New Legislation Would Extend Mortgage Cancellation Relief…BUT
IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING MORTGAGE PAYMENT DIFFICULTIES, DON’T WAIT TO SELL
A Short Sale may help save your credit and help you get to a place where you can rebuild more quickly than if you face foreclosure or bankruptcy. For more answers, check out my website atDelinquent-Mortgage-Options.com
The Mortgage Cancellation Tax Relief currently expires at the end of 2012. From all reports I have heard, there is a 50/50 chance that Congress will extend this. IF they do not, after 12/31/2012 you MAY have to claim the income for the deficiency of a short sale – forgiven debt.
Basically, IF you owe a debt to someone else and they cancel or forgive that debt, the canceled amount may be taxable.
The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief.
The Mortgage Debt Relief Act of 2007 generally allows taxpayers to exclude income from the discharge of debt on their principal residence. Debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure, qualifies for the relief.
What is Cancellation of Debt?
If you borrow money from a commercial lender and the lender later cancels or forgives the debt, you may have to include the cancelled amount in income for tax purposes, depending on the circumstances. When you borrowed the money you were not required to include the loan proceeds in income because you had an obligation to repay the lender. When that obligation is subsequently forgiven, the amount you received as loan proceeds is normally reportable as income because you no longer have an obligation to repay the lender. The lender is usually required to report the amount of the canceled debt to you and the IRS on a Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt.
If you borrow money from a commercial lender and the lender later cancels or forgives the debt, you may have to include the cancelled amount in income for tax purposes, depending on the circumstances. When you borrowed the money you were not required to include the loan proceeds in income because you had an obligation to repay the lender. When that obligation is subsequently forgiven, the amount you received as loan proceeds is normally reportable as income because you no longer have an obligation to repay the lender. The lender is usually required to report the amount of the canceled debt to you and the IRS on a Form 1099-C, Cancellation of Debt.
Here’s a very simplified example. You borrow $10,000 and default on the loan after paying back $2,000. If the lender is unable to collect the remaining debt from you, there is a cancellation of debt of $8,000, which generally is taxable income to you.
For a detailed IRS report on this subject, go to The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation
