Q. Forget taxes for a moment. If I sell a home for $1 million but I have a mortgage of $999,999, will I be charged a fee? — Selling soon A. There are several costs to consider when you sell a home. It seems you’re talking about the Realty Transfer Fee. It’s a fee that’s charged by the state when you record a change on a deed, said Bernie Kiely, a certified financial planner and certified public accountant with Kiely Capital Management in Morristown. He said the fee is based on the value of the real estate, not on the gain realized by the seller. “Normally this occurs when you sell your home and the new owner wants to put their name on the deed,” he said. For the sale of a $500,000 home, the
Q. My mother purchased her house in Jersey City for $100,000 and it’s now worth $450,000 but it needs $100,000 of work. I am trying to decide if I should purchase the home from her for $350,000 or if I should wait to inherit the house. It has a $100,000 mortgage. — Buy vs. inherit A. There are several items to consider here. First, there are two income tax benefits to home ownership. Real estate taxes are deductible as an itemized deduction, subject to the $10,000 cap on real estate, state income taxes and sales tax, said Bernie Kiely, a certified financial planner and certified public accountant with Kiely Capital Management in Morristown. The other benefit is you can deduct mortgage intere
Q. Can I open a Roth IRA for my 12-year-old son? He will get a Social Security check until he is 18. He doesn’t work so he doesn’t have a W-2 but only a 1099-SSA. I want to save money for his college. — Dad A. It’s great that you want to save money for college. A Roth IRA isn’t an option for him at this time. One of the requirements to contribute to an IRA is that you must have earned income, said Bernie Kiely, a certified financial planner and certified public accountant with Kiely Capital Management in Morristown. Earned income is salaries, wages and self-employment income, he said. You said your son doesn’t work so he is ineligible to contribute to an IRA. But you want to save for college
