Selling home after breakup

Q: I purchased a home one year ago with my boyfriend, and we are now separating and find it incompatible to live together. We are seeing what our options are for selling the house now. Is it true that if we sell the house before we have hit the two year mark we have to pay more taxes on the sale than if we waited one more year?

A: While that is true, there are some exceptions ( like hardship). You will want to check with a tax consultant or at least go to the IRS.gov website. Also, the 2 year date applies to the closing date, not the date you sign a purchase agreement, so, with the marketing time it takes in today’s market & an extension on a closing date - you could be close to that 2 year mark anyway.