Taxing Consequences of Short Sales
A short sale can significantly lower down a homeowner’s FICO credit score by as much as 200 points, but this is better than foreclosure because it reduces your FICO score, and prevents you from getting another mortgage. Thus, every homeowner needs to be aware of short sale taxes before they enter the process.
The challenging economic situation has added a lot of homes in the foreclosure list, and has made a lot of people jobless. On the other hand, mortgage requirements are getting stricter which makes refinancing quite hard. Given all this, the homeowner has no choice but to ask permission to the lender to request for a short sale in order to avoid foreclosure. Thus, knowing the short sale tax is necessary when selling a home for less than what is owed on it because compared to your lenders, tax laws are not too forgiving
Nevertheless, the borrower still has to pay federal taxes on the difference between what is owed and how much the property was sold. So if the homeowner owes $500, 000 on his Stafford VA mortgage. When the lender agrees, the homeowner can short sale the house to a buyer who is willing to pay $300, 000, for example.
In this case, the lender forgives the borrower’s debt which is $200, 000 in order to avoid foreclosure and in turn, the lender is taxed with an applicable rate on the said amount at up to 9.3 percent rate, which is almost $19, 000 tax. Not everyone will have this amount so the homeowner can make arrangements for a reduced payment or settle with the state as to how they could pay down the amount.
Fortunately, an Act of Congress known as the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act in the United States has provided some relief for those homeowners who have undertaken a short sale on their primary residence which allows elimination of the tax for debt forgiveness of up to $2 million US Dollars. However, short sale taxes are imposed because the forgiven debt is considered income for the borrower. If you are not aware and feel pressured to pay the short sale taxes then be informed that the lender has a tax form for the borrower to list the details of the debt forgiveness when a short sale has been carried out.
If you short sell your Homes for sale in Buford Georgia, you will take a huge hit on your credit report. Visit Idaho Real Estate for some short sale facts, information, and advice.
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January 22, 2012
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Posted by Maria Valenzuela
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