Tax deduction for the sale of apartments and other real estate

When selling an apartment or a house, a separate room or even a cottage, individuals are required to contribute 13% of the amount received to the budget. It is clear that this is unlikely to please anyone. However, a significant reduction in the tax will allow a tax deduction when selling an apartment.

First of all, it is necessary to determine that the deduction is the amount that can be taken from the tax base (the value of the property), but not from the due tax. In other words, if the deduction is equal to 1 million rubles, the tax privilege will be only 130,000 rubles (and the entire million, as people who are unfamiliar with tax nuances often think).

The size of the property deduction

To determine the amount of property benefits, you need to proceed from the length of stay of the property in the property of the taxpayer. If the apartment was bought more than three years ago, you do not have to pay the tax at all.

If the period of ownership is less than three years, you can reduce the tax base in one of the following ways:

- In the amount of 1 million rubles, and if the property was purchased for a targeted loan, this amount can also add all the interest paid. Once again, we emphasize that the tax deduction for the sale of an apartment concerns only the value of the property, that is, if it turned out to be less than 1 million, the taxable base is considered to be zero, and no refund of the tax in this case is allowed.

- For the entire amount of expenses for the purchase of the now sold property. These include directly the costs of the acquisition, interest on the target loan, as well as the cost of repairs in the event that the apartment under the contract was bought without interior finishing.

But how correctly to determine the period of ownership? For this, it is necessary to start from the method of obtaining it. If the apartment was purchased under a contract of sale, barter, with a gift or rent, then it should be guided by the date of registration of the contract. However, if the property is located in a cooperative house, the day of full redemption of the money share will be considered the period of the beginning of possession. In the case of a new building, the date of the reference is the day of receipt of the certificate of registration for ownership. And with inheritance of real estate, the period of the beginning of possession will be the day of death of the testator.

Deduction for an apartment in shared or joint ownership

When realizing a property that is in shared ownership, the property tax deduction for the sale of an apartment will be distributed among the co-owners proportionally. For example, if the share of one of them is 1/6 at home, and the other -1/4, the deductions will be received respectively in the amount of 600 and 400 thousand rubles. In cases where the apartment is in joint ownership, the amount of reduction of the tax base is distributed among the owners by personal agreement.

NDFL for the sale of several apartments

Quite often there are situations when for one year a taxpayer sells more than one apartment or, for example, a house and a dacha. In this case, you need to know that the tax deduction for the sale of real estate in 1 million rubles in a calendar year is granted only once for the entire taxable base, regardless of the amount of property sold. But to reduce the tax base when selling real estate for the amount of confirmed income can be in relation to each of the properties.

Example : Ivasin PR in 2012 sold two apartments for 980 thousand rubles and 2 thousand rubles, bought in 2011 respectively for 900 thousand and 1800 rubles. Depending on the method of obtaining a deduction, personal income tax will look like this:

1) 1 million rubles for the entire amount of income: ((980 + 2000) - 1000) * 13% = 257.40 thousand rubles.

2) In the amount of expenses for the first apartment, a fixed amount for the second one: (980-900) * 13% + (2000-1000) * 13% = 140.40 thousand rubles.

3) In the amount of expenses for both apartments: (980-900) * 13% + (2000-1800) * 13% = 36.40 thousand rubles.

It is easy to see that the amount of tax payable depends directly on the chosen method of reducing the taxable amount.

The procedure for granting a deduction

The Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes that a tax deduction for the sale of an apartment may be granted an unlimited number of times. That is, if you have already sold the property in 2012 and received a deduction, if you sell the property in 2013, you will again be able to reduce the sales tax.

You can take advantage of the deduction on the basis of the application, the certificate of 2-NDFL, the contract of sale, copies of the certificate of registration of the right and all available payment documents. In order to receive a tax deduction on the sale of an apartment, the taxpayer needs to apply to the body of the tax inspectorate at the place of registration with the completed declaration of the 3-NDFL until April 30 next (for the one in which the sale took place).