Frequently Asked Tax Questions And Answers
Keyword: Main Home Sale
10.1 Capital Gains, Losses/Sale of Home: Property (Basis, Sale of Home, etc.)
For home sales after May 6, 1997, if you meet the ownership and use tests, you will generally only need to report the sale of your home if your gain exceeds a certain dollar amount prescribed by law. To determine the amount of gain that can be excluded from income refer to Publication 523, Selling Your Home. You may be entitled to exclude gain from income if during the 5-year period ending on the date of the sale, you have:
- Owned the home for at least 2 years (the ownership test),
- Lived in the home as your main home for at least 2 years (the use test), and
- During the 2-year period ending on the date of sale, you did not exclude gain from the sale of another home.
If you were on qualified extended duty in the U.S. Armed Services or the intelligence community (sales or exchanges after December 20, 2006, and before 2011) you may suspend the five-year test period for up to 10 years. You may use this provision for only one property at a time. You are on qualified extended duty when the extended duty lasts for more than 90 days or for an indefinite period AND:
- At a duty station that is at least 50 miles from the residence sold, or
- When residing under orders in government housing.
References:
- Publication 523, Selling Your Home
- Tax Topic 701, Sale of your Home - after May 6, 1997
- Tax Topic 703, Basis of Assets
The amount of gain on the sale over your cost, or basis, determines whether you will have to include any proceeds as taxable income on your return. You may be able to exclude this gain from income up to a maximum dollar limit. If you can exclude all of the gain, you do not need to report the sale on your tax return. To determine the maximum dollar limit you can exclude or for additional information on selling your home, refer to Publication 523, Selling Your Home.
References:
- Publication 523, Selling Your Home
- Tax Topic 701, Sale of your Home - after May 6, 1997
- Tax Topic 703, Basis of Assets
With the exception of the 2-year waiting period, there is no limit on the number of times you can exclude the gain on the sale of your principal residence so long as you meet the ownership and use tests.
References:
- Publication 523, Selling Your Home
- Tax Topic 701, Sale of Your Home - after May 6, 1997
- Tax Topic 703, Basis of Assets
If, during the 5-year period ending on the date of sale, you owned the home for at least 2 years and lived in it as your main home for at least 2 years, you can exclude up to the maximum dollar limit. However, you cannot exclude the portion of the gain equal to depreciation allowed or allowable for periods after May 6, 1997. This gain is reported on Form 4797 (PDF), Sale of Business Property. If you can show by adequate records or other evidence that the depreciation allowed was less that the amount allowable, the amount you cannot exclude is the amount allowed. Refer to Publication 523, Selling Your Home, and Form 4797 (PDF), Sale of Business Property, for specifics on calculating and reporting the amount of gain.
References:
- Publication 527, Residential Rental Property
The loss on the sale of a personal residence is a nondeductible personal loss.
References:
- Publication 523, Selling Your Home
- Tax Topic 409, Capital gains and losses
If you qualify to deduct expenses for the business use of your home, you can claim depreciation for the part of your home that is a home office. Generally, the part of your home that is a home office is depreciated over a recovery period of 39 years using the straight line method of depreciation and a mid-month convention. If you do not claim depreciation on that part of your home that is a home office, you are still required to reduce the basis of your home for the allowable depreciation of that part of your home that is a home office when reporting the sale of your home. For more information, refer to Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home.
References:
- Publication 946, How to Depreciate Property
- Publication 544, Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets
- Publication 587, Business Use of Your Home