Bought home in 03, sold in 17. Didn't occupy from 10/15-7/17. For 15 & 16 claimed expense never inc on sch E. It was NEVER rented. Does the the main home sale excl apply

[snorman6480]

The home was never rented to anyone nor have I ever claimed any rent for the property. The only thing that was ever claimed on schedule e was expense. 

Also all expenses from last year were reflected as passive loss which carried over to the 2017 sch e as the property has been disposed of.

[JulieH1 · Accepted solution]

Yes.  The main home exclusion applies.

If you owned and lived in the house for two of the five years before the sale, then up to $250,000 of profit is tax-free. If you are married and file a joint return, the tax-free amount doubles to $500,000. The law lets you "exclude" this much otherwise taxable profit from your taxable income

If you sold the home in 2017, you would have needed to live in to for 3 years of the last 5.  Counting back from the month you sold it 7/17 for 5 years, that would be 7/12.  You did not live in it from 10/15-7/17 which is 21 months.  When you subtract 21 months you did not live out of the 60 months, you meet the test because you lived there 39 months out of the last 60 months.