IRC §121
(a) Exclusion
Gross income shall not include gain from the sale or exchange of property if, during the 5-year period ending on the date of the sale or exchange, such property has been owned and used by the taxpayer as the taxpayer's principal residence for periods aggregating 2 years or more.
(b) Limitations
(1) In general
The amount of gain excluded from gross income under subsection (a) with respect to any sale or exchange shall not exceed $250,000.
(2) Special rules for joint returns
In the case of a husband and wife who make a joint return for the taxable year of the sale or exchange of the property--
(A) $500,000 Limitation for certain joint returns
Paragraph (1) shall be applied by substituting "$500,000" for "$250,000" if--
(i) either spouse meets the ownership requirements of subsection (a) with respect to such property;
(ii) both spouses meet the use requirements of subsection (a) with respect to such property; and
(iii) neither spouse is ineligible for the benefits of subsection (a) with respect to such property by reason of paragraph (3).
(B) Other joint returns
If such spouses do not meet the requirements of subparagraph (A), the limitation under paragraph (1) shall be the sum of the limitations under paragraph (1) to which each spouse would be entitled if such spouses had not been married. For purposes of the preceding sentence, each spouse shall be treated as owning the property during the period that either spouse owned the property.
(3) Application to only 1 sale or exchange every 2 years
(A) In general
Subsection (a) shall not apply to any sale or exchange by the taxpayer if, during the 2-year period ending on the date of such sale or exchange, there was any other sale or exchange by the taxpayer to which subsection (a) applied.
(B) Pre-may 7, 1997, sales not taken into account
Subparagraph (A) shall be applied without regard to any sale or exchange before May 7, 1997.
(c) Exclusion for taxpayers failing to meet certain requirements
In the case of a sale or exchange to which this subsection applies, the ownership and use requirements of subsection (a), and subsection (b)(3), shall not apply; but the dollar limitation under paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (b), whichever is applicable, shall be equal to--
(A) the amount which bears the same ratio to such limitation (determined without regard to this paragraph) as
(B)(i) the shorter of--
(II) the period after the date of the most recent prior sale or exchange by the taxpayer to which subsection (a) applied and before the date of such sale or exchange, bears to
(2) Sales and exchanges to which subsection applies This subsection shall apply to any sale or exchange if--
(i) a failure to meet the ownership and use requirements of subsection (a), or
(ii) subsection (b)(3), and
(B) such sale or exchange is by reason of a change in place of employment, health, or, to the extent provided in regulations, unforeseen circumstances.
(d) Special rules
(1) Joint returns
If a husband and wife make a joint return for the taxable year of the sale or exchange of the property, subsections (a) and (c) shall apply if either spouse meets the ownership and use requirements of subsection (a) with respect to such property.
(2) Property of deceased spouse
For purposes of this section, in the case of an unmarried individual whose spouse is deceased on the date of the sale or exchange of property, the period such unmarried individual owned and used such property shall include the period such deceased spouse owned and used such property before death.
(3) Property owned by spouse or former spouse
For purposes of this section--
(A) Property transferred to individual from spouse or former spouse
In the case of an individual holding property transferred to such individual in a transaction described in section 1041(a), the period such individual owns such property shall include the period the transferor owned the property.
(B) Property used by former spouse pursuant to divorce decree, etc
Solely for purposes of this section, an individual shall be treated as using property as such individual's principal residence during any period of ownership while such individual's spouse or former spouse is granted use of the property under a divorce or separation instrument (as defined in section 71(b)(2).
(4) Tenant-stockholder in cooperative housing corporation For purposes of this section, if the taxpayer holds stock as a tenant-stockholder (as defined in section 216 in a cooperative housing corporation (as defined in such section), then--
(B) the use requirements of subsection (a) shall be applied to the house or apartment which the taxpayer was entitled to occupy as such stockholder.
(5) Involuntary conversions-
(A) In general
For purposes of this section, the destruction, theft, seizure, requisition, or condemnation of property shall be treated as the sale of such property.
(B) Application of section 1033
In applying section 1033 (relating to involuntary conversions), the amount realized from the sale or exchange of property shall be treated as being the amount determined without regard to this section, reduced by the amount of gain not included in gross income pursuant to this section.
(C) Property acquired after involuntary conversion
If the basis of the property sold or exchanged is determined (in whole or in part) under section 1033(b) (relating to basis of property acquired through involuntary conversion), then the holding and use by the taxpayer of the converted property shall be treated as holding and use by the taxpayer of the property sold or exchanged.
(6) Recognition of gain attributable to depreciation
Subsection (a) shall not apply to so much of the gain from the sale of any property as does not exceed the portion of the depreciation adjustments (as defined in section 1250(b)(3) attributable to periods after May 6, 1997, in respect of such property.
(7) Determination of use during periods of out-of-residence care
In the case of a taxpayer who--
(A) becomes physically or mentally incapable of self-care, and
(B) owns property and uses such property as the taxpayer's principal residence during the 5-year period described in subsection (a) for periods aggregating at least 1 year, then the taxpayer shall be treated as using such property as the taxpayer's principal residence during any time during such 5-year period in which the taxpayer owns the property and resides in any facility (including a nursing home) licensed by a State or political subdivision to care for an individual in the taxpayer's condition.
(8) Sales of remainder interests
For purposes of this section--
(A) In general
At the election of the taxpayer, this section shall not fail to apply to the sale or exchange of an interest in a principal residence by reason of such interest being a remainder interest in such residence, but this section shall not apply to any other interest in such residence which is sold or exchanged separately.
(B) Exception for sales to related parties
Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any sale to, or exchange with, any person who bears a relationship to the taxpayer which is described in section 267(b) or 707(b).
Caution: Section 121(d)(9), below, as added by P.L. 107-16, applies to estates of decedents dying after 12/31/09.
(A) the estate of a decedent,
(B) any individual who acquired such property from the decedent (within the meaning of section 1022), and
(C) a trust which, immediately before the death of the decedent, was a qualified revocable trust (as defined in section 645(b)(1)) established by the decedent, determined by taking into account the ownership and use by the decedent.
(e) Denial of exclusion for expatriates
This section shall not apply to any sale or exchange by an individual if the treatment provided by section 877(a)(1) applies to such individual.
(f) Election to have section not apply
This section shall not apply to any sale or exchange with respect to which the taxpayer elects not to have this section apply.
(g) Residences acquired in rollovers under section 1034
For purposes of this section, in the case of property the acquisition of which by the taxpayer resulted under section 1034 (as in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of this section) in the nonrecognition of any part of the gain realized on the sale or exchange of another residence, in determining the period for which the taxpayer has owned and used such property as the taxpayer's principal residence, there shall be included the aggregate periods for which such other residence (and each prior residence taken into account under section 1223(7) in determining the holding period of such property) had been so owned and used.
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