Selling a house; options to pass use test

[rsandukovsky]

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?

[Opus 17 · Accepted solution]

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.