My Parents Helped Me Buy a Condo

Key Takeaways

• If your parents' contribution is a gift (not co-ownership on the deed), the house is entirely yours for tax purposes and the 1098 in your name is correct—you may still qualify for the standard deduction depending on your income
• Primary residence capital gains exclusion is $250,000 (single) or $500,000 (married filing jointly) if you've lived there 2+ of the last 5 years, which likely covers any gain on a short-term sale
• Gifts over $15,000 per person per year require filing Form 709 (gift tax return), though this doesn't create immediate tax liability—it uses your $12 million lifetime gift/estate tax exemption (currently at risk of being reduced to $3.5-5 million)
• Structure matters: if parents are co-owners on the deed and making payments, you must split tax benefits proportionally; if it's purely a gift, document it clearly to avoid complications at sale
• When selling, repaying parents their original gift amount counts as another gift transaction—each parent can receive $15,000 annually tax-free, amounts above that require gift tax return filing