California Withholding Law Revised Again
Assembly Bill 1338
: Effective for escrows that close on or after January 1, 2005, transfers of real property owned by non-individuals (such as corporations, trusts, estates) are subject to the same automatic withholding tax as individuals unless the seller meets one of the certifiable exemptions. Under the new law, non-individual
: sellers can no longer request a waiver or a reduced withholding rate based upon a small gain.
: For individual sellers, the 2003 state withholding law provided five certifiable exemptions: (1) sale of the property for less than $100,000, (2) sale of the seller's "principal residence" (as defined in Internal Revenue Code Section 121-"IRC 121"), (3) sale of the property at a loss, (4) sale of the property as part of an IRC 1031 exchange, and (5) sale of the property because of an involuntary conversion (a government taking) and seller will replace the property under IRC 1033.
: This law adds another certifiable exemption--the last use of the property sold was as seller's principal residence, even if the seller does not meet the 2 out of the last 5 years requirement or one of the special circumstances as enumerated in IRC 121.
By---J.K.
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