Tax Q&A;: No Home Loss Help

This daily tax season column publishes tax questions from readers answered by local members of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants. Questions and answers will be posted on The Times’ Web site, https://www.latimes.com/taxes, as they appear.

Q. We bought our house eight years ago for $250,000. After several months on the market, we finally sold it last year for $180,000. How do we deduct the loss on our tax return?

A. You don’t. A loss on the sale of a personal residence is not tax-deductible.

This might not seem fair, because you could potentially be taxed on home-sale profits if your gain exceeded a certain amount (generally more than $250,000 for an individual or $500,000 for a couple). But it’s the law.

--Ed Rich, CPA

Agoura Hills

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For more information on taxes and to see other questions and answers in this series, go to the Times Web site https://www.latimes.com/taxes. To find a CPA visit the California Society of CPAs at https://www.ca.cpa.org.