Sus asked:


This is a difficult situation. We own a piece of undeveloped land in FL and are considering selling to put a down payment on a house in CA. We have owned it for about 14 years. My husband is military and a FL resident. We currently are stationed in CA and I am a CA resident. The land is a joint tenancy. FL doesn’t have a capital gains tax, but CA does. So I am guessing that we have to split the gain 50/50 and have 50% taxed by the state of CA. We are trying to use an online capital gains tax calculator to figure how much we will have to pay.

We had an assesment to pave the street. Would that be an improvement cost?

Also, the state bought a small portion to widen a highway. Would the money they paid us be deducted from the basis?

How do you come up with the depreciation? My property value has went up (according to the county assessment).

How do you figure out what the tax rate is on the gain?

I know this is tough one, but I appreciate all the help.

Kathy

emileleon asked:


I currently own an investment property in Florida and I am looking to sell it. I bought it in 5/2004. I currently rent an apartment in San Francisco and so the only property that I own is that one in Florida.

I’m aware of a capital gains tax that you must pay any time you sell an investment property. What I’d like to do is avoid paying this tax if possible. I’ve heard that because it is my only property, it does not qualify as an investment property and so I wouldn’t have to pay this capital gains tax.

Is this true?

Bernice

unhappy asked:


Is it true that if you use the capital from the sale of an investment property and put that towards another property that you will not be taxed on the capital gains via tax? How does this work exactly?
And can you use the capital gains toward any type of property such as a primary residence or a second home or does it have to be toward another investment property to avoid paying capital gains tax on those proceeds?

Eileen