Tax question on capital gains tax exclusion on primary residence

[Phil DeSimone]

I am in the middle of a tax dilemma on a recent house I sold in late September and would really appreciate any feedback or referrals to someone who would know the answer.

so... 

I play pro hockey (forces me to leave my primary residence during the season) and owned a home in Naples, Florida from April 2014 to September 2016 (30 months). I was under the impression that after two years of ownership of a primary residence, you were excluded from paying capital gains tax on the first 250k in gain. My capital gain is under that threshold and the house was my primary residence for the full time period. The problem I am having is 11 of those 30 months I rented my place out due to my absence for hockey. Which is why the accountant I am working with now is telling me I do not qualify for the exclusion and I am liable to pay tax on either the whole gain or a portion of it (still not sure yet). My question is, since my job required me to move out of the state of Florida and in some instances out of the country for those time periods it was rented, does that grant me an exception and still qualify me for this exclusion? 

I have been told by several peers who have done the same thing as me, have not been liable to pay tax on the gain. I have also talked to several other people in the industry before the sale to make sure of this and all agreed that I would be exempt. 

Thank you !!!

[Natalie Kolodij]

The cake where I tried to help you for free and made a mistake than admitted it?

Tastes way better than being a smug guy who requested free help on the internet