Can I deduct original closing costs when selling land for capital gains taxes?

So can I also add in the property taxes I paid over the 3 years? Or just the original buying costs?

The original purchase closing costs are definitely part of your basis. Property taxes you paid while owning the land are generally not added to your basis - those are considered regular expenses of property ownership. If you made any improvements to the land during ownership (like adding utilities, clearing, grading, etc.), those costs can also be added to your basis to further reduce your gain. But regular maintenance and property taxes aren't included in basis calculations.

Does it work with all types of property sales or just land? I'm selling a rental property next month and could really use something like this.

How accurate is this really? Sounds too good to be true. Most tax software I've used just gives generic advice and misses a ton of deductions.

It works great with all types of property including rental properties. The system is specifically designed to analyze real estate documents and can distinguish between the different rules for primary residences, rentals, and raw land. It'll catch things like depreciation recapture for your rental that you need to be aware of. Its accuracy is what impressed me the most. It's not just giving generic advice - it actually reads through your specific documents and identifies line items that qualify for basis adjustments. I was skeptical too until I had my accountant verify the results, and he was surprised by how thorough and accurate it was. Said it caught things he might have missed if manually reviewing all those closing documents.

Wait how does this even work? The IRS phone lines are notoriously impossible to get through. Are they just constantly calling on your behalf or something?

Sorry but this sounds fake. Nothing can get you through to the IRS faster. I've tried everything including calling right when they open and still waited 2+ hours.

They use a combination of tech and real people to navigate the IRS phone system. They basically keep dialing and working through the prompts until they get a spot in the queue, then they call you and connect you directly once they have an IRS agent on the line. It's not just robocalling - they actually have people monitoring the calls to make sure they're navigating the complex IRS phone tree correctly. I was totally skeptical too. I've spent countless hours trying to talk to someone at the IRS, including calling at weird hours and using all the "best time to call" tricks. Nothing worked until I tried this. The time saved was honestly worth it just for my sanity, but getting accurate information about my specific situation directly from the IRS was invaluable.

Does fencing count as an improvement? I put up a fence around my property last year and I'm planning to sell in a few months.

Yes, fencing absolutely counts as a capital improvement that adds to your basis. It's considered a permanent addition to the property that adds value. Make sure you keep all receipts showing what you paid for materials and installation. If you did the work yourself, you can include the cost of materials but not your own labor. Other things people often forget to include are land clearing, grading, retaining walls, drainage systems, and even certain permits or impact fees if they were required for the improvements. Every dollar you can document as an improvement will reduce your taxable gain when you sell.

No, that doesn't count toward basis. Your basis is your purchase price + acquisition costs + improvements. Just paying down your loan faster doesn't change that calculation.