@dozierrrr wrote:
Yeah, it’s tough to say. No local CPA’s will return my calls. That’s why I’m relying on the internet right now.
I've changed my mind on this. When I read publication 523 I wasn't sure, but I agree the actual tax law is unambiguous that you qualify for the full exclusion as long as your now-spouse lived in the home with you.
The thing about taxes is they don't have to make sense, they just have to follow the law, and sometimes the people who write the laws don't make sense, or at least, they don't always consider uncommon fact situations. It might seem sensible that you have to be married when you sell the house, but that's not what the law says. There are several places in the tax law where being married on 12/31 of the year and filing jointly, affects everything that came before, and this looks like one of those times. (For most tax provisions, if you file as married, you are treated as being married for the whole year.)
