selling home

[smfwalker]

I bought a home in Seattle, WA in 2014 as a single person. In 2017, I got married to my spouse who is active duty Navy. Washington is our home of record. In 2018, my spouse was stationed in California, and we’ve been living here ever since due to military orders.

Since 2018, my parents have been living in my Seattle home rent-free — they just cover the utilities. I’m now considering selling the house, but I haven’t physically lived in it since we moved for military reasons.

Even though I haven’t lived in it for over two years, it’s still considered our primary residence and it would be where we live if not for the military transfer. Can I still qualify for the capital gains tax exclusion?

We file taxes as married jointly.

[Bsch4477]

There is a special rule for military regarding the capital gains exclusion. This allows active-duty military members who are away from their property due to PCS orders to extend the 60-month period up to an additional 10 years. This means that eligible military members may exclude their capital gains as long as they occupied the primary residence for two of the previous 15 years