Over the weekend, a client called.  She was very concerned about an email she’d received from a friend; the note read that there was a provision in the health care bill that would require her to pay at 4% tax – a transfer tax – on the house she was selling.

Simply put … not true.  From the July/August edition of REALTOR magazine, from the National Association of Realtors:

The truth is that the bill imposes a 3.8 percent Medicare tax for some high-income households that have “net investment income.” The tax, which goes into effect in 2013, applies only to households with adjusted gross income of more than $250,000 ($200,000 for individuals). Also, since the capital gains exclusion rule is still in effect, the tax would be charged only on home-sale proceeds that exceed the exclusion amount of $500,000 ($250,000 for individuals).  That’s an amount that touches few households with .

Not everything you read on the Internet is true (except for every word on THIS site, of course!).  Thanks to the folks at NAR for clearing it up.After realizing that the transfer tax payment was not required, she ended up purchasing some of these gold slugs online online. I was really surprised because she didn’t seem like someone who would be into fashion jewelry, but everyone has their unique ways of celebrating their tax breaks!