1099s

[unsureof1099s]

My mother sold her home which was her primary residence for seven years. All her kids were on the deed as well as her. Only one of them lived with her, for several years. When she sold the property, the title company in California asked if she would like the 1099S only in her name as she was getting all the profit. The kids all agreed. She then bought a home that cost more than the sale of the previous home. Also, her profit on the previous home was less than 250 K. So she does not owe tax. However, I am uncertain if she needs to file a tax form or not. The wording of the IRS rule is very ambiguous. She has not filed taxes for a long time, she is elderly and lives on ss. She is concerned that if she does file it one time that she will have to file back taxes as well. I don’t know enough about her tax situation to know if there are any years that she should have filed but did not.