@k2kennedy wrote:
Thank you! I can't find how much time is allowed between the hardship occurring and my closing date? Can I sell before my husbands actual job move date?
"Also are there rules around timing of the hardship and sale date?"
Not exactly, but the sale must be because of the change of circumstances. If audited, you don't want to be in a position where the auditor could conclude that you moved for some other reason and are using the changed circumstances as a pretext.
"This home was our main residence during the pandemic and continues to be during summers. All in all we will have lived in the home 18 months in the past five years. "
The hardship rule is based on how long you used the home as your main home, not how long you used it as a residence in general. You aren't entirely, clear, but it sounds like the time you used the home as your main home was less than 18 months.
Overall, based just on what you have written here, this sounds like you had a main home somewhere else, and your beach home was your second home most of the time, although it may have briefly been your main home during the pandemic. And you are now selling it out of convenience rather than necessity. I don't have all the facts, of course. Most taxpayers aren't audited, but if you were, you would need to prove that this was your main home for a period of time and that you sold it out of necessity.
