Selling residential real estate is a complex and lengthy process, in the results of which the seller has a certain income. For it you have to pay a tax in the form of 13% of the sale value, but in some situations, citizens have the right to receive exemption from payment of this fee. To do this, some simple requirements must be followed. Therefore, people should understand how to sell an apartment without taxes. The method used must be legal, because if the seller wants to deceive the tax office by indicating the wrong amount in the contract, the tax will be calculated on the basis of the cadastral and not the sale value of the property.
Ways to reduce the tax base
Often people think about whether it is possible to sell an apartment without tax. The procedure can really be performed without negative tax consequences, but only if certain requirements are met. The main methods of exemption from personal income tax include:
- if the apartment was bought for cash or in a mortgage, then it can be sold without paying tax only after 5 years;
- if the housing was obtained on the basis of a gratuitous transaction, then you need to wait only three years;
- it is allowed to sell the object earlier, and if the selling price is lower than the purchased one, then the citizen does not have income, therefore there is no need to calculate and transfer to the budget personal income tax;
- if the cost of housing is less than 1 million rubles, for example, if a dorm room is sold, then you can take advantage of a tax deduction of 1 million rubles, so you just get a negative tax base;
- if the sale and purchase of other real estate is carried out within one year, then the citizen will be able to use the mutual settlement of deductions.
Each option has its own characteristics, so the landlord decides how to sell an apartment without taxes. It should not be agreed with the buyer that the contract write inaccurate information, as this will only lead to the fact that the specialists of the Federal Tax Service will calculate the tax based on the cadastral value of housing.
Tenure of the purchased apartment
Most often, people are interested in the question of how much you can sell an apartment without tax. If housing was purchased at their own expense, then you will have to wait at least five years. Such changes to the Tax Code were introduced in 2016.
Even if housing was purchased with the help of a capital, mortgage or employer, the buyer in the sales contract was the direct taxpayer. Therefore, if he does not want to pay personal income tax on the sale of the object, then he will have to wait five years.
Until 2016, it was necessary to wait only three years, regardless of how the property was received by the seller. But on the basis of Federal Law No. 382, amendments were made to the Tax Code, which changed the term of ownership of real estate to obtain exemption from income tax. Therefore, in Art. 217.1 Tax Code, you can learn the rules for calculating this fee when selling real estate.
Features for the received apartment
Housing can be not only bought, but also obtained on the basis of various gratuitous transactions. How long can I sell an apartment without tax in this case? Under such conditions, you need to wait only three years from the date of registration of ownership. Such transactions include:
- housing was privatized by all persons who at that time were registered in the apartment;
- the apartment was inherited from deceased relatives or acquaintances;
- the object was donated by close relatives, which include spouses, parents, children or brothers and sisters;
- Housing was transferred to the person on the basis of a rental agreement, but previously he kept the owner of this property for life.
In the above situations, you need to wait only three years, after which you can sell real estate without paying tax. In other situations, you have to wait five years. Such conditions began to apply from the beginning of 2016.
Why are time limits imposed?
Anyone planning a sale of real estate should understand when it is possible to sell a donated apartment without taxes. The need for anticipation is associated with economic nuances, since over such a period of time a citizen will not be able to get any profit from the purchase and sale of real estate.
Officials are confident that in five years inflation and depreciation of real estate will significantly reduce its market value, so if a person is aimed at making commercial profit, then it will be minimal.
If a person does not receive profit from the transaction, then he can sell the property at the purchase price. In this case, the citizen does not pay personal income tax due to lack of income. But he will have to prove that he really did not get any profit.
How is the term calculated?
Any property owner should know how to sell an apartment without tax. After how many years can this operation be performed? The term depends on how the property was received by the taxpayer.
This period of time does not always start from the moment of signing any contract, as sometimes the moment of registration of the right with the Federal Registration Service is taken into account. Therefore, the tenure is calculated based on the following rules:
- if a sales contract is concluded, the period starts from the date specified in the agreement, if the purchase was made in the secondary market, and the date available in the reference account can be used if the property was purchased from the developer;
- if a person receives the house by inheritance, the opening date of the inheritance is taken into account, therefore, the period of the actual acceptance of the property or receipt of the certificate of inheritance does not matter;
- if a person is missing, this does not give the heirs the right to dispose of his property, but when the court admits that the person is presumed dead, then a period of three years begins from the moment the court decision is made;
- if a gift was made, then the countdown starts from the date specified in the gift agreement;
- property is often acquired in parts, for example, a citizen can first buy a room, and then the rest of the apartment, so the countdown starts from the moment you purchase the first part.
If the landlord knows about when it is possible to sell an apartment without tax, he will be able to easily conclude a deal for the sale of real estate, without fear of the need to transfer a large amount of funds to the state budget.
Use of property deduction
If a person knows when it is possible to sell an apartment without tax, but cannot wait three years, then he can use other ways to reduce the tax burden. One such method is a tax deduction. It is offered to all citizens who sell their apartment.
According to Art. 220 NK the size of such a deduction is 1 million rubles. It is for this amount that the tax base represented by the sale price of the property is reduced. If people at the conclusion of the transaction intentionally underestimated the price of the apartment, then 70% of the cadastral value indicated in the Federal Register is taken into account. But this condition applies only to objects that were purchased after 2016.
If an inexpensive object is presented, represented by a one-room apartment or a room at all, but the price may not exceed 1 million rubles. Under such conditions, it is possible to sell an apartment without tax in 2019, since the tax base is represented by a negative value.
If the price of real estate is more than 1 million rubles, then the deduction significantly reduces the amount of tax. For example, a citizen wants to sell an apartment donated by a relative one year after signing a donation. The apartment is located on the outskirts of the city, so it costs only 1.2 million rubles. The seller cannot avoid the need to pay a fee, but he can take advantage of a tax deduction. For him, the amount of tax is: (1 200 000 - 1 000 000) * 13% = 26 thousand rubles.
Therefore, you can even sell an apartment in a new building without tax or with a minimum payment, if you use the deduction. But under such conditions, tax specialists will still send a notification to the taxpayer. It cannot be ignored, therefore it is necessary to visit the department of the Federal Tax Service to notify employees of the service about the use of the deduction. Additionally, a 3-NDFL declaration and other securities for sold real estate are transferred to this organization.
The disadvantage of using this method to reduce the tax burden is that you can use it only once a year. Therefore, if a person plans to sell several real estate objects within one year, then he will have to reduce the tax in other ways.
Accounting for purchase value
How to sell an apartment without paying tax if it is not possible to reduce the fee in other ways? Another method presents the possibility of accounting for the purchase price of an apartment. This option is suitable only in a situation where housing was previously purchased at the expense of personal funds or a mortgage. To sell an apartment after donating without tax in this way will not work, since the citizen did not spend his own money on such an acquisition.
The tax is paid solely on profits arising from the sale of real estate. If a person can prove that he has not received any income from the transaction, then he is exempt from tax. When can I sell an apartment without paying taxes? If you use this method, you can sell the object at any time after the purchase. The process of using this method of tax exemption differs in the following parameters:
- the citizen must keep documents on the basis of which he acquired real estate;
- if the apartment is sold at the same price at which it was purchased, then no tax is required;
- no need to transfer funds to the state budget if the apartment is sold at a lower cost;
- if the sale price exceeds the purchase price, then 13% is paid exclusively from the difference;
- the taxpayer must have official documents that contain information about how much he bought and sold his property;
- this method is considered convenient if a person needs to sell real estate urgently, and also its price exceeds 1 million rubles .;
- it is allowed to use the method of cost reduction at the same time as applying the deduction, but only for different real estate objects, for example, if a citizen needs to sell several apartments within one year.
A feature of this method is that a citizen will have to submit to the Federal Tax Service documentation confirming his lack of income. Additionally, you will have to draw up a 3-personal income tax return.
Offset Application
There are many ways to sell a new apartment without tax. If a person immediately after the sale of one real estate plans to purchase another object, then he can take advantage of the netting of tax deductions, although the concept of this method is not officially available in the Tax Code. This method is as follows:
- the seller can take advantage of a deduction of 1 million rubles, and the buyer can expect a return of 2 million rubles .;
- it is a property deduction of 2 million rubles. can be used for offsetting;
- as a deduction, you can cover the tax that you have to pay for the sale of real estate.
For example, a citizen sells his property for 2.5 million rubles. He has documents confirming that a year ago he bought an apartment for 1.9 million rubles. The amount of tax in this case is: (2 500 000 - 1 900 000) * 13% = 78 thousand rubles. During the same year, a citizen acquires another apartment, the cost of which is 2.3 million rubles. He can take advantage of the maximum amount of deduction, so 260 thousand rubles are returned to him for such a purchase.
At the same time, a citizen can use mutual settlements, therefore 260,000 - 78,000 = 182 thousand rubles. can be additionally obtained from the state. Under such conditions, a citizen will not have to pay any fee. But the purchase and sale of real estate will have to be proved using official documents.
In the same way, you can sell an apartment after an inheritance without tax. But in this case, the tax base will be increased, and you will also have to donate part of your deduction. The process of selling and buying different objects must be carried out during one tax period.
Is it possible to specifically lower the sale price?
Many people who are thinking about how to sell an apartment without taxes prefer to use the illegal method. It lies in the fact that the seller agrees with the buyer to reduce the cost of the apartment in a formal contract. In this case, when using a tax deduction, a citizen will be able to reduce the tax base to almost zero.
This method of tax reduction was previously used by quite a few citizens. As a result, the legislation was amended to prevent the illegal reduction of the tax base. To do this, tax inspectors compare the sale price with 70% of the cadastral value of the apartment. The tax is calculated based on the highest rate. Therefore, people simply can not significantly reduce the tax base. If a person is thinking about how to sell an apartment after privatization without tax, it is advisable to use other ways to reduce the tax burden.
Tax authorities take into account the cadastral price set at the beginning of the year when the transaction was completed. If for various reasons there is no information on the cadastral indicator, then the tax authorities will have to consider only the price indicated in the contract of sale. This condition is not used in relation to real estate properties that were purchased by people before 2016.
Preparation of documents
Anyone should know how to properly sell an apartment without tax. How many years can a deal be made? You can wait 3 or 5 years to complete a transaction without tax consequences. Additionally, you can use other methods of tax reduction. In some situations, it may not be necessary to pay it at all. But at the same time, you need to choose a specific method before concluding a transaction.
If a person has owned real estate for less than three or five years, then he must prepare a certain set of documents at the Federal Tax Service. Such securities include:
- 3-NDFL declaration, which can be easily filled using special programs offered free of charge by the Federal Tax Service;
- documentation containing information on how exactly this object became the property of a person, and it can be represented by a contract of sale, a deed of gift, a certificate of inheritance or an agreement on the privatization of the object;
- extract from the USRN, confirming the transfer of ownership of the apartment to another person;
- if it is possible to reduce the tax base due to the difference between the purchase and sale price, then additional documentation is transmitted containing information about how much money was spent by the taxpayer on the purchase of this object;
- if during one tax period a citizen has sold and acquired real estate, so he wants to use netting, then he will prepare documents for both apartments, as well as an application for a property deduction.
All documentation is transferred to the department of the Federal Tax Service located at the place of registration of the citizen.
Rules for preparing a declaration
If a person sells housing before the deadline established by law, then regardless of the need to pay tax, he will have to submit a declaration to the Federal Tax Service. You can compose it yourself or with the help of hired specialists. The following information is entered into this document:
- date of sale of real estate;
- tenure of the apartment;
- information on the requested deduction equal to 1 million rubles .;
- information on the purchase price of the object, if the apartment was originally purchased for cash or with a mortgage;
- date of sale of the property;
- tax calculation and the exact amount of the fee, if nevertheless there is a need to pay it;
- information about other co-owners of real estate, if the taxpayer was the owner of only a fraction of the apartment.
The calculation can be automatically performed using special programs that are offered free of charge by the Federal Tax Service.Under such conditions, the taxpayer only needs to enter into this program the basic information about the housing sold, the requested deduction and other factors to reduce the tax base. If a person understands how to sell a donated apartment without tax, then even a year after receiving this object there is no need to pay a fee.
Responsibility for non-payment of tax and lack of declaration
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There are other ways to get a tax exemption or reduce the tax base. But when using them, you will have to in any case submit to the Federal Tax Service a tax return and other documents. If, for various reasons, the taxpayer does not submit documents to the tax service or does not transfer the required amount of funds in the form of tax, then the emu will have to face the negative consequences of his decision.