I sold my house this year. Can I shelter house income from tax?

[Anonymous]

assuming you are not married.  if for 2 years in the 5 years before sale  you both lived in it  as your principal residence  and owned it, you are entitled to exclude from federal taxation $250,000 of the gain.   the exclusion can only be used  once in every two years.

state taxation may be different.

for  federal purposes any excess is taxed as long-term capital gains  which has a preferred rate. 

the laws for reinvesting proceeds in a new residence to avoid taxation went away decades ago

if married, the  exclusion is $500,000. either or both can own but both must meet the two year occupancy rule and previous home sale rule  

[xmasbaby0]

SALE OF HOUSE

If your gain was more than  $250,000 filing Single, or more than $500,000 filing Married Filing Jointly the sale must be reported on your tax return.  Whether you re-invested the gain in to another house is irrelevant.  If you  have a Form 1099-S go to Federal>Wages and Income>Less Common Income>Sale of Home (gain or loss)

If you owned and lived in the home as your primary residence for at least 2 of the last 5 years on the date of the sale, you do not have to report the home sale if the gain is less than $250K filing Single, or less than $500K filing Married Filing Jointly (and you both owned and lived in the home for at least 2 years).

• If you are using online TT, you need Premier or Self-Employed software to report the 1099-S
• .https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/1901135-i-sold-my-home-at-a-loss-is-this-deductible