Under certain circumstances, a widower may qualify for the $500,000 exclusion.
Sale of home by surviving spouse. If your spouse died and you didn't remarry before the date of sale, you are considered to have owned and lived in the property as your main home during any period of time when your spouse owned and lived in it as a main home. If you meet all of the following requirements, you may qualify to exclude up to $500,000 of any gain from the sale or exchange of your main home in 2018.
• The sale or exchange took place no more than 2 years after the date of death of your spouse.
• You haven't remarried.
• You and your spouse met the use test at the time of your spouse's death.
• You or your spouse met the ownership test at the time of your spouse's death.
• Neither you nor your spouse excluded gain from the sale of another home during the last 2 years.
See page 18 of this IRS reference: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p554.pdf
**Answers are correct to the best of my ability but do not constitute tax or legal advice.
