Recently there has been speculation that there is now a Medicare tax on home sales as part of  the new federal health care bill. That is not true!

According to the language in the law, as explained in this FactCheck.org article, the Medicare tax would be assessed only on proceeds from the sale of a home that are ALREADY SUBJECT TO TAXATION.

Every American who sells a home can earn up to $250,000 of proceeds tax free from the sale of the property. Couples that are married can earn $500,000 of proceeds before having to sell taxes. Proceeds are your profit – so if you purchased a home for $100,000 and sold it for $300,000 your proceeds are are only $200,000.

Moreover the medicare tax would only apply to high earning individuals with annual incomes of – $200,000 individuals and $250,000 couples.  So in order to pay this tax a married couple would have to earn $250,000 in income and net over $500,000 in proceeds from the sale of their home. And the tax is only 3.8% on every dollar over $500,000.

Make sure that when you sell a property you always consult your tax professional for assistance in planning and recording for the IRS. The Government affairs office at the Cincinnati Area Board of Realtors provided additional information for this post.