Selling a house – Avoiding high tax burdens
Selling a house – A faulty approach to selling your house can lead to high tax charges. If the profit from the house sale is considered taxable income, you will be liable to pay speculation tax.
In the case of houses that were purchased as an investment and generated a return by renting them out, a sale without speculation tax is only possible if you have owned the house for at least 10 years. In the case of privately used real estate, on the other hand, you can collect the sales proceeds tax-free, provided you meet the following criteria.
- All about: Taxes and costs
Special tax regime for owner-occupied real estate
The speculation period for real estate is 10 years. As an owner-occupier, you are not subject to this time limit, so you can also sell before the end of the speculation period and not have to pay tax. The basis for a tax-free sale is based on partial or complete owner-occupation for residential purposes. The best prerequisite for a speculation tax-free sale of the house is if you have lived in the property with your family since the time of construction or purchase.
You can also sell tax-free if you can prove owner-occupation in at least the year of sale and the two preceding calendar years. You receive this benefit for your house, but also for holiday homes and second homes. It is not possible to sell undeveloped land tax-free. You cannot provide proof of use for residential purposes, as an undeveloped plot of land does not provide any opportunity for living and therefore does not constitute a basis for owner-occupation in terms of tax exemption.
Read more about:
- Sole heir and estate
- Pre-heir and post-heir
- Conflict in the community of heirs
- Sell
More information about selling a house:
There are various reasons that make you think about selling a property. Many of our clients already own their own house or condo when they inherit their parents’ home and don’t know what to do with the inheritance now. Are you facing this question or have another reason for selling your house? Our professional online real estate agents will assist you and help to get the best price for the property and not put a long wait on the agenda in the course of the sale. While you can sell privately if you are the sole owner, a house or apartment owned by a community of heirs presents greater challenges.
Checklist when selling a house
Should you offer your property privately or rather hire an estate agent? Every owner who wants to sell or rent is faced with this question. Those who have experience and a lot of time can carry out the numerous tasks themselves and let their property privately.
But without sufficient know-how, the sale becomes a big challenge and can “quickly grow over your head”. A professional estate agent brings you some advantages and ensures that you have no stress in the entire process up to the handover of the property. You can find out how to recognise a good estate agent and what you should look out for in the checklist.
- Click here for the
home sale checklist .
Divorce – selling a house? What you need to consider
A jointly occupied and financed house is usually the focus of a divorce. If neither partner wants or is able to keep the house, in most cases it comes down to a property sale. There are several solutions you can consider and contrast. Most divorcing couples choose to sell the house to a third party, as this method results in the fewest disputes. You part with existing debts together and exclude the need to continue paying off a home loan together.
- Learn more about
selling a house after a divorce here.