selling home: deductible expenses?

Dec 28, 2013 5 Replies

IRS Pub 523 lists only the following deductible selling expenses: commissions, advertising fees, legal fees, and "loan charges paid by seller".



What about inspection fees, Natural Hazard Disclosure (Calif req), notary fees, doc prep (deed), county transfer tax, and "3R report" (San Francisco disclosure req)?



All costs are included in the Seller's Closing Statement that the escrow company provided. But that statement includes costs that I presume are __not__ deductible, e.g. prorated property taxes.


What about inspection fees, Natural Hazard Disclosure (Calif req), notary fees, doc prep (deed), county transfer tax, and "3R report" (San Francisco disclosure req)?

All costs are included in the Seller's Closing Statement that the escrow company provided. But that statement includes costs that I presume are __not__ deductible, e.g. prorated property taxes.

==============Some of the fees you mentioned are typically paid for by the BUYER or split

50/50. Therefore, the seller cannot deduct them in arriving at his net sales price (as a cost of sale) since he did not incur them.

The imposition of the transfer tax varies across the states. Some places impose it on the buyer. Some on the seller. Nevada imposes it on the buyer for new construction and on the seller for used construction.

You should ask a real-estate agent in the area local to the property as to which items are customarily imposed on which party.

[....]

My question was not about which costs were paid by which party. As I noted, all of the costs that I mentioned were included in the __seller's___ closing statement. They all reduced the proceeds paid to the seller.

My question was: which of the closing costs paid (in whole or in part) by the seller are deductible by the seller for the purpose of reporting capital gains.

But never mind! It's a moot point now. I needed the information for estimating the year-end tax payment. That's done and gone. Our CPA will make the correct determination for the tax return.

The "year-end" estimated tax payment is due January 15.

Don Priebe EA in Upstate NY

as far as I know, your net proceeds are your net proceeds. all closing costs that reduce your net proceeds do not need to be added back in somehow.

perhaps he was speaking of his state estimate and wanted to get it in on his

2013 federal return.

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