{"id":3638,"date":"2025-03-25T05:30:39","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T12:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=3638"},"modified":"2025-12-09T07:02:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T15:02:08","slug":"tax-write-offs-for-sellers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/tax-write-offs-for-sellers\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Tax Write-Offs for Sellers of Real Estate"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re currently in the process of selling your home<\/a> or just joyfully accepted a competitive buyer offer, you may be reeling with the unexpected realization that capital gains<\/a> are taxable, as are certain expenses. So, what tax write-offs for sellers are available?<\/p>\n

You can minimize your capital gains tax \u2014 taxes levied on profits from selling capital assets \u2014 in two key ways: \u201cKeep excellent records of all deductible expenses, and work with a tax professional any year you sell a house,\u201d says Christopher Skinner, attorney at law and Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with over 20 years experience in public accounting and private industry.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve sifted through the most up-to-date IRS tax guidance for home sellers (Topic 409<\/a> is your friend, along with Publication 523)<\/a> and compared notes with Skinner to provide you with key tax breaks that can save you money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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Connect with a Top Agent to Help Maximize Value<\/h3>\n

Even rockstar agents can’t make your tax liability disappear, but HomeLight data shows that the top 5% of agents across the U.S. help clients sell their home for as much as 10% more than the average real estate agent, helping offset the tax bill.<\/p>\n \n

\n Find Agent<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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What are capital gains?<\/h2>\n

Generally speaking, the government wants a piece of any \u201ccapital gains\u201d<\/a> (aka profit) you make from selling off assets like stocks, bonds, or \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 property.<\/p>\n

Luckily, many of the pricey parts of homeownership, such as major renovations<\/a>, mortgage interest, and property tax<\/a>, can be deducted to lower what the IRS requires you to pay taxes on when you sell.<\/p>\n

Your capital gain is determined by subtracting the original purchase price and eligible expenses (like home improvements<\/a> and the cost of selling your house<\/a>) from the sale price. If the resulting gain exceeds the IRS exclusion limit \u2014 $250,000 for single filers and $500,000 for married couples filing jointly \u2014 it becomes subject to capital gains tax.<\/p>\n

Depending on how long you\u2019ve owned the property, the tax rate may fall under short-term (ordinary income tax rates) or long-term (lower capital gains rates) taxation. By strategically planning your sale and leveraging available deductions, you can significantly reduce your taxable gain and keep more of your profits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Selling your home? Learn about tax write-offs for sellers to cut costs and keep more profit in your pocket. Maximize your deductions today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":278,"featured_media":56108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[343,322],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finances","category-logistics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUnderstanding Tax Write-Offs for Sellers of Real Estate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Selling your home? Learn about tax write-offs for sellers to cut costs and keep more profit in your pocket. Maximize your deductions today.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/tax-write-offs-for-sellers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Understanding Tax Write-Offs for Sellers of Real Estate\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Selling your home? Learn about tax write-offs for sellers to cut costs and keep more profit in your pocket. Maximize your deductions today.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/tax-write-offs-for-sellers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HomeLight Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-25T12:30:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-09T15:02:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hl-blog.homelight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Untitled-design-63.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"564\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Evelyn Waugh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Evelyn Waugh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"18 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Understanding Tax Write-Offs for Sellers of Real Estate","description":"Selling your home? 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