You can all exhale! Congress just passed a bill, The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (Sec. 202) which extends the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act through December 31, 2013. This legislation extends dozens of other tax cuts that have expired or are set to expire at the end of the year, including one that extends homeowners’ ability to deduct the cost of mortgage insurance on a qualified personal residence.
Under the federal tax code, all types of forgiven debt are treated as income, subject to regular taxes. Because of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, homeowners who get their mortgage debt forgiven through either a short sale or loan modification won’t be taxed on the amount forgiven up to $2 million. This law was set to expire December 31, 2012. If it hadn’t been extended, any forgiven amount of debt would be considered taxable income, which would be devastating for homeowners who are already experiencing financial hardship.
There was an awful lot of concern among borrowers either in or considering a short sale that the tax ramifications of a short sale would change with the expiration of the 2007 law. The extension saw to it that anyone who has purchase mortgage debt forgiven in, for example, a short sale would not have the forgiven debt treated as taxable income.
There is always small print as to what qualifies, so all are encouraged to consult with their CPA, attorney or financial professional for specific advice, but the current law will continue unchanged, and that is good news.
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