Since you sold your home in Illinois for less that $500,00, you will not have to report the sale if you are Married Filing Joint. Even if you used $0 for your cost, you are still under the exclusion if you qualify (see below). If you don't qualify for the exclusion, you can usually find your purchase price on the county property appraisers website. If not, then call the property appraiser.
The IRS has a provision that
can help homeowners avoid capital gains on the sale of their primary
residence.
To qualify, you must have
owned your home and used it as your main residence for at least two years in
the five-year period before you sell it. You also must not have excluded
another home from capital gains in the two-year period before the home sale. If
you meet those rules, you can exclude up to $250,000 in gains from a home sale
if you’re single and up to $500,000 if you’re married filing jointly.
If you sell a home that was not
a primary residence or that does not meet the above requirements, then you
would pay capital gains on that sale.
