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Saturday, November 29, 2008

Tax Consequences of Foreclosure

By Dave Pierce John Higginbotham

So you escaped the huge house payment and got out from under it, or so you thought. If you thought you had problems when you could not afford the mortgage, you will really have problems with the Internal Revenue Service.

We will discuss the different ways you will owe the IRS in detail later on. Many homeowners bought their house under liberal financing terms such as interest and variable rate loans. These loans have become a liablity for many banks as the rates adjust and people cannot make the new payment.

The difference between what you owe on your mortgage and what the bank has to sell it for is called a short sale. Short sales are becoming widespread as many people are losing their homes to foreclosure. The difference in the two numbers is usually taxable.

The Internal Revenue Service considers any loan amount forgiven as cancellation of debt and is taxable as regular income. The Internal Revenue Service says that debt discharge or cancellation is fully taxable as regular income. Homeowners really need to be aware of this before they consider foreclosure.

The tax rate for any of the cancellation of debt is whatever your tax rate happens to be, anywhere from 10% to 35% depending on your tax bracket. Tax law mandates that the homeowner actually sells back their home to the bank with the proceeds going to the bank for their indebtedness.

Any of the debt owed beyond what was paid is cancellation of debt income, which is always taxable. Many homeowners, after some advice of a loved one or someone they trust, wrongly think they will not have to pay the IRS for their discharged debt, which is not the case.

Homeowners should discuss the tax consequences before turning their keys back into the bank or giving their house away for less than what is owed on it via the bank.

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