My wife and I sold 2 homes in less than 2 years. We were fully exempt from capital gains on the 1st sale. Do we qualify for a partial exemption on the 2nd sale (lived 14 months there) if a work-related move was not forced upon us by our employers but was instead initiated by us?
Both my wife and I asked our current employers if we could be transferred to a new location. Both employers approved it. I had an assigned office seat in my company's TX location and now have an assigned seat our NC location (there is HR documentation of this with dates in 2021). My wife was formerly categorized as a "tele-commuter / work-from-home employee" in TX, but now also has an assigned office seat in NC.
I've read Pub 523 and I do not see any mention of WHY A JOB was transferred... just that it was transferred. So, does our circumstance allow us to claim a partial exemption?
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Related: From IRS 523: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p523#en_US_2021_publink100073096
Work-Related Move
You meet the requirements for a partial exclusion if any of the following events occurred during your time of ownership and residence in the home.
- You took or were transferred to a new job in a work location at least 50 miles farther from the home than your old work location. For example, your old work location was 15 miles from the home and your new work location is 65 miles from the home.
- You had no previous work location and you began a new job at least 50 miles from the home.
- Either of the above is true of your spouse, a co-owner of the home, or anyone else for whom the home was his or her residence.
