,900
Married (filing jointly	$0 – $94,050	$94,050 – $583,750	Over $583,750
Married (filing separately	$0 – $47,025	$47,025 – $291,850	Over $291,850
Head of Household	$0 – $63,000	$63,000 – $551,350	Over $551,350

For the 2023 tax year, the ranges were as follows:

Filing Status	0% Rate	15% Rate	20% Rate
Single	$0 – $44,625	$44,625 – $492,300	Over $492,300
Married (filing jointly	$0 – $89,250	$89,250 – $553,850	Over $553,850
Married (filing separately	$0 – $44,625	$44,625 – $276,900	Over $276,900
Head of Household	$0 – $59,750	$59,750 – $523,050	Over $523,050

So, from our example above, say that you sold your house and made a $190,000 profit in 2023. Assuming that you’re single you would calculate capital gains taxes on this sale as follows:

$44,625 * 0 Percent = $0
($190,000 – $44,625) = $145,375
$145,375 * 15 Percent = $21,806.25
$0 + $21,806.25 = $21,806.25

This is a simplified version of finding your capital gains tax burden, but the basics are there. You could owe $21,806.25 in taxes on this sale. This is a lot, even when you remember that you made $190,000 in profit with which to pay it. the IRS has carved out an exception to help homeowners with that problem.

The Capital Gains Exclusion

If you profit from the sale of your home, you can exclude the first $250,000 of that profit from taxes, if you’re single. For married couples filing jointly, that number increases to $500,000. Critically, this exclusion applies to your gains, not the total sale. So from our example above, say you sold your home for $450,000 as a single person. Your profit from the sale came to $190,000. You could exclude that entire profit from your taxes and would owe nothing.

On the other hand, say you made a $280,000 profit off the sale. After the capital gains exclusion, you would owe taxes on the remaining $30,000. Which, since all of that would fall within the 0 percent capital gains tax bracket, again comes to $0 in taxes.

To qualify for this exclusion you must meet the ownership and use test. This means that you must have owned the house and used it as your main residence for at least two years out of the five years prior to its sale. This does not have to be continuous. You can live in the house periodically, so long as it comes to at least two years aggregate.

See IRS Publication 523 for a complete description of the exclusion test requirements. Members of the U.S. military, foreign service, Peace Corps and active intelligence can calculate their continuous use differently based on their deployment schedules.

Calculate Your Capital Gains Taxes Correctly

As we mentioned above, capital gains on the sale of a house are slightly more complicated than ordinary investment profits. In addition to the home’s original purchase price, you can deduct some closing costs, sales costs and the property’s tax basis from your taxable capital gains.

Closing costs can include mortgage-related expenses. For example, if you had prepaid interest when you bought the house) and tax-related expenses. Sales costs generally apply to any money you spend selling the house. This includes broker’s fees, listing expenses, legal fees, advertising fees, money you spent making the house look more presentable for sale and other related costs.

The house’s tax basis is the cost of any major improvements you made to the property over the years. This is essentially any amount of money you spend on the physical structure that adds value to the home. It is reduced by any depreciation in that structure. For example, if you add a deck but then let it fall apart, although depreciation is an uncommon problem for actively inhabited houses.

So, for example, say that you are single and bought a house for $250,000. You sell it for $750,000. You have the following associated costs:

$40,000 in renovations to the kitchen and bathroom;
$35,000 in broker’s fees;
$2,500 spent on cleaning and staging for open houses;
$5,000 on lawyer’s fees and other associated closing costs.

You would calculate your taxable capital gains as follows:

$750,000 – ($250,000 + $40,000 + $35,000 + $2,500 + $5,000) = $417,500
$417,500 – $250,000 (the capital gains exclusion) = $167,500

You might owe taxes on $167,500.

Selling Your House in Less Than One Year Could Cost You

If at all possible, do not sell your home in under a year. You must wait at least two years to sell your house in order to qualify for the capital gains exclusion. However, even if you don’t qualify for the exclusion you still can ordinarily pay the reduced tax rate levied on investment assets.

This reduced rate is what’s known as the long-term investment rate. It only applies to assets that you have held for more than a year. If you own your property for less than 12 months, you have to pay taxes on any profits at the ordinary income rate (that is, the rate at which the IRS taxes work and earned income). This can be significantly higher than the capital gains tax rate.

Bottom Line

The main way to reduce your capital gains taxes is by making sure you calculate all of the reductions that the IRS allows to your overall profits. After that, the capital gains exclusion will eliminate much of the money that most homeowners will make from their sales. If you’re not sure how to avoid as much tax as possible, it’s recommended that you work directly with a professional who has experience in real estate taxation.

Tips for Buying and Selling Real Estate

It’s great if you can make money off your home, but first and foremost this has to be a place to live. With SmartAsset’s Mortgage calculator you can figure out exactly what that new house will cost you, letting you make the right call for your budget and your future.
A financial advisor can help you with tax planning so you don’t overpay. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.