These resources are brought to you by the Cooperative Extension System and your Local Institution

Personal Finance Home

Have a question? Try asking one of our Experts

What is the capital gains exclusion for the sale of a house?

Last Updated: February 24, 2013

View as web page


Single taxpayers can exclude up to $250,000 of capital gains on the sale of a home, and married taxpayers filing jointly can exclude $500,000.

Taxpayers are eligible for the exclusion if they have owned and used a home as their main home for a period aggregating at least two years out of the five years prior to its date of sale. The exclusion is allowed each time that you sell a primary residence but no more than once every two years.

For more information, see http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc701.html

We would like your feedback on this Personal Finance Frequently Asked Question.

Browse related Faqs by tag: personal finance, housing, income taxes, incometaxes, personalfinance


Have a specific question? Try asking one of our Experts

Unlike most other resources on the web, we have experts from Universities around the country ready to answer your questions.