Tax on the sale of an apartment received as an inheritance

When can I sell an inherited property? This is a very common question that arises among citizens who have become unexpected owners of any real estate.

Since such events do not occur every day in the life of the heirs, it is quite natural that there are significant gaps in knowledge on this topic. Let's try to fill them with useful information. ????

People who receive housing from their relatives often face problems related to the fact that they need to pay tax on the sale of an apartment they received as an inheritance. After all, you don’t want to pay for what you yourself got for free when selling.

Most people know that there is no need to pay, and they are partly right. However, when a person is going to sell real estate that was inherited from a relative or as a gift, he is obliged to pay personal income tax in the amount of 13% of the value. Why is that? The point is that the citizen receives income after the transaction. And each such profit is subject to state tax on personal income.

But here there are some peculiarities that each owner should be aware of in order to understand in what cases the inheritance is taxed upon sale. Well, in order to minimize possible deductions to the state treasury.

First of all, the property inheritance transaction must be legally executed, that is, the new owner must have all the papers confirming his ownership of the new property.

When selling inherited living space, each owner collects a package of documents, which includes:

1. Ownership. The sale of real estate is carried out only after registration of a certificate of ownership, otherwise the sale is impossible.
2. Certificate confirming the right to inheritance.
3. Permission to sell from the spouse or spouse, if the marriage contract states that any inheritance is joint property. If there is no marriage contract, then this permission is not needed.
4. Also, if the area is distributed among several people, a formal agreement of all owners for the sale is necessary. Such permission can be made at any notary office.
5. Contract for the purchase of an apartment.
6. An extract from the house book, which shows who is registered in this apartment.

Accordingly, the answer to the question: “When can I sell an apartment received as an inheritance?” All of the above documents will be available.

The sale of a house or apartment inherited is carried out only by the owner.

Now let's talk about when is the best time to sell inherited housing.

Proper sale of an apartment

Calculate tenure

The current taxation provides for a number of tax deductions that can reduce the amount of income tax on a cash transaction. One of these benefits is the tenure of a residential property.

If the property has been owned for more than three years, then there is no need to pay taxes on the sale. Otherwise, if this property was owned for up to 3 years, then personal income tax will have to be paid from the total amount of the sale of real estate received as a gift or by will.

How to calculate the period of ownership of the inheritance? It must be remembered that three years are not calendar years. Previously, when registering property, for example, in September, the billing year began only on the first of January. Now, three years are thirty-six months, which run continuously from the moment of death of the person who bequeathed the property.

Example. Let a certain Peter Ivanov received real estate by will from a relative in September 2015, that is, this month he executed all the documents of ownership for himself. But the death of the former owner occurred in May 2015. According to the new rules, the countdown of 3 years will begin in May. Thus, in June 2018, Petr Ivanov will be able to sell this apartment quite calmly, without paying any tax legally.

We apply additional benefits

The sale of an inheritance that has been owned for less than 3 years is subject to mandatory personal income tax, which currently stands at thirteen percent.

But when using a tax deduction, the amount payable can be calculated differently. The percentage will remain the same, but the amount for which the apartment is sold can be reduced by 1 million rubles.

Example. The same Peter Ivanov wanted to sell his inherited housing for 5 million rubles. If three years have not passed since the death of the testator, then Peter will be required to pay personal income tax in the amount of 13% of the sale amount reduced by 1,000,000 rubles. It turns out a tax of 520,000 rubles. = (5 million - 1 million) * 13%.

But if the amount of the sale of housing is less than or equal to one million rubles, then the person who sells the inherited apartment will not pay tax, since taxation is not provided for in this case.

However, if Peter sells property with a tenure of less than 3 years, he must draw up a 3-NDFL tax return and take it to the tax office. Even if the tax payable is 0.

But the easiest way for Peter is to wait 3 years from the moment of the death of the testator and sell the apartment without any taxation. Then it will not be necessary to file a declaration with the tax authority.

Persons who may not pay tax

On the Internet, there is information that the tax on the sale of an inherited apartment may not be paid when owned for less than three years by persons belonging to the following categories:

• invalids of the first and second groups;
• disabled from birth;
• pensioners.

And it is concluded that all of the above people are not required to pay tax on the sale of inherited property.

However, there is no documentary evidence of this: neither in the tax code, nor in explanatory letters. Therefore, you should not trust this information, although you really want to.

All official documents indicate that when inheriting property, a grace period of tax-free possession of 3 years is provided. This applies to both real estate acquired before 2016 and after.

And regardless of whether the seller is a disabled person, a pensioner or a working citizen, he must report to the tax office and pay tax on a general basis.

Important! When selling an apartment under a will, do not forget to apply the standard exemption of 1 million rubles in order to reduce the tax base.

Possible problems

If an apartment is sold by inheritance, and no sales tax is paid, then some troubles are possible, for example:

• in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, for non-payment of taxes on an especially large scale, a fine in the amount of one hundred to three hundred thousand rubles is assumed, and the fine may also be equal to the cost of the apartment;
• a fine is also possible if the declaration of sale is not submitted to the tax authority in time, in which case the penalty is 5% of the tax amount.

Negative consequences are also possible when the housing has already been completely sold, taxes have been paid, documents have been drawn up, but other heirs appear who claim the property. Such a problem is solved either personally or in court.

In order to avoid such situations, it is necessary to carefully study all the documents before selling, to make sure that there are no additional heirs. And if they, nevertheless, are - make sure that you have the appropriate permission.

If a person is completely unaware of such issues or does not have time for this, then it is better to ask for help from a professional lawyer who will help with collecting the necessary documents and with.

Conclusion

Thus, it is not so difficult to sell real estate that was received by will. Of course, you will have to walk around state institutions in order to take various certificates, visit a notary and a tax inspector.

Let's summarize the above. When selling you must:

1. Collect the package of documents indicated above.
2. After the transaction, draw up a tax return, in which you indicate the amount of tax calculated from the sale price of housing.
3. Go to the tax office and submit a 3-NDFL declaration.
4. If you have to pay tax, then you need to take a receipt from the tax inspector and pay the specified amount.

There is no need to delay filing the declaration, but there is no need to rush either. 3-NDFL forms are submitted to the tax office at the beginning of the calendar year following the one in which the property purchase and sale transaction was completed. This must be done by April 30th.

Example. Let our Petr Ivanov sold the inherited share in the apartment on January 15, 2016. In this case, he can not worry about anything for a whole year. However, before April 30, 2017, he must not forget to report to the tax office that he sold part of his property and received income.