Tax Free Exchanges: Watch out for the New Residence Rules

On October 22, 2004, President Bush signed tax legislation that contained a provision affecting Internal Revenue Code section 1031 (the like-kind tax-free exchange rules).

Under this new provision a taxpayer who exchanges under Internal Revenue Code section 1031 into a rental house as a replacement property for a previous investor property and later converts it to his or her primary residence, is not allowed to exclude gain under the principal residence exclusion rules of Internal Revenue Code section 121, unless he/she sells the property at least five years from the date of its acquisition.

The results of this additional requirement to Internal Revenue Code section 121 is that anyone exchanging into a rental property that they such subsequently convert to personal use will have to wait at least five years from the date of acquisition before they can sell it as their residence and exclude any gain under Internal Revenue Code section 121.

The change to the home seller rules of Internal Revenue Code section 121 became effective for principal residence sales occurring on or after October 22, 2004. Any taxpayer who previously acquired their current residence through a tax-deferred exchange within the past three years will now have to wait at least another two years before selling their home and excluding any gain, provided they meet the two out of the five-year occupancy test for living in the property.

New legislation created in 1997/1998 allows taxpayers to exclude capital gains tax on their profits from the sale of their principal residence up to $250,000 for single taxpayers and up to $500,000 for married taxpayers provided they have lived in their principal residence for two out of the past five years. Taxpayers can exclude this gain any number of times provided they have met the two out of the five-year occupancy test.

Good luck and until next time,

Phil Craig

P.S. Feel free to forward this on to any friends.

Phil Craig is a licensed attorney and entreprenuer.He started practicing law at age 25 in 1979. He does not take on any more clients, but isadvisor to some of the biggest names in the internetworld. He shares his knowledge gained over thelast 25 years at his Living Trust Secrets newsletter site:click here=========>http://www.LivingTrustSecrets.com

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German Stocks Fall Most Since January; Hypo Real Estate Slumps - Bloomberg

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd width=80 align=center valign=topfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0i-0fd=Rurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7653317.stmcid=1251970064ei=RGXqSPqjDJPKywT45508usg=AFQjCNFuIXp8MwsoiTpD4nskqAHElY150gimg src=http://news.google.com/news?imgefp=FuNvMoC2FvAJimgurl=newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45079000/jpg/_45079496_bccf7161-22b0-45f7-9387-493d8faa70dc.jpg width=80 height=60 alt= border=1brfont size=-2BBC News/font/a/font/tdtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-0fd=Rurl=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news%3Fpid%3D20601100%26sid%3DapMYnS6j53Zk%26refer%3Dgermanycid=1251970064ei=RGXqSPqjDJPKywT45508usg=AFQjCNEg7hfzXWmGOqknshfSYXQ2om2dPQGerman Stocks Fall Most Since January; Hypo bReal Estate/b Slumps/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBloombergnbsp;-/font nobr2 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1Hypo bReal Estate/b, the nation#39;s second-biggest commercial- property lender, tumbled 37 percent as the government and the country#39;s banks and insurers agreed b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-1fd=Rurl=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DZz0F4-iutWccid=1251970064ei=RGXqSPqjDJPKywT45508usg=AFQjCNF_3HJOGCojFocpQqAWoHOhEIPVwgVideo: Wall St.#39;s worst week in 7 years/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReutersVideo/nobr/fontobject width=448 height=356param name=movie value=http://www.youtube.com/v/Zz0F4-iutWc/paramparam name=wmode value=transparent/paramembed src=http://www.youtube.com/v/Zz0F4-iutWctype=application/x-shockwave-flashwmode=transparentwidth=448height=356/embed/objectbr/fontfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-2fd=Rurl=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/hypo-real-estate-tripped-funding/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B2B1A4778-8429-4E11-88E0-96FD0D888991%257D%26dist%3Dmsr_1cid=1251970064ei=RGXqSPqjDJPKywT45508usg=AFQjCNEvMslHej3FcjcN1dO5eJ_axEBHIAHypo bReal Estate/b tripped by funding strategy/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrMarketWatch/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-3fd=Rurl=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3692522,00.htmlcid=1251970064ei=RGXqSPqjDJPKywT45508usg=AFQjCNHnEzaRWglGM45mUv5LeTZutqArDwGermany Rescues Hypo bReal Estate/b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrDeutsche Welle/nobr/font/fontbrfont size=-1 class=pa href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-4fd=Rurl=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/german-officials-move-save-hypo/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257B99F9DBD1-3CCB-4FD9-A31D-248BFE852C56%257D%26dist%3Dmsr_1cid=1251970064ei=RGXqSPqjDJPKywT45508usg=AFQjCNHDPy4YDOdMgRU8FPWaBLVzRxetFgnobrMarketWatch/nobr/anbsp;- a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/0-5fd=Rurl=http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/germany-moves-rescue-hypo-real/story.aspx%3Fguid%3D%257BD97E28E7-42B0-4DE5-B730-13B59C349C04%257D%26dist%3Dmsr_1cid=1251970064ei=RGXqSPqjDJPKywT45508usg=AFQjCNHshFXolhiknHZb0KW0O-6xKNJBZQnobrMarketWatch/nobr/a/fontbr/font class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1251970064hl=ennobrall 2,237 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Real estate roundup: BPA leases Vancouver space - Bizjournals.com

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-0fd=Rurl=http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2008/10/06/daily2.htmlcid=1254855186ei=RGXqSPqjDJPKywT45508usg=AFQjCNFxHdgqkuI9fr8chdU9ZZkNo1qFSAbReal estate/b roundup: BPA leases Vancouver space/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBizjournals.com,nbsp;NCnbsp;-/font nobr1 hour ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1New amp; Neville bReal Estate/b Services represented Cricket. •Foam Street Investments LLC purchased The Parkview Apartments, a 104-unit complex at 7808 NE 12th b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/1-1fd=Rurl=http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20081006/ARTICLE/810060402/2058/NEWS%3FTitle%3DReal_estate_dealscid=1254855186ei=RGXqSPqjDJPKywT45508usg=AFQjCNFa4Exkzr6VjhRVWUBm90koe58m4gbReal estate/b deals/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrSarasota Herald-Tribune/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1254855186hl=ennobrall 4 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

Blumberg Capital Partners Completes Two-Year Real Estate ... - MarketWatch

Real estate wrap: Rowan opens first building at technology park - Bizjournals.com

Commercial real estate feels pinch - Minneapolis Star Tribune

The 2008 Real Estate Review Is the Most Comprehensive Guide to the ... - MarketWatch

Analysts cautious commercial real estate outlook - Forbes

Hypo Real Estate, Deutsche Bank, Metro: German Equity Preview - Bloomberg

Japan Stocks Fall on Hypo Real Estate Bailout, US Job Losses - Bloomberg

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Bank exposure to real estate sector climbs by 5.2% in June - BusinessWorld Online

Real-Estate - Google News

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