Home business won’t affect exemption for capital gains
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QUESTION: I have owned my four-bedroom home in Glendale for 12 years. During that time, I have conducted an appraisal business out of my home. I use one bedroom as an office and another as a storage room for files. I am planning to sell my home. Will I be eligible for the $250,000 tax exemption when I sell even though part of my home was used for my appraisal business? ANSWER: A single taxpayer is eligible for the $250,000 capital-gains exemption ($500,000 for married taxpayers) upon the sale of the principal residence owned for two of the preceding five years. This exemption is not affected by a business conducted in the home. If the business also is conducted outside the home, an allocation must be made. For example, if a construction business has an office in the home and a storage yard for equipment, an allocation of the $250,000/$500,000 capital-gains exemption must be made. Q: My father passed away more than three years ago. All of his assets, including 160 acres of prime real estate in the Show Low area, are in a revocable living trust. My brother is the successor trustee under this trust. Although I am a beneficiary of this trust, I have received nothing from it since my father’s death. I have asked my brother numerous times about when I will receive my share of my father’s estate, but he refuses to answer. Do you have any recommendations? More : azcentral.com |