Virginia Lang - HERLIFE Magazine

might be able to take advantage of home office tax credits ifyou have a home office that you use exclusively for business.Prorated costs of mortgage, insurance and taxes that applyto that percentage of your square footage may provide sometax benefits. However, those claims are scrutinized closelyand you should always seek the counsel of a knowledgeabletax professional before making such claims. And, as they say,all good things must come to an end. Luckily, there are taxbenefits available to homeowners even when they are ready tosell their property. Typically, in the year of the sale of a home,homeowners are able to deduct the costs of selling it, includingreal estate commissions, title insurance, legal fees, advertising,administrative costs and inspection fees. You can typicallyalso deduct decorating or repair costs you incur in the 90 daysbefore you sell your home.It is important to remember to carefully scrutinize notonly your status as a homeowner, but your entire financialpicture when evaluating your decisions. Typically, making thetransition from renter to owner marks the change of claiminga standard tax deduction versus itemizing. While a basicknowledge of these tax benefits is a good start, be sure to notoverestimate the value of your deductions, and to rememberthat you will be giving up the standard deduction in favor ofitemized deductions.This article includes general information, but is notintended to be relied upon as tax or legal advice applicable toparticular transactions or circumstances. Please always consulta tax professional for such advice and remember that tax lawsvary by jurisdiction.HERLIFEmagazine.com 37