I lived in my WA State home from 2009-2012 and owned it from 2009 til I sold it in 2018. I was Active Duty military that whole time. Do I owe taxes on the sale profit?

[DanaB · Accepted solution]

It depends, if you have a capital gain from the sale of your main home, you may qualify to exclude up to $250,000 of that gain from your income, or up to $500,000 of that gain if you file a joint return with your spouse. Usually, you must meet both the ownership test and the use test. You're eligible for the exclusion if you have owned and used your home as your main home for a period aggregating at least two years out of the five years prior to its date of sale. 

Since you were active duty military, you may elect to suspend the five-year test period for up to 10 years. An individual is on qualified official extended duty if for more than 90 days or for an indefinite period, the individual is:

• At a duty station that's at least 50 miles from his or her main home, or
• Residing under government orders in government housing.

If you used your home as a rental property you may not exclude the part of your gain equal to any depreciation allowed.