SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/home-sale-2of5

To use the home sale tax exclusion, you must have owned and lived in the home how long?

At least 2 years out of the last 5.

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  1. At least 1 of the last 3 years
  2. All 5 of the last 5 years
  3. At least 2 of the last 5 years ✔

Why: The ownership test and the use test each need 24 months within the five years ending on the sale date. Both tests are measured in that same five-year window.

Huh, didn't know that: The two-year ownership and use periods do not have to be the same two years.

The dad joke
Why did the goose have a big tax refund? Because his bill was tax de-duck-table.
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References

Answer: At least 2 of the last 5 years. The ownership test and the use test each need 24 months within the five years ending on the sale date. Both tests are measured in that same five-year window.

  1. IRS Topic 701: Home sale exclusion www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc701
    at least 24 months (2 years) out of the last 5 years leading up to the date of the sale
    Checked 2026-10-10.

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