$500,000 Tax Free Income and it is Legal

You can sell your personal residence and exclude up to $500,000 in gain on the sale of the residence if you are married and file a joint return. You can even get this exclusion every two years if you want to move that much and have a good eye for appreciable property. You do not have to reinvest the proceeds into a new home which was the rule about twenty years ago. What a good deal.

Depreciating Vans and Trucks

If you purchase and place in service certain trucks and vans in 2013, you can depreciate them under section 179 up to a limit of $500,000. They have to be used more than 50% for business. Other conditions are required such as an open cargo area of at least 6 feet long , a loaded gross vehicle weight of at least 6,000 lbs., and seating of more than 9 passengers behind the driver seat. Some qualifying vehicles are Ford F-150s with a 6 ft. bed, Ford F250/F350s super duty, and Ford E-series cargo vans. Any truck or van with a loaded gross vehicle weight over 14,000 lbs. also qualifies. This $500,000 section 179 limit drops to $25,000 in 2014.

The Best Tax Shelter

You can exclude up to $500,000 of gain in the sale of your personal residence from your taxable income if you file jointly. You can exclude half of that if you are single. This is one of the best tax deals around, and would be even better if the real estate market was more robust and taxpayers were sitting on these kind of gains like many were before 2008. What are the requirements for this good deal? They're not too bad. You can only do it once every 2 years. You have to have owned and used the property as your principal residence for 2 out of the 5 years prior to the sales date. So is it time to start packing boxes and get that tax free income?