Orange County Real Estate Blog

Selling Your Home in Retirement? How the Gain Can Raise Your Medicare Premiums and Taxes

Retirees selling a long-held Orange County home usually ask 1 question: how much capital gains tax will I owe? That is only the first domino. A large gain also counts as income, and income is what drives your Medicare premiums, how much of your Social Security gets taxed, whether you can claim newer

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How to Keep Your Family's Memories When You Downsize (Without Keeping Everything)

You keep your family's memories when you downsize by separating the memory from the object. Scan the photos, slides, and letters. Record the stories while the people who know them can still tell them. Decide who gets which heirlooms with a fair, written process. Put those decisions in your estate pl

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Sell Now or Keep It for the Kids? The Tax Math on a Long-Held Newport Beach Home

Should a senior sell a long-held Newport Beach home or keep it for the heirs?It depends on the tax math. Selling now can trigger capital gains above the $250,000 or $500,000 exclusion. Holding gives heirs a step-up in basis, but can cost you cash flow and them a Prop 19 reassessment. If you bought y

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