Regarding the Affordable Health Care Act: A Tuesday letter to the editor, “Act is anything but ‘affordable,’” erroneously alleges the act includes a 3.8 percent sales tax on the sale of real estate. The letter encourages all who consider selling their home to take that tax into consideration.
The 3.8 percent tax in the act will not apply to individuals whose income is less than $200,000 ($250,000 for couples). An amount that excludes about 97 percent of all U.S. households.
Further, it is a tax on investment (capital gain), not on the sale price of the house. In the case of sale of a primary residence, the tax will apply only to the portion of the gain that is greater than $250,000 for an individual ($500,000 for a couple).
Neil Kendall
Marysville
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