Own 2 Primary Homes, and Want to Sell Both

[Robert Reynolds]

Let’s say you live in a house for two years, then rent it out for two years and live in another house for two years. 

Can you sell the first house and get the home owners exemption of $500k for the first house?

Can you then sell your current house and also get that same tax exemption on gains? 

[Bill B.]

If you space the sales 2 years apart. 

So rent home 1 out for 2 years, while living in home 2, live in home 2 for two more years. Then sell. 

I guess you could move out of home 2 when you sell house 1 as you have two years in home 2 at that point and move in to home 3 at that time. And sell home 2 after 2years at home 3. 

What are the two rules of the exclusion on capital gains for homeowners?

That the exclusion can be used once every two years and that the house was occupied by the seller two of the last five years.