@moving wrote:
We purchased our primary home in November 2020 and have lived in it since then. My wife and I have been working from home as independent contractors since the pandemic started. I have now been offered a new job about 75 miles away and we are seriously considering accepting it because of the benefits. If I accept the new job, the home sale will take place before the 24 months provision period(approximately 18 months after closing date). My wife and I know that there will most likely be a gain from the sale, which we understand can be "partially " excluded because the new job is more than 50 miles away from our primary home.
However, my wife asked me a question I couldn't find the answer for. What happens if the new job doesn't work out? What if after a while things change and we have to return to the same area we were before?
The new job has to be 50 miles farther from your home than your old job. Not just 50 miles away, but a 50 mile-longer commute. For example, if you were already commuting 25 miles, the new job has to be 75 miles from your old home.
You can still use the exclusion on the sale of house #1 if the job doesn't work out and you move again. However, you might not also qualify for an exclusion on the sale of house #2 if you sell the new home in less than 2 years from when you purchased that home, or at best, you would also only qualify for a similar partial exclusion on the sale of home #2.
There is no time limit for how long you must live in home #2 to take the partial exclusion for home #1.
