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The 3.8% tax on Real-estate transactions within Obama care.    25 Sept 10

 Article by Thomas F. McMasters 
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Executive Summary
For the longest time people who earned an hourly wage or salary had to pay Medicare taxes on their earnings but people who got their money from trading stocks, collecting rents or dividend payments did not contribute to Medicare.  Congress recently decided this type of income should not be exempt from Medicare taxes and one of the most popular capital gains that used to be exempt were those gains obtained through the buying and selling of real-estate.  In the Health-care reform bill congress declared that in terms of Medicare taxes profits from home sales should be treated just like wages earned at a "real" job.
 

I was watching Fox News this morning and on one of the shows one of the talking heads declared the sales tax on real-estate hidden within Obama care will be the explosive issue of the election season.   The impression given was that this new tax was found this week and it would apply to all the entire sales price of the house. Wow, I thought to myself this could be explosive and I went over and did an internet search.  The first few sites I looked at mistakenly proclaimed the tax was a 3.8% sales tax and gave an example of a $400,000 sale that would trigger a $15,200 tax bill.  None of these sites even attempted to reference the law or a reliable source so I kept looking.

It took a little bit but I found this website that looked like it was written by someone actually trying to find the answers.

 http://www.rerockstar.com/2010/sellers/real-estate-sales-tax-health-care/ 

On this site they give some formula's and they are plausible but if the formula's are correct then it would be possible for someone to make an unlimited amount of profit when selling their house and still avoid the tax.  So I'm guessing the formulas the site presents is off.  So I searched some more and found the actual text of the law.  It is found below and you can hop to it here if you want to read it.  The first thing I see is that this section of the Health Care law changes a section of the Income Tax law titled "Unearned Income Medicare Contribution".  What is important here is that this section in the tax law deals with a number of different types of Unearned Income.  That is a person will have to not only include the income received by selling a house but also stocks (that aren't protected by 401K or IRA exceptions).  So how much will this application of the Medicare tax cost the home seller?

This is what I'm seeing for individual tax payers:

  1. How much "Net Investment Income" they made or
  2. The tax payers "Modified Adjusted Gross Income" minus an appropriate standard deduction (threshold amount).

This is where I would like a professional to explain the meaning of "Net Investment Income" and "Modified Adjusted Gross Income".  I have a layman's view but not a tax man's view.  In that layman's view; suppose a couple filing jointly makes $150,000 in "normal" income.  If 5 years ago they bought a house for $125,000 and this year sold it for $225,000 then they would have $100,000 in Unearned income.  The $150,000 in normal income plus the $100,000 in Unearned Income means their total Modified Adjusted Gross income would be $250,000. Since this is their threshold amount the extra tax due to the Healthcare Reform Law this couple would pay is $0. This despite the fact they made $100,000 profit on the sale of their house.  Now there are some little guys that might have to pay a large amount.  For instance a retired couple in their 50's that earns $100,000 from other investments might have a big tax if they decide to sell a house they bought for $15,000 thirty years ago.  Suppose that house sells now for $565,000.  Then $400,000 would be subject to the Medicare Tax.  Because Sales price minus purchase price is $550,000 plus the $100,000 in other investment income gives a modified gross income of $650,000 subtract the threshold of $250,000 and that leave $400,000 of income subject to Medicare Taxes. 

Read my article:  "Have you considered voting Libertarian?" 

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Below is the actual language of the law as found at this URLhttp://www.healthcare.gov/center/authorities/section1402_unearnedincomemedicarecontribution.pdf 
 
 

SEC. 1402. UNEARNED INCOME MEDICARE CONTRIBUTION.

(a) INVESTMENT INCOME.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code

of 1986 is amended by inserting after chapter 2 the following

new chapter:

H. R. 4872—33

‘‘CHAPTER 2A—UNEARNED INCOME MEDICARE

CONTRIBUTION

‘‘Sec. 1411. Imposition of tax.

‘‘SEC. 1411. IMPOSITION OF TAX.

‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection (e)—

‘‘(1) APPLICATION TO INDIVIDUALS.—In the case of an individual,

there is hereby imposed (in addition to any other tax

imposed by this subtitle) for each taxable year a tax equal

to 3.8 percent of the lesser of—

‘‘(A) net investment income for such taxable year, or

‘‘(B) the excess (if any) of—

‘‘(i) the modified adjusted gross income for such

taxable year, over

‘‘(ii) the threshold amount.

‘‘(2) APPLICATION TO ESTATES AND TRUSTS.—In the case

of an estate or trust, there is hereby imposed (in addition

to any other tax imposed by this subtitle) for each taxable

year a tax of 3.8 percent of the lesser of—

‘‘(A) the undistributed net investment income for such

taxable year, or

‘‘(B) the excess (if any) of—

‘‘(i) the adjusted gross income (as defined in section

67(e)) for such taxable year, over

‘‘(ii) the dollar amount at which the highest tax

bracket in section 1(e) begins for such taxable year.

‘‘(b) THRESHOLD AMOUNT.—For purposes of this chapter, the

term ‘threshold amount’ means—

‘‘(1) in the case of a taxpayer making a joint return under

section 6013 or a surviving spouse (as defined in section 2(a)),

$250,000,

‘‘(2) in the case of a married taxpayer (as defined in section

7703) filing a separate return, 12 of the dollar amount determined

under paragraph (1), and

‘‘(3) in any other case, $200,000.

‘‘(c) NET INVESTMENT INCOME.—For purposes of this chapter—

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘net investment income’ means

the excess (if any) of—

‘‘(A) the sum of—

‘‘(i) gross income from interest, dividends, annuities,

royalties, and rents, other than such income

which is derived in the ordinary course of a trade

or business not described in paragraph (2),

‘‘(ii) other gross income derived from a trade or

business described in paragraph (2), and

‘‘(iii) net gain (to the extent taken into account

in computing taxable income) attributable to the disposition

of property other than property held in a trade

or business not described in paragraph (2), over

‘‘(B) the deductions allowed by this subtitle which are

properly allocable to such gross income or net gain.

‘‘(2) TRADES AND BUSINESSES TO WHICH TAX APPLIES.—A

trade or business is described in this paragraph if such trade

or business is—

‘‘(A) a passive activity (within the meaning of section

469) with respect to the taxpayer, or

H. R. 4872—34

‘‘(B) a trade or business of trading in financial

instruments or commodities (as defined in section

475(e)(2)).

‘‘(3) INCOME ON INVESTMENT OF WORKING CAPITAL SUBJECT

TO TAX.—A rule similar to the rule of section 469(e)(1)(B) shall

apply for purposes of this subsection.

‘‘(4) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN ACTIVE INTERESTS IN PARTNERSHIPS

AND S CORPORATIONS.—In the case of a disposition of

an interest in a partnership or S corporation—

‘‘(A) gain from such disposition shall be taken into

account under clause (iii) of paragraph (1)(A) only to the

extent of the net gain which would be so taken into account

by the transferor if all property of the partnership or S

corporation were sold for fair market value immediately

before the disposition of such interest, and

‘‘(B) a rule similar to the rule of subparagraph (A)

shall apply to a loss from such disposition.

‘‘(5) EXCEPTION FOR DISTRIBUTIONS FROM QUALIFIED

PLANS.—The term ‘net investment income’ shall not include

any distribution from a plan or arrangement described in section

401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408, 408A, or 457(b).

‘‘(6) SPECIAL RULE.—Net investment income shall not

include any item taken into account in determining self-employment

income for such taxable year on which a tax is imposed

by section 1401(b).

‘‘(d) MODIFIED ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME.—For purposes of this

chapter, the term ‘modified adjusted gross income’ means adjusted

gross income increased by the excess of—

‘‘(1) the amount excluded from gross income under section

911(a)(1), over

‘‘(2) the amount of any deductions (taken into account

in computing adjusted gross income) or exclusions disallowed

under section 911(d)(6) with respect to the amounts described

in paragraph (1).

‘‘(e) NONAPPLICATION OF SECTION.—This section shall not apply

to—

‘‘(1) a nonresident alien, or

‘‘(2) a trust all of the unexpired interests in which are

devoted to one or more of the purposes described in section

170(c)(2)(B).’’.

(2) ESTIMATED TAXES.—Section 6654 of the Internal Revenue

Code of 1986 is amended—

(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘and the tax under

chapter 2’’ and inserting ‘‘the tax under chapter 2, and

the tax under chapter 2A’’; and

(B) in subsection (f)—

(i) by striking ‘‘minus’’ at the end of paragraph

(2) and inserting ‘‘plus’’; and

(ii) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph

(4) and inserting after paragraph (2) the following new

paragraph:

‘‘(3) the taxes imposed by chapter 2A, minus’’.

(3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of chapters for subtitle

A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986

is amended by inserting after the item relating to chapter

2 the following new item:

H. R. 4872—35

‘‘CHAPTER 2A—UNEARNED INCOME MEDICARE CONTRIBUTION’’.

(4) EFFECTIVE DATES.—The amendments made by this subsection

shall apply to taxable years beginning after December

31, 2012.

(b) EARNED INCOME.—

(1) THRESHOLD.—

(A) FICA.—Paragraph (2) of section 3101(b) of the

Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by section 9015

of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and

amended by section 10906 of such Act, is amended by

striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subparagraph (A), by redesignating

subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C), and by

inserting after subparagraph (A) the following new

subparagraph:

‘‘(B) in the case of a married taxpayer (as defined

in section 7703) filing a separate return, 12 of the dollar

amount determined under subparagraph (A), and’’.

(B) SECA.—Section 1401(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue

Code of 1986, as added by section 9015 of the Patient

Protection and Affordable Care Act and amended by section

10906 of such Act, is amended—

(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

end of clause (i), by redesignating clause (ii) as clause

(iii), and by inserting after clause (i) the following

new clause:

‘‘(ii) in the case of a married taxpayer (as defined

in section 7703) filing a separate return, 12 of the

dollar amount determined under clause (i), and’’; and

(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘under clauses

(i) and (ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘under clause (i), (ii), or

(iii) (whichever is applicable)’’.

(2) ESTIMATED TAXES.—Section 6654 of the Internal Revenue

Code of 1986 is amended by redesignating subsection

(m) as subsection (n) and by inserting after subsection (l) the

following new subsection:

‘‘(m) SPECIAL RULE FOR MEDICARE TAX.—For purposes of this

section, the tax imposed under section 3101(b)(2) (to the extent

not withheld) shall be treated as a tax imposed under chapter

2.’’.

(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this subsection

shall apply with respect to remuneration received, and

taxable years beginning after, December 31, 2012.

SEC. 1403. DELAY OF LIMITATION ON HEALTH FLEXIBLE SPENDING

ARRANGEMENTS UNDER CAFETERIA PLANS.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 10902(b) of the Patient Protection

and Affordable Care Act is amended by striking ‘‘December 31,

2010’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2012’’.

(b) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Paragraph (2) of section 125(i)

of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by section 9005

of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and amended

by section 10902 of such Act, is amended—

(1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking

‘‘December 31, 2011’’ and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2013’’; and

(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘2010’’ and inserting

‘‘2012’’.

 

 
 
 
 
 
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Background: tfmsview, The Online Magazine; publishes commentary and opinion by Thomas F. McMasters.  Tom McMasters achieved ballot position for Ohio ’s 8th Congressional District Republican Primary as an alternative candidate to Rep John Boehner.  The congressman from the 8th district represents the people from Allen Township, Jacksonburg, Ansonia, Ludlow Falls, Arcanum, Maria Stein, Beckett Ridge, Mayfield, Bradford, Middletown, Burkettsville, Montezuma, Butler Township, New Bremen, Camden, New Miami, Casstown, New Paris, Celina, New Weston, Chickasaw, Newberry, Coldwater, North Star, Dayton, Osgood, Eaton, Oxford, Eldorado, Piqua, Fairfield, Pleasant, Fletcher, Potsdam, Fort Laramie, Rossburg, Gasper Township, Sommerville, Gibson Township, St Henry, Gordon, St Marys State Park, Grand Lake, Staunton Township, Granville, Tipp City, Greenville, Trenton, Huber Heights, Troy, West Manchester, Union City, West Milton, Versailles, York , Wayne Lakes   It covers Darke, Preble, Miami , Mercer and parts of Montgomery and Butler counties. Newspaper and television stations that serve the district include: The Middletown Journal, WCPO, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Dayton Daily News, The Fairfield Echo, The Hamilton Journal-News, The Huber Heights Courier, The Middletown Journal, The Oxford Press, The Piqua Daily Call, The Daily Advocate, The Daily Standard, The Oxford Press, The Tipp City Herald, The Tipp News Daily, WCET, WDTN, The West Milton Record, WGRT, WHIO, WKEF, WKRC, WLWT, WPTD, and WXIX. 

Tom would like to thank all the Ohio voters and absentee voters that took the time to find their voting places and precincts to cast their ballots in his bid to become a member of the US House of Representatives.  American politics and Ohio politics benefits from all the new people becoming engaged in the political discussions.  The registered voters that identify with The Ohio Tea Party, Coffee Parties, Constitution Party and others engaged in the political debates will help strengthen the incumbent and all challengers. 

 Now that the primary is over Tom has again embraced his tfm persona as a political commentator; offering insight into issues such as the budget deficit, the national debt, taxation, healthcare reform.  The website is set up as a political blog but it delves into other categories concerning basic American and Ohio life.  Also, contributions and comments by all readers is always welcome.



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