But is the reporting of primary residency an honor system?
No. It's the law. The property must have been your primary residence for at least 730 days of the last 1826 days you owned it, counting back from the closing date of the sale. The closing date of the sale does not count as a day of residence for the seller. It can count as a day of residence for the buyer, if the buyer begins moving in on the closing date.
Just understand that you can't have overlap. In other words, if it takes you 2 days to move out of your old residence and into the new, say a Monday and a Tuesday, those days can not be counted as a day of residence for both properties. It's one or the other.
On the property you're purchasing, based on the information you provided you're closing on that property on May 6, 2023 but will not be moving into it until May 25. Therefore, your current residence remains as such, until May 24. May 24 will be your last day in the current residence, and May 25 will be your first day in the new residence.
