The Tax Benefits of Selling Your Home

You may be able to exclude up to $500,000 of the gain on the sale of your main home if you are married and file a joint return. If you and another person owned the home jointly but file separate returns, each of you can exclude up to $250,000 of gain from the sale of your interest in the home. To claim the exclusion, during the 5-year period ending on the date of the sale, you must have owned the home for at least 2 years and lived in the home as your main home for at least 2 years. If you owned and lived in the property as your main home for less than 2 years, you can still claim an exclusion in some cases. The maximum amount you may be able to exclude will be reduced.