Is Form 1099-S issued if gains on sale of primary residence are less than the exemption?

The closing agent may or may not issue you a 1099-S. If they do, then you have to enter it, whether or not you owe any tax on the gain. If they don't send you a form and your gain is below the threshold, then you do not have to enter anything.

The closing agent has no idea what your exemption is or whether or not you owe tax on gain on the sale.

Thanks for your response.

Do you know what triggers whether the closing agent issues a 1099-S then?

I have not received anything, but what if they omitted to send me a copy? I would never know.

I have contacted them and got a strange response saying, they don't see where I signed the form at closing and they sent me another form to sign. I'm trying to get explanations from them; but also looking to inform myself so I can ask the right questions. (That response was not from the attorney)

If you sold your personal residence at a gain that is less than the exemption, the property wasn't ever used as a rental or home office and you don't have any depreciation to recapture, and you didn't receive a Form 1099-S, then you don't need to report the transaction at all.

The IRS Instructions for Form 1099-S state, in part, that the form does not have to be issued in the case of:

• Sale or exchange of a residence (including stock in a cooperative housing corporation) for $250,000 or less if you received an acceptable written assurance (certification) from the seller that such residence is the principal residence (within the meaning of section 121) of the seller and the full amount of the gain on such sale is excludable from gross income under section 121. 
• If the certification includes an assurance that the seller is married, the preceding sentence shall be applied by substituting “$500,000” for “$250,000.” 
• If there are joint sellers, you must obtain a certification from each seller (whether married or not) or file Form 1099-S for any seller who does not make the certification. 
• Also, the seller must include in the certification that there has been no period of nonqualified use (as that term is defined in section 121(b)(5)(C)) after December 31, 2008, and as required by section 6045(e)(5)(A)(iii), that the full amount of the gain from the sale is excludable under section 121. The certification must be signed by each seller under penalties of perjury.

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