A friend emailed me this weekend – “What the redacted?! Obama slipped a 4% real estate tax into the health care bill!”
It's a house. On a boat. Get it?!
Ah, the rumored 3.8% real estate tax. First things first – it’s not true. Kind of. And this is not a post on politics, so take your political commentary elsewhere, please.
Rumors were circulating last year that the health care bill that was signed in 2010 contained a 3.8% transfer tax on real estate, and that the tax would be put in place beginning in 2013. While it’s true that there is a tax of 3.8%, it’s nto a tax that many people are going to see – unless you make a lot of money every year, and you make a boatload of money on the sale of your house.
Here’s how to avoid the tax.
- Make less than $200000 as an individual, or $250000 as a joint couple
- Make less than $250000 as an individual on the sale of a house, or less than $500000 as a married couple
Perhaps the title of this post should be How To Avoid Paying The 3.8% Real Estate Transfer Tax.
Updated 2/23/12 – The KCM folks recap it on their blog, as well, if you want another explanation.