Need help figuring out what's owed for sale of house after 18 months due to change in job.

[lindsayjohn92]

I bought a house in January of 2017. In January of 2018, I left my job because I was placed on a sales plan (aka, first steps of termination.) I became "self employed" by selling real estate, but found a job with a company I liked in April and became full time in June. However, I wasn't making nearly as much and needed to sell my house in July and move back in with my parents. I made a profit of $57,333 on the sale of my house. Because of all the job changes, I made $37,000 in 2018. I'm trying to figure out how much I'll owe on the sale this year. I am a single filer! (can't figure out long term capital gains and if I'm eligible for partial exclusion.) Thanks!

[HelenaC · Accepted solution]

I recreated your situation and I was able to have $0 taxable gain. On the Reason for Sale screen, I used Change in employment leaving you unable to pay mortgage or basic living expenses. See the screenshot below.

• For example, you might have lived in your home for 12 months, then you had to sell it for a qualifying reason. You're not married. Twelve months divided by 24 months comes out to .50. Multiply this by your maximum exclusion of $250,000. The result: You can exclude up to $125,000 or 50 percent of your profit.

However, if you sold another main home after July 1, 2016, which is the date two years before you sold this home and you excluded part or all of the gain on that first home sale, you may not be able to exclude it.

Related information:

• Is the money I made from a home sale taxable?

[lindsayjohn92]

Amazing. Thank you! That’s what I thinking after researching, but thank you for verifying!

[HelenaC]

You're very welcome. Thank goodness for loopholes. It's nice to see how it helps people who've hit on hard times. Hope your 2019 is the best year ever!