Did you get these chain emails?

There have been a couple email rumors going around regarding new federal legislation and the potential consequences for home owners. We thought it would be helpful to address these issues on our blog today.

Rumor: The new federal health care bill requires an additional 4% transfer tax on homes sold.

Fact: The new federal health care bill has a 3.8% Medicare tax for some high-income households with net investment income.

Starting in 2013, this tax applies only home households with adjusted gross incomes of over $250,000 and would only be charged on home-sale proceeds that exceed the capital gains exclusion of $500,000. If filing individually, these figures change to incomes over $200,000 and home sale proceeds over $250,000.


Rumor: The energy bill that Congress is working on would require home sellers to obtain an energy audit or make energy retrofits before selling.

Fact: The bill as written at this point would require new construction to be energy-labeled, but it does not allow states to require new ratings when the homes are sold.

FactCheck.org did a nice job answering this question with references on their website earlier this year.

If you come across any other rumors about these issues or others regarding changing rules for selling or buying a home, please ask our Facebook page, leave a comment, or drop us an email. We will check into it for you. We are here to help with all types of real estate questions here in the Green County area.