You don't always have to report the sale of a Main Home.
You
need to report the gain if ANY of the following is true.
- You have taxable gain on your home sale (or on the
residential portion of your property if you made separate calculations for
home and business) and don’t qualify to exclude.
- You received a Form 1099-S. If so, you must report the
sale even if you have no taxable gain to report.
- You wish to report your gain as a taxable gain even
though some or all of it is eligible for exclusion. You may wish to do
this if, for example, you plan to sell another property that qualifies as
a home within the next two years, and that property is likely to have a
larger gain. If you choose to report, rather than exclude, your taxable
gain, you can go back later and undo that choice by filing an amended
return, but only within 3 calendar years after the year of sale.
If NONE of the three bullets above is true, you don’t
need to report your home sale on your tax return.