Can I not include sale of house in income as over 65 and was primary residence until 4 years ago. son lived there rent free to keep house from setting empty until sold?

[jtax]

Do you mean "include" or "exclude?"

[JulieR · Accepted solution]

It depends. You are allowed to exclude the gain on the sale of your home if: 

• You lived in the home as your main home for at 2 of the 5 years preceding the sale.
• Your "net" profit from the sale is less than $250,000 ($500,000 if Married Filing Jointly).
• You didn't take depreciation deduction on the home or use it for business during the time you owned it.
• You didn't rent it out at any time that you owned it.
• You didn’t receive a Form 1099-S.

Based on what you describe, you have not satisfied the residence requirement (your main home for at 2 of the 5 years preceding the sale), you may still qualify for a partial-exclusion if the main reason for your home sale was a change in workplace location, a health issue, or an unforeseeable event.  

For more information see the following IRS Publication. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p523#en_US_2018_publink100073096