How is the sale of the apartment (owned less than 3 years)? It’s not a secret to anyone that with such transactions one often has to pay taxes. But can they be avoided? What is required to reduce debt to the state? What methods are used in practice in a particular case? Answering all these questions is not as difficult as it seems. In fact, it is enough to understand a few important nuances regarding the calculation of tax on profit. In this case, it will be possible to avoid unforeseen and large expenses associated with the sale of the apartment.
Tax - mandatory or not
The first step is to understand whether, in principle, you need to pay taxes when making real estate transactions. The answer to this question is not as simple as it seems. After all, it all depends on several factors.
One of them is the time the property was held by the citizen. It is this feature that is taken into account in the first place. Did you sell your apartment for less than 3 years? In this case, as a rule, taxes are paid in full. If the citizen owns the property for more than the specified period, you can not pay the state. Such property is not taxed.
Most often, you still have to incur expenses. But they can be reduced in certain circumstances. Or avoid at all. This is a normal occurrence.
Minimum for owners
Now a little about how you can avoid taxes. This can be done legally. As already mentioned, if a citizen owns property more than the minimum period established by the state, you can not worry about taxes. They just don't get paid.
What time limits should you rely on? According to the established rules, these are:
- 3 years upon receipt of the property in the property until January 1, 2016;
- 5 years if the apartment is issued after 01/01/2016;
- 3 years if the property was received after January 1, 2016 by inheritance / gift.
It is these scenarios that are most often encountered in practice. They must be remembered by each person. It follows that the sale of an apartment owned less than 3 years is always taxed.
Beneficiaries
But in almost any law of the Russian Federation, you can find exceptions. Especially when it comes to paying taxes. All citizens of the country know that in Russia there are preferential categories of the population. They are exempted partially or fully from tax fees in one case or another.
Are you planning to sell an apartment? Ownership of less than 3 years? The tax in this case is not paid if the person belongs to the category of beneficiaries. Among them are:
- citizens recognized as disabled;
- seniors;
- disabled since childhood.
More accurate information is recommended to be specified directly in each region. Beneficiaries do not pay for transactions with real estate owned less than the established minimums.
About the inheritance
Below we will talk in more detail about several very common cases. For example, what to do if it is planned to sell an apartment in the property for less than 3 years? By inheritance, it was transferred to one or another relative of the former owner.
In this case, property tax is not paid when it comes to close relatives. But for transactions with an apartment you will have to pay without fail. The exception is cases of disposition of property over a minimum period.
Nevertheless, you can resort to a reception that allows you to reduce the tax. For example, apply for a standard tax deduction. It is often necessary when it is not planned to purchase new housing. You can reduce the tax base by a million rubles. A new tax will be calculated from the new amount.
In order for the sale of an apartment owned less than 3 years old, inherited by the new owner, to provide for a reduction in the tax base, you must apply to the tax service with a corresponding application. After that, the citizen will calculate the tax according to the new rules. More details about the deduction will be discussed later.
In practice, most often it turns out that citizens sell the inheritance, and then buy new real estate. It is under such circumstances that it will not be difficult to reduce taxes. What are the practices in practice?
Difference
It all depends on how the property was transferred to the citizen. With the inheritance and the gifts everything is clear - here it is better to draw up a standard deduction. But there are other circumstances.
Selling real estate for less than 3 years in a property with a reduced tax is provided when two transactions are completed - the sale of old housing and the purchase of a new one. In this case, the tax will be calculated taking into account the costs incurred in acquiring the first apartment. Or if citizens simply sell the property for more than they buy it.
This technique helps to significantly reduce the tax. For example, in 2013, a person bought an apartment for 2 million rubles; in 2015, he sold it for 3 million. The tax in this case will be calculated from 1 000 000 rubles.
What will be required to accomplish the task? The citizen must have payments and receipts confirming the expenses incurred. It is this technique that is most often encountered in practice.
About deduction
Now more about the tax deduction. As already mentioned, it is offered to all citizens in the amount of 1 000 000 rubles. Did you sell your apartment for less than 3 years? A tax deduction is filed with the appropriate authorities. Most often, this technique helps if you can’t reduce the tax on expenses. Or in the case of spending on the purchase of housing less than 1 million rubles.
It is enough to remember a few rules that will help to understand how the deduction will be distributed. Namely:
- Buying real estate after 01/01/2016 and selling real estate is lower than 70% of the state price of housing. In this case, the tax is calculated from the amount expressed by 70 percent of the cadastral value.
- For each property, only one method of tax reduction is envisaged - the difference between expenses and sales, or a deduction. It is forbidden to use them at the same time. The exception is cases when a citizen works with several apartments. Then you can apply for a standard deduction for one of them, and apply a deduction for expenses to the other.
- The established limit of one million rubles is the maximum for all property sold during the calendar year.
- If you plan to sell real estate for less than 3 years in the property with several owners (shared ownership), then the deduction of one million rubles is distributed equally to all owners.
These are all the features that you need to pay attention to in one or another case. Making a standard deduction for the sale of real estate is not as difficult as it seems.
New Housing Compensation
But even this is far from all the techniques that are actively used in practice. Did you sell your apartment in less than 3 years and buy a new one more expensive? In this case, it is recommended to reimburse the costs by deducting the new property.
In this situation, you will have to consider that:
- the maximum deduction for the purchase of housing is 2,000,000 rubles (that is, 260,000 rubles can be returned);
- when buying a new apartment in a mortgage, a deduction is offered from the amount of 3,000,000 rubles.
Important: a citizen should not have previously drawn up property deductions.The procedure requires the collection of evidence of the costs incurred.
About calculation rules
Will a citizen issue the sale of an apartment in ownership for less than 3 years? What tax will he have to pay?
As a rule, it all depends on the situation. Usually property taxes make up 13% of the amount of property sold. It is this limitation that needs to be addressed.
In addition, tax is calculated according to the following rules:
- the cadastral value of housing is taken into account if the apartment is sold cheaper (tax is expressed at 13% of 70 percent of the state price);
- calculations are carried out on the amount reduced by 1 000 000 rubles (when applying for a standard deduction);
- 13% of taxes are paid on money received after reimbursement of expenses for the purchase of real estate for sale.
It is enough to know the cadastral value of housing in order to find out exactly how much the state will have to give in a particular case after a real estate transaction.
Receiving deductions
Did you sell your apartment for less than 3 years and buy a new one? It has already been said that taxes can be reimbursed by registering a property deduction. What is required for this?
The algorithm for processing tax deductions is as follows:
- Collect the documents necessary for the operation. Their list will vary slightly depending on the deduction chosen.
- Make a request-application for tax authorities.
- Submit an application with a prepared package of documents to the district department of the Federal Tax Service. You must contact the organization at the place of residence of the citizen.
- Wait for an answer. If the package of papers is presented in full, the person is not denied the operation.
No more manipulations are needed. Similarly, you have to act when a person has the right to full exemption from tax.
Documents
These are the features of selling an apartment owned less than 3 years. What documents can be useful to a citizen in one case or another to reduce tax or draw up a deduction?
Most often, you need to prepare the following papers:
- applicant's identity card;
- TIN (if any, optional);
- documents of ownership of the property being sold (deed of gift, extract from the Unified State Register of Enterprises, will, and so on);
- income statements;
- tax return (form 3-personal income tax);
- statements confirming the cost of housing sold (if a deduction for expenses is made out);
- documents capable of confirming spending on new real estate (checks, receipts);
- contract of sale or provision of a mortgage (if any);
- details of the account to which the money must be transferred (in case of property deduction);
- certificates of ownership of the new apartment (if it was bought);
- evidence of receipt of money for property sold.
If a citizen belongs to the preferential category of persons, proof of special status is required of him. For example, a disability certificate or a pension certificate. Among other things, a citizen under any circumstances should write an application for registration of deduction / reduction of tax.
Summary
From now on, it is clear what features in the tax sphere the sale of an apartment has been owned for less than 3 years. Based on the foregoing, the most logical solution for the legal exemption of a citizen from taxes is anticipation. Real estate transactions are recommended to be carried out after the ownership of property in excess of the established minimums. Only in this way 100% every seller can not pay taxes.
In other cases, deductions of one type or another are usually issued. The citizen himself decides which option to choose. Registration of deductions differs only in the list of documents attached to the application.