Contents
Important Change for 1999 ...............................
1
Important Reminders .........................................
1
Introduction ........................................................
2
Chapter 1. Main Home .......................................
2
Chapter 2. Rules for Sales in 1999 ..................
3
How To Figure Gain or Loss ...........................
3
Choosing To Use Rules in Chapter 3 .............
4
Gain on Sale ....................................................
5
Loss on Sale ....................................................
5
Basis ................................................................
5
Excluding the Gain ..........................................
10
Ownership and Use Tests ...............................
12
Special Situations ............................................
15
Reporting the Gain ..........................................
16
Real Estate and Transfer Taxes .....................
19
Chapter 3. Rules Under Prior Law ...................
19
Postponing Gain ..............................................
19
How and When To Report ...............................
27
One-Time Exclusion of Gain ...........................
29
Chapter 4. Recapture of Federal Subsidy .......
36
Chapter 5. How To Get More Information .......
36
Index ....................................................................
38
Important Change
for 1999
Photographs of missing children. The Internal Rev-
enue Service is a proud partner with the National Cen-
ter for Missing and Exploited Children. Photographs of
missing children selected by the Center may appear in
this publication on pages that would otherwise be blank.
You can help bring these children home by looking at
the
photographs
and
calling
1–800–THE–LOST
(1–800–843–5678) if you recognize a child.
Important Reminders
Change of address.
If you change your mailing ad-
dress, be sure to notify the Internal Revenue Service
(IRS) using Form 8822, Change of Address. Mail it to
the Internal Revenue Service Center for your old ad-
dress. (Addresses for the Service Centers are on the
back of the form.)
Home sold with undeducted points. If you have not
deducted all the points you paid to secure a mortgage
on your old home, you may be able to deduct the re-
maining points in the year of sale. See Points in Part I
of Publication 936, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction.
Department of the Treasury
Internal Revenue Service
Publication 523
Cat. No. 15044W
Selling
Your Home
For use in preparing
1999 Returns
