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New Member
posted Jun 3, 2019 12:58:13 PM

I lived in a house for 5 years then rented for 1.5 years. Do I report this as a sale of my main home? Do I report the depreciation from last year and this year (2017)?

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5 Replies
Expert Alumni
Jun 3, 2019 12:58:15 PM

You have lived in that house for at least 2 years in the last 5 years. You are eligible for the capital gain exclusion for the sale of your home of $500,000 (married filing jointly or $250,000 (other filing statuses).

As you have rented the house in the last 1.5 years, you have to recapture depreciation allowable during the rental period and pay tax on it at the rate of 25%.

To report the sale of your home, follow these steps:

  1. Open your return
  2. Click on Federal in the left-column and click on Wages and Income
  3. Under All Income, locate the Less Common Income section and click on Show More
  4. Click Start next to Sale of Home (gain or loss) - (see attached screenshot)
  5. Go through the TurboTax interview paying particular attention to the dates
  6. Give the sales price, selling expenses and cost basis for the home
  7. Indicate that the home was used as a rental property and the number of days it was rented
  8. Determine the amount of depreciation allowable during the period the house was rented
  9. TurboTax will calculate the portion of capital gain which is excluded from taxation and the taxable portion.


Edited 01.29.18  |  9:50 PM


New Member
Jun 3, 2019 12:58:16 PM

At the end of that section it states "Be sure to enter your sales information in this section so we can calculate your capital gain or loss." However when I click edit it only asks for the date. No other info. Am I supposed to enter the details in the sale of home section?

Expert Alumni
Jun 3, 2019 12:58:17 PM

As it is the sale of your home where part of the capital gain is excluded, you have to enter the sale in another section of TurboTax. Please delete the entries in the sale of rental home section and follow the steps above.

New Member
Jun 3, 2019 12:58:18 PM

What about depreciation. Do I report the amount from last year's return and the amount calculated on this year's return?

Expert Alumni
Jun 3, 2019 12:58:19 PM

Yes, you report the total depreciation from last return plus the amount calculated by TurboTax this year.