Apartment is sold: When is 30 percent tax due?

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This time we received a question about real estate income tax.

QUESTION: I purchased a condominium in 2005 that I used as my primary residence until the end of 2021. I plan to sell it in the next three to four years. Does the real estate income tax then come into play?

On COURIER home phone gave this time Attorney Sigrid Räth Information. She has the following legal answer:

ANSWER: The Real estate income tax is 30 percent of the profit on the sale of real estate. A distinction is made between old assets and new assets. For old assets, the real estate income tax can be calculated at a flat rate of 4.2 percent of the purchase price. For new assets (purchased after March 31, 2002), the tax calculation must be based on the difference between the acquisition costs and the sales price. The acquisition costs also include the costs of the contract builder, the property transfer tax, the registration fee, broker’s fee, etc. Investments in the property may also be taken into account.
There is the possibility that Primary residence exemption to be claimed if the purchased property has served as a primary residence for at least two years from the time of purchase to the time of sale. Another option to claim the main residence exemption is if your main residence has been in this property for at least five of the last ten years.

From the time you gave up your main residence in 2021 until now, an approximately five-year period (depending on when the main residence was actually given up) has passed. This means that the condition for five continuous years within the last ten years may now be met. But in three to four years this will no longer be the case. Unless there are legal changes, the sale would then be subject to real estate income tax.