Hurricane Sandy devastated large portions of the East Coast late in October. It left many people without homes; others struggled for days or weeks to regain power and have access to gas for their vehi...

If you co-own a home with someone who is not your spouse, such as a significant other or sibling, special tax rules apply to you during the period of ownership as well as at the time of sale. Watch fo...

Hurricane Isaac and the devastation it wrought to the Gulf Coast region in August is a reminder that a disaster can strike at any time in any location. Hopefully, you have adequate insurance, such as ...

The tax rules seem pretty straightforward when it comes to deducting home mortgage interest. Homeowners can deduct interest on acquisition indebtedness (a loan to buy, build, or substantially improve ...

In the spring of 2007, home sales proved to be the worst in 18 years. What can you do to ensure that your home will sell for a reasonable price, regardless of market conditions? Here are some strategi...

There are several tax credits that a homeowner may claim for making certain energy improvements to the home. These include a 10% credit for adding qualified energy efficiency improvements (residential...

Let's assume your move is deductible. Then you can write off costs to pack, crate, and move your household goods and personal effects. Storage and insurance costs can be treated as deductible expenses...

When you sell your home and move your things to a new residence because of a change in your work location, you may be able to deduct moving expenses as an adjustment to gross income, even if you don't...

The home sale exclusion applies only to "qualified use" of a residence. "Nonqualified use" includes any period after December 31, 2008, in which the home is not used as a principal residence. Thus, if...

A home sale exclusion applies to gain on the sale of a principal residence up to a set dollar limit. If you subdivide your property, selling off vacant land separately from the parcel on which the hom...

The fact that your home has appreciated greatly in value does not automatically mean that any part of your gain will be taxed. Gain on the sale of a home is the difference between what you receive on ...

Selling your home before meeting the full 2-year ownership and use tests does not automatically disqualify you from excluding some or all of your gain. You may be eligible to use a prorated exclusion ...

If you sell your home for a profit, you may avoid tax on some or all of your gain as long as you meet certain conditions. More specifically, you do not pay any tax on gain up to $250,000 from the sale...

Cooperative housing, also called a co-op, is a form of home ownership. You become a tenant-stockholder in a cooperative housing corporation (CHC) that owns and runs a multiunit housing complex. Your s...

Real estate taxes vary considerably from location to location. You may be able to save money and taxes by taking certain action.Consider prepaying an upcoming tax bill before the end of the year t...

Things can get complicated when it comes to real estate taxes in the year you buy or sell your home. For example, if you buy the property at a tax sale, you cannot start to deduct property taxes until...

Your burden of paying local property taxes, including city, town, and/or county taxes and school taxes, can be eased somewhat by deducting your payments.You must itemize deductions to deduct real ...

The federal government wants to encourage homeownership. Toward this end, from time to time, it has provided a tax credit to new buyers. There are two tax credits: (1) a credit for first-time homebuye...

You may be able to use money in your IRA toward the cost of buying a home without incurring an early distribution penalty from your IRA. The withdrawal is subject to regular income tax, but you avoid ...

Homeowners are usually personally liable for the amount of the mortgage, even though the lender can foreclose, sell the home, and use the sale proceeds to pay down the debt. Unfortunately, in today's ...