Selling primary home in first 3 years of moving out

[Priya Daftary]

I moved out of my primary home back in mid July 2017. I had rented that house for the last 2.5 years and ready to sell it now to take benefit of the tax break. As per tax laws, I need to close the sale by mid July 2020 to get the $500k(between my spouse and me) benefit. I have two questions :

1. How does IRS calculate the exact dates of the moving out? I am trying to find out what is my cut off to close the sale of the house.

2. Does COVID pandemic allow me an extension to sell the home later in the year and still enjoy the tax benefit? Considering the market conditions I will either have to sell the house at a lower price or might not even get a buyer. Any advice on how to manage around these conditions is appreciated.

Thank you.

Priya