i sold my house, do I owe taxes?

Clients come to my office all the time concerned they're going to owe taxes on the sale of their primary home.  Luckily, that is very uncommon.  If you owned, and lived in the house, 2 of the 5 years leading up to the sale, you are able to make $500,000 profit ($250,000 filing single) on the sale of your home without tax consequences.  The stipulation on this would be if you excluded the gain of a sale of another home within two years of the sale of your current home.  That stipulation ensures you are not able to live in a home while upgrading or "flipping" for two years, claim it as your primary home, then sell the home with no tax consequences, over and over again.

As you can see, due to the large profit you are able to make on the sale of your primary home, without tax implications, it is not common to owe taxes on this transaction.  As with anything regarding taxes, there are additional rules for certain circumstances including transfer of home during divorce, etc.  I would always suggest you discuss with a tax professional before making any decisions that may effect your tax return.

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