If you think the law gives you a free pass on taxes when you sell your home, you could be making an expensive mistake.

Lawmakers gave you a nice gift when they wrote the home sale exclusion. That’s the law that knocks out a big chunk of your tax bill on the sale of your principal residence. But that exclusion does not cover everyone in all situations, and even when you can use it, you might not get the maximum benefit.

That’s why you don’t want to rely on the exclusion alone.

And it’s one of the reasons you need to start thinking about the exclusion today even if you don’t have a plan to sell your home anytime in the future.

This article explains when you can and cannot use the exclusion. It’s always to your advantage to use the exclusion when you can.

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