HOMESY5280 · PORTABLE FILE

DOWNSIZING

Two houses. One order. Your numbers.

SEP 24, 2026

START HERE

Get the gain, the property tax position, and the buy-or-sell order on paper before touching the house or the listing.

PROTECT FIRST

01Find the purchase records and every improvement receipt
02Confirm any senior exemption or tax deferral on the current house
03Decide who is on title and who signs

WORK IN ORDER

THE GAIN

What is the sale worth after tax?

Purchase price, improvements, and the federal exclusion on a principal residence decide how much of the gain is yours to keep. The CPA confirms it; the net sheet prices the sale beside it.

THE ORDER

Buy first or sell first?

One order costs carrying two homes; the other costs a move in between. Price both on your own numbers before you commit to either.

THE HOUSE

What does a long-held house need?

Decades of ownership means deferred items, old permits, and a lot of contents. Price the preparation against the list price, and stop where the return stops.

THE CLOSE

Who signs, and where does the money land?

Title, trust, or estate planning changes made years ago decide who signs. Confirm it with title early, with the deferral or lien payoffs on the settlement statement.

COLORADO, IN EIGHT FACTS

THE GAIN YOU MAY KEEPFederal law excludes up to $250,000 of gain on the sale of a principal residence (VERIFIED, 26 U.S.C. 121(a)) when you owned and used the home as your main residence for periods adding up to 2 years or more in the 5 years ending on the sale date and have not used the exclusion on another sale in the prior 2 years; $500,000 on a joint return only when either spouse meets the ownership test, both spouses meet the 2-year use test, and neither has used the exclusion in the prior 2 years (VERIFIED, 26 U.S.C. 121(b)(2)). Gain above that line is your CPA's question, asked before the list price, not after closing.

THE SENIOR EXEMPTION ENDS AT CLOSINGColorado's senior exemption takes 50 percent of the first $200,000 of actual value off the tax roll for an owner 65 or older who has owned and occupied the home as a primary residence for 10 consecutive years, and it ends when the property is sold (VERIFIED, Boulder County Assessor, C.R.S. 39-3-203). The next house starts without it unless the rule below applies.

IT CAN FOLLOW YOU, IN PARTFor tax years beginning January 1, 2025, an owner who qualified for the senior exemption on a previous home in 2020 or later may qualify for a qualified-senior primary residence classification on the new one, which values the property on a reduced basis (VERIFIED, SB24-111, Colorado General Assembly). Ask the assessor in the new county, with the old exemption record in hand.

DEFERRED TAXES ARE PAID AT CLOSINGColorado's deferral program for owners 65 and older pays the property taxes as a state loan secured by a lien on the home, with interest, and the balance becomes due when the home is sold or transferred (VERIFIED, Colorado Property Tax Deferral Program, C.R.S. 39-3.5). If you are in it, the payoff is a line on the net sheet, not a surprise on the settlement statement.

WHAT 55+ ACTUALLY MEANSA community qualifies as housing for older persons when at least 80 percent of its occupied units are occupied by at least one person 55 or older, it publishes and follows policies showing that intent, and it verifies occupants' ages under HUD's rules (VERIFIED, 42 U.S.C. 3607(b)(2)(C); 24 C.F.R. 100.307). Whether a younger spouse, a caregiver, or an adult child may live there is decided by that community's own written rules. Read them before going under contract.

THE CLOCK YOU ARE PRICING AGAINSTThe Denver metro median listing left the market in 57 days in August 2026 (VERIFIED, Realtor.com via FRED), and that clock stops at contract, not at closing. Add the contract-to-closing time, about 30 to 45 days on a financed purchase, to get the carrying window if you buy first, or the lead time for finding the next place if you sell first.

TWO ORDERS, PRICED ON YOUR OWN NUMBERSBuy first and carry two homes for a season, or sell first and move twice. Neither is right for everyone. Run both at /tools/move-up with your equity, your payment, and your timeline, then read the net sheet at /tools/net-sheet for the sale itself; the gain, the exclusion and any deferral payoff are your CPA's lines, added beside it.

WHO SIGNS WHATSince 2026-08-12 a Colorado broker needs a signed written agreement stating compensation before licensed work (HB26-1426, bill and date VERIFIED, amended text PROBABLE). If the house sits in a trust, or a spouse has died, title confirms who signs before the contract is drafted, not the week of closing.

BUILD THE FILE

1. Closing statement from when you bought, and improvement receipts2. Current property tax bill, with any senior exemption or deferral noted3. Deed or trust documents showing who is on title4. Mortgage or line-of-credit payoff, if any5. The 55+ or HOA rules of the community you are considering