Updated August 7, 2026. Quick answer: the exclusion is the whole game. $250,000 of gain is excludable for a single filer and $500,000 for a married couple filing jointly, if the ownership and use tests are met — and depreciation recapture from any rental period is not excludable at all. Whether you need advice at all depends on which side of that line you land.
The questions that decide whether they understand this
- “Do I clear the exclusion, and by how much?” If the gain is inside it, much of the planning conversation disappears — and an honest advisor will say so.
- “Was any of it ever rented?” Depreciation recapture is taxed separately and survives the exclusion.
- “What is the basis, including improvements?” Decades of records change the answer, and most people undercount.
- “What does the proceeds landing do to this tax year?” A large gain can move IRMAA two years later, which is the part that surprises people.
What a good one looks like here
The best answer here is often “you do not need me for this.” A sale inside the exclusion with no rental history is a tax-return event, not a planning engagement, and an advisor who says that is telling you something useful about how they work.
Run the exclusion calculator and the recapture calculator first, so you know which conversation you are having.
If the numbers put you outside the exclusion, or there is a rental period in the history, that is the version worth a second opinion before the money moves.
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The rest of the work this touches
Home sale taxes · selling over 65 · downsizing calculator · the exclusion in divorce.
Before you hire anyone
Know your number before you pay anyone to find it. What advice should cost.