A story about almost missing out on a 30-million-yen deduction due to 'a word from an acquaintance' when consulting on selling an inherited house

[Selling an inherited house can be dangerous if you rely on 'common knowledge']

In consultations about inherited houses,
before you even hesitate about whether to sell,
your decision may already be slightly leaning in one direction.

One of the reasons for this is
**'common knowledge' heard from acquaintances or on the internet.**

'Apparently, taxes on real estate become cheaper if you hold it for 5 years'
'Isn't it okay not to sell it in a hurry?'
'Aren't real estate companies just trying to make you sell quickly?'

These kinds of stories
may not be partially incorrect.

However,
inherited real estate can have different premises so
it can be dangerous to apply general theories as they are.

Even in actual consultations,
there was a case where a major system was almost missed because of that one word.

[It was a consultation where they were told 'taxes become cheaper if you hold it for 5 years']

Previously, I received a consultation
from someone who was wondering what to do with an inherited house.

The house was already vacant,
and they were at the stage of considering whether to sell it or wait and see for a while.

When I checked the situation,
there was a possibility that the property could use the
30-million-yen deduction for vacant houses if it met the conditions.

This system
can deduct 30 million yen from capital gains, so
it is quite significant in terms of taxes.

However,
it is not a system that can be used at any time.

There is a deadline.

However, that person,
when consulting with an acquaintance,
was apparently told this.

'Taxes on real estate become cheaper if you hold it for 5 years'

When you hear these words,
'Then maybe I should wait instead of selling now'
I think many people would think that.

[That story is not completely wrong. But it didn't fit this time]

This acquaintance's story itself
is not completely wrong.

Real estate has
the concepts of short-term capital gains and long-term capital gains, and
there is a system where the tax rate changes
once the ownership period exceeds five years.

Therefore,
if you only take the idea that
“taxes will be lower if you hold it for five years,”
I think many people have heard of that.

However, in this case,
there wasa premise unique to inherited real estateinvolved.

Real estate acquired through inheritance is
not simply counted as
newly acquired by the person who inherited it.

Because the ownership period can be calculated by carrying over the decedent's acquisition date,the real estate in this case already met the conditions for long-term capital gains.

In other words, in this consultation,
there was no need to wait five years.

[What was truly dangerous was the deadline for a different system]

That was not the problem.

That real estate
had the potential to use
the 30 million yen deduction for vacant housesif the conditions were met.

However, this system has a deadline.

If it is not sold by
the end of the year in which three years have passed since the start of the inheritance,
there is a possibility that it can no longer be used.

In short,

• there was no need to wait five years for long-term capital gains

• but

• the deadline for the 30 million yen deduction was approaching

was the situation.

If they had made a decision based on the general theory of
“let's wait five years if it lowers the taxes,”
then

there was a possibility that they would have missed out on the 30 million yen deduction that they might have otherwise been able to use
.

This is quite significant.

[Inherited real estate can be dangerous even with a 'word of advice from someone with tax knowledge']

The difficult part about these consultations is that
the acquaintance is not saying these things with any ill intent.

In fact,
precisely because they have a little bit of knowledge,
the conversation can proceed with words that sound plausible.

And for the person seeking advice,
if they have the feeling that
“real estate companies might just want to sell it quickly,”
they may end up wanting to believe the opinions of someone close to them.

This is natural.

However, inherited real estate

• whether it is an inheritance or a standard sale

• what systems can be used

• whether there is a deadline

• how to consider the holding period

—these factors significantly change the judgment.

Therefore,
the more something sounds like general advice, the better it is not to apply it as is
in some cases.

[It is easier to regret when you 'didn't organize things first' than when you were 'wrong']

What is scary about this case is not
that there was zero knowledge.

Rather,
it is that because there was a little bit of information,
the judgment was starting to solidify.

Moreover, this regret
is not about 'not knowing,' but

it could have been prevented if organized beforehand

—it tends to remain in that form.

Before deciding whether to sell or not,
the sale of inherited real estate requires

• ownership

• systems

• Deadlines

• Taxes

• Family intentions

It is not uncommon that you have to look at these.

If you skip this and proceed with
“it seems better to wait a little longer for some reason,”
it can be difficult to recover from later.

[For inherited houses, 'organizing the situation before selling' is especially important]

In consultations about inherited houses,
looking only at the price may not provide an answer.

Tax systems.
Presence or absence of deadlines.
How to think about holding periods.
Family discussions.
The risk of keeping it as a vacant house.

Because these things overlap,
just organizing them a little at the beginning
can make it easier to make a decision.

That is why I
feel that when selling an inherited house,
it is better to organize the situation before deciding 'whether to sell now or not'
.

[Summary]

Selling an inherited house
can be dangerous if you judge it only by a word from an acquaintance or general theories.

Even if the story that
“taxes will be lower if you hold it for 5 years”
is not wrong in itself,it may not fit the situation of that specific real estate.

In this consultation as well,
while the conditions for long-term transfer had already been met,
there was a deadline for the 30 million yen deduction for vacant houses.

In other words,
far from being advantageous to wait,
there was a possibility of missing out on a major system.

Inherited real estate
cannot be decided by price alone.

By organizing things in advance, including
systems, deadlines, and family circumstances,
the way you see things may change.

[Article you should read next]

If you want to organize your thinking
to avoid panicking later due to inheritance or misjudgments
like in this case,
this article might also be helpful.

[About consultations]

Regarding real estate,
there is no need to make a decision immediately.

However, just by organizing things a little,
your perspective might change.

The reference page is here.

Even at the stage where you 'haven't decided whether to sell yet',
we accept consultations for organizing your situation.

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