My husband and I would like to sell the house that we currently live in. The house is in my name and was bought 4 years ago before we were married. My husband moved in two years ago, but sold the condo that he personally owned in August, 2015. I understand that because he took the tax exemption at that time, we need to wait for 24 months. Are there any options to be eligible for $500K exemption besides waiting to sell the house until August 2017? Is it possible to at least partially claim the 250K that he would be qualified for?
It depends on what you did in August 2015. If he was unmarried at the time and only used his $250,000 exclusion, or if he was married but still only used his $250,000 exclusion on his former home and did not use your joint $500,000 exclusion, then you can sell your current home any time and use your personal $250,000 exclusion on the home you have owned since before the marriage. (As a couple, you would then have to wait a full 2 years plus one day before using your joint $500,000 exclusion again.) However, if you want to exclude more than $250,000 of gains, or if you used your $250,000 exclusion in 2015, you need to wait the full 2 years from the last sale.