Do you need a lawyer to appeal property tax?

 

In case if you are a residential or commercial property owner, you will have to pay very high amounts of tax. However, there are situations where your tax can be calculated wrongfully. In such situations, you shouldn’t proceed to pay all those taxes. Instead, you should get the help of a lawyer to appeal property tax and receive a tax relief. Then you will be able to cut down the amount of taxes that you have to pay at the end of the financial year.

Do you need a lawyer to appeal property tax?

In case if you assume that your property taxes have gone high in an unfair manner, you should ask the question, do you need a lawyer to appeal property tax. It is possible for you to appeal property tax on your own. However, it can lead you to a challenging situation. You will have to deal with numerous overwhelming situations as you try to go ahead with the appeal. Instead of going through that challenge on your own, you may simply get the help of an attorney and reduce the property taxes that you have to pay. That’s because the property tax appeal lawyers have years of experience in helping their clients to reduce the property taxes that they have to pay.

If you can avoid capital gains tax, you don’t need a lawyer to appeal property tax

Purchasing a new home will be the biggest investment that you do in your entire life. In other words, you will have to spend thousands of dollars to buy a new home. However, there are some perks that you will have to experience at the time of selling your house. Capital gains tax exclusion is a perfect example for it.

If you are reading this, you must be looking forward to avoiding capital gains on your home. Keep on reading and we will share more information on how you can do it. it is important to understand how to stay away from capital gains tax with your real estate transactions. Then you don’t have to worry too much about the question, do you need a lawyer to appeal property tax. That’s because you are avoiding property tax in the very first instance.

What exactly is capital gains tax?

Bonds, stocks, cars, and your home are considered as capital assets. When you are selling a property for a higher price than what you paid, you will be experiencing a capital gain. For example, if you sell your car at a higher price than the amount you paid, you will have to go ahead and report the capital gain to the IRS. Then IRS will calculate and tax the capital gain you receive. You will have to do the same for your home as well. However, there are certain instances where you can exclude yourself from facing these capital gains taxes.

How can you exclude yourself from capital gains taxes?

You should qualify to receive tax exemptions for capital gains. This is where you need to take a look at the criteria for it. Below mentioned are the criteria, which will make a person exempt from capital gains taxes.

-          You should have owned the house for a duration of at least two years

Some people buy and sell houses as house flippers. Capital gains tax was mainly introduced because of that. If you have owned the house for a duration of more than two years, you will be able to exempt yourself from the capital gains on your house.

-          You have lived in the house for more than two years

You should also prove that you have lived in the house for more than two years. In other words, the house you sell should be the primary residence of you. You don’t have to live in the house for a period of two years consecutively. But you need to make sure that it is your primary residency and you have used it as your primary residency for a duration of two years.

-          You have not received any capital gains tax exemptions recently

Last but not least, you should prove that you have not received any capital gains tax exemptions from another house in the recent past.

Can you deduct the home improvement expenses from profit?

When you purchase a new house, you will spend a considerable amount of money on the maintenance of it. Hence, you will wonder whether there is a possibility for you to deduct those expenses from the profit that you are making.

If you have made any significant improvements to the home, you will be able to add them to the cost of improvement of your house and deduct them as expenses from the profit. In here, the time period where you did the improvements will not matter. Here are some of the significant improvements that you can deduct.

-          Installation of a new insulation system, duct work or pipes

-          Replacing the floors and walls

-          Adding a new bathroom, bedroom, or garage to the house

-          Adding a new deck, patio, or porch to the house

-          Installation of new in-built appliances to the house

-          Installation of new windows, roof, carpets, or doors

-          Addition of new patio, porch, or deck.

-          Installation of new walkways and driveways

-          Installation of new landscaping, such as new fences, new lawns, and new retaining walls.

Other expenses that you can reduce from the profit of selling a house

Apart from the home improvement expenses, there are few other expenses, which you will be able to reduce from the profit that you generate by selling a house. Let’s take a quick look at those expenses as well.

-          Notary fees or advertising fees

-          Document preparation fees

-          Appraisal fees

-          Attorney fees

-          Costs of removing all the title clouds

-          Commission paid for the real estate broker

-          Escrow fees

-          Closing fees

-          Title search fees

-          Settlement fees

When you add these expenses and reduce your profit, you will also be able to reduce the overall capital gains taxes that you have to pay on the house as well.

Final words

Now you have a good understanding on do you need a lawyer to appeal property tax or not. If you are in a position to avoid property gains tax, you should try your best to do that. If not, you will be able to work along with a reputed attorney and get the taxes reduced as much as possible.