Does California tax capital gains on home sales?
Christopher Davis
Updated on March 10, 2026
The federal government taxes home-sales profit over the $250,000/$500,000 limit at rates up to 23.8 percent. California taxes capital gains the same as ordinary income, at rates up to 13.3 percent.
How do I avoid Capital Gains Tax on a second home?
There are various ways to avoid capital gains taxes on a second home, including renting it out, performing a 1031 exchange, using it as your primary residence, and depreciating your property.
Can I take a loss on the sale of my second home?
A second home, or a timeshare, used as a vacation home is a personal use capital asset. A gain on the sale is reportable income, but a loss is NOT deductible. You may receive IRS Form 1099-S Proceeds from Real Estate Transactions for the sale of your vacation home.
Can I claim a loss on the sale of my second home?
What happens if you have a second home in California?
Spending more than six months out of the year in your California home, storing large amounts of personal property there, or selling your residence in another state could put you at risk of being declared a full-time California resident.
Can you sell a second home in another state?
Solved: I sold a second home in another state for a loss. Do I need to file taxes in that state? It was not a rental property. June 4, 2019 3:46 PM I sold a second home in another state for a loss.
Do you have to pay capital gains when you sell a second home?
Here, you’ll have to pay a capital gains tax on the sale of your second home. Depending on how long you’ve owned your second home, your taxes will be a short-term capital gains tax or a long-term capital gains tax. If you sell an investment property that you have owned for less than a year, it will be subject to the short term capital gains tax.
What can you deduct from the sale of a second home?
You can also deduct costs associated with the purchase and sale of your second home. Realtor commissions, inspections, origination fees, etc. Say you spent $5,000 in acquisition fees to purchase the home, and paid $20,000 in agent commissions and other fees at the sale. Then you can deduct another $25,000 from your profit.