Determining if I qualify for the 2 of 5 year rule

[Loren Whitney]

Hey all,

I'm looking for a little help on what doesn't seem crystal clear to me at the moment. I'm trying to determine if I qualify for the 2 of 5 year rule and avoid cap gains on my current primary residence. Mind helping me out? 

Here's the story. I purchased a home in May, 2012, lived there for six months then turned it into a rental. It was a rental for approximately 2.5 years. During that 2.5 year period we purchased and resold another residence, avoiding capital gains (2015 tax year). After selling that home, we moved back into the original home purchased back in 2012. We have lived in the home now for 2 of the last 5 years total. 

It has not been a full 24 months since the sale of our last home. Does that matter or is 2015-2017 tax years considered two years? 

TIA!

[Dave Foster]

@Loren Whitney, You're going to use the dates of sale to determine your eligibility.  Also, though you'll also want to be aware that the rules for this latest sale will be somewhat different.  Because you have converted an investment property into a primary residence you will have to recapture depreciation taken and you will have to pro-rate the gain between qualified use (primary residence use) and non-qualified use (as investment) so that only the times you actually lived in it are tax free.