lower my capital gains tax by raising my own realtor commissions?

[Lucy Bennet]

I'll be selling my own investment property for $245k. I'm the agent representing both sides. My capital gains will be about $150k.

I'm thinking about raising my realtor fees (ie 10%-20%) in order to lower my capital gains reported.

So it would look like this:

Sale price= $245,000

Realtor Commissions= $24,500(at 10%) -My managing broker only charges me $500 for each transaction no matter how much the commission is so my splits will not change at all based on the percentage.

capital gains (figured after ALL selling costs including commissions noted above= $125,000

If I do not claim realtor commissions, my cap gains would be $150K. At a rate of 15% it would be a $3600 difference. not sure if it's even worth it but would love input. Is this a situation where it's all going to work out the same at the end? Or is this a good idea? 

More info: Also, I realize I can do a 1031X but currently that is not the route I want to go right now due to personal reasons. My realtor commissions get paid to my LLC which is an S-Corp so I pay myself a salary based on the total of the realtor fees and other flips I do throughout the year. I am able to write a lot of expenses off as I'm self employed.

I realize I need to seek help from my CPA but he is out of town. I realize you are not giving me financial advice. Just looking for some helpful insight here. Wondering if anyone has ever done this and can help me figure the details.

[Lucas Thomas]

Quote from @Lucy Bennet:

I'll be selling my own investment property for $245k. I'm the agent representing both sides. My capital gains will be about $150k.

I'm thinking about raising my realtor fees (ie 10%-20%) in order to lower my capital gains reported.

So it would look like this:

Sale price= $245,000

Realtor Commissions= $24,500(at 10%) -My managing broker only charges me $500 for each transaction no matter how much the commission is so my splits will not change at all based on the percentage.

capital gains (figured after ALL selling costs including commissions noted above= $125,000

If I do not claim realtor commissions, my cap gains would be $150K. At a rate of 15% it would be a $3600 difference. not sure if it's even worth it but would love input. Is this a situation where it's all going to work out the same at the end? Or is this a good idea? 

More info: Also, I realize I can do a 1031X but currently that is not the route I want to go right now due to personal reasons. My realtor commissions get paid to my LLC which is an S-Corp so I pay myself a salary based on the total of the realtor fees and other flips I do throughout the year. I am able to write a lot of expenses off as I'm self employed.

I realize I need to seek help from my CPA but he is out of town. I realize you are not giving me financial advice. Just looking for some helpful insight here. Wondering if anyone has ever done this and can help me figure the details.

 It's completely dependent on your current annual income and the amounts the 10-20% commission tax bracket it will be applied to. If your already in a high tax bracket, then the commission will be taxed at that rate which may be more than the capital gains. So double check which tax rate is higher or lower and go with the lower one. The one on capital gains or the one on your income.

L. Thomas