Do I claim I owned a house in 2017 if I sold it in March 2017? Also, how do I claim the gain of the sale?

[Coleen3 · Accepted solution]

Yes, if you sold property in 2017 you would report it 

1) If it was a rental property.

2) if it was a personal home:

• If you got a 1099-S
• If you had a gain more than the exclusion amount
• if it was a rental any time in the past and you have to recapture depreciation

Does Your Home Sale Qualify for Maximum Exclusion

The tax code recognizes the importance of home ownership by providing certain tax breaks when you sell your home. To qualify for these breaks, your home must meet the Eligibility Test , which is explained later.

The type of home involved is less important. A single-family home, condominium, cooperative apartment, mobile home, or houseboat can all count as a home.

How your sale qualifies.   Your sale qualifies for exclusion of $250,000 gain ($500,000 if married filing jointly) if all of the following requirements are met.

• You owned the home and used it as your main home during at least 2 of the last 5 years before the date of sale.
• You didn’t acquire the home through a like-kind exchange (also known as a 1031 exchange), during the past 5 years.
• You didn’t claim any exclusion for the sale of a home that occurred during a 2-year period ending on the date of the sale of the home, the gain from which you now want to exclude.

If you still need to enter your sale of your primary residence (which may require an upgrade in TurboTax), please follow these steps:

1. Once you are in your tax return (for TurboTax Online sign-in, click Here), click on the “Federal Taxes” tab ("Personal" tab in TurboTax Home & Business)
2. Next click on “Wages & Income” ("Personal Income" in TurboTax Home & Business)
3. Next click on “I’ll choose what I work on”
4. Scroll down the screen until to come to the section “Less Common Income”
5. Choose “Sale of Home (gain or loss)” and select “start’
6. You will want to use the "Easy Guide" to determine the adjusted basis on this home 

[Opus 17]

If this was your personal home and you know you qualify for the $250,000/$500,000 exclusion, then you don't have to report it unless the closing agent gave you a form 1099-S.

If you aren't sure, turbotax can tell you whether or not you need to report it, but you need to upgrade to the Premier version.  And it may end up that you will have paid for the Premier upgrade only to be told "you owe no tax and don't need to report it."

Of course, if any situation applies where you will owe tax (you took a home office deduction, used it some times for rental, don't qualify for the exclusion, or the gain is more than the exclusion) then you need to upgrade to Premier to calculate the taxable gain and tax owed.