The Military Home Programs' Blog

Have you ever played Monopoly? Buying every property you landed on so you’d eventually get the hotels and win the game? As a military family moving from station to station, you may want to be playing a little monopoly for real.

As military members, we get more tax advantages than most when it comes to home ownership. For example, our BAH is not taxable when we receive it. At the same time, we get a tax deduction for the mortgage interest we pay. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. The tax laws regarding home sales allow married couples to receive up to $500,000 of tax free profit on the sale of their home. To receive this great tax relief, the IRS normally requires you to live in the home for at least 2 years out of the last 5 years at the time of the sale. That’s achievable, but it gets even better for the military. Active duty members get to stop that 5 year clock for up to 10 years. So the military rule is 2 years out of the last 15 years. That means you can buy a home at your current duty station and rent it out for the 13 years after you leave, and still get the profit tax free!

Just like Monopoly, if you buy a home at each duty station you land on, rent it out for 13 years, and then take the profit tax free, you’re in a great position to win the game.

If you would like more information on these tax guidelines and how to take advantage of them, please email Karen.Bates@MilitaryHomePrograms.com