Question about selling home

[GandGTarr]

I have a question about my primary residence.  I have owned a house in VA for over 30 years and lived half- time between VA and FL since 2016.   By half-time, I mean about 180 days each.    When I read the IRS pub 523, it states you have to have 2 years out of the last 5 living in the house for the exemption.  However, it also states the time does not have to be a single block of time.  My question is, does living in the VA home 6 months out of the year allow me to avoid paying the capital gains tax on the sale.  

I do maintain an FL driver's license and vote in FL and do not change each time I relocate.

Thanks

Gary

[VictoriaD75 · Accepted solution]

But, you can only have one home as your principal residence. If you have established residency in Florida, and filed your taxes as a Florida resident for the past several years, it is likely that your Virginia home will be seen as a second home and not eligible for the principal residence exemption.

The tax law states that a seller who has owned and used a home as a principal residence for at least 2 of the last 5 years before the sale can exclude from income up to $250,000 ($500,000 for married filers) of gain. TurboTax will help you determine your exclusion.

To enter, follow these steps:

• Under the Federal menu, choose Wages & Income
• Expand the menu for Less Common Income
• Click Start/Revisit next to Sale of Home (gain or loss)
• Enter the information on the screens that follow