How to Sell Your Home After 65: The Complete Guide

To sell your home after 65, take five steps in order. Decide when to sell. Choose where you’ll live next. Pick an agent who has handled sales like yours. Get the house, the legal papers and the money ready. Then plan the move and the first 90 days. The home sale tax rules don’t change at 65. If you qualify, you can leave up to $250,000 of gain out of your income. On a joint return it’s $500,000.

I’ve spent 15 years training real estate agents, including the ones who sit at the table for this sale. The families who do this well start before they have to. The earlier you start, the more of the decision stays yours.

If you haven’t decided yet, start with my article on whether to sell your house at 65 or stay. It puts a number on each side.

What you’ll walk away with:

• How to tell when it’s time, by weighing the cost of staying against the cost of going

• The three paths for where you live next, and what care costs

• Three questions to ask an agent before you sign

• Whether you’ll owe capital gains tax, straight from the IRS

• What to do with the money, and a plan for the move and the first 90 days

What is different about selling a house after age 65?

Selling a house after age 65 is a heavier decision, because the house holds decades of your life. The money has more to cover, too. It may pay for where you live next and for care later on. The steps and the home sale tax rules are the same as at 45.

In its 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, the National Association of Realtors found the typical seller is 64. It’s the oldest age the survey has recorded. So you have plenty of company.

When should I sell my home after 65?

Sell when the cost of staying outweighs the cost of going. No age sets the date. The market and your family don’t set it either. Only you can weigh the two, because only you live with both.

The cost of staying often shows up as:

• Stairs or upkeep that now take planning

• Repair bills that keep climbing

• Rooms that have gone quiet

• Fewer neighbors and friends close by

The cost of going counts as much, and it’s harder to put a number on:

• The neighbors and routines you built over decades

• The garden or workshop you kept up with your own hands

• Decades of life in those rooms

Weigh both lists before you decide. Chapter One of The Senior Partner, homeowner edition, puts these two costs side by side, free by email.

If you wait until something forces the move, other people end up choosing for you. If you decide before you have to, you choose the timeline, the agent and what comes next.

How do I talk to my family about selling my house?

Tell your family which of three conversations you’re having before anyone sits down. That keeps a talk about options from turning into a vote on your house.

You may know this moment at the kitchen table. The coffee is on, and a grown son or daughter sits across from you. The sentence starts, “Mom, we’ve been thinking,” or “Dad, we just want you to be safe.” They say it because they love you. It’s still your house, and it’s still your decision.

Each of the three conversations has its own guest list.

1. The information conversation. You learn your options. Anyone you trust can be in the room.

2. The decision conversation. You make the choice, with your spouse if you have one.

3. The logistics conversation. You work out how to do what you decided. Bring in as many family hands as you trust.

Say which one it is before you start. It takes ten seconds, and everyone at the table knows what today is for. You could say, “This is an information conversation. I’m not deciding anything today.”

If a son or daughter is helping, point them to how to help a parent sell their house.

Start these talks yourself, and start them early. Then they happen on your terms.

Should I age in place, downsize or move to a community?

You have three paths, and any of them can be right. Pick the one that fits your house, your health and your money today. Don’t pick the one you wish still fit.

1. Age in place. You stay, and you change the house to fit you. That can mean grab bars and a stair lift, or a bedroom on the first floor.

2. Downsize into your own home. You trade a larger house for a smaller one that is still yours. It could be a condo or a one-level house, in your town or closer to family.

3. Move into a community. Your choices are independent living, assisted living or a 55+ community, based on the help you want today.

To choose a path, use what I call the Tuesday morning test. Ask what you want an ordinary Tuesday morning to look like in five years. Think about where you wake up and how far it is to the coffee and the doctor. Tuesday morning is the test, because Tuesday morning is most of your life.

Renting a smaller place or moving in with family counts as downsizing too. For what a move saves and what it costs, read the math on downsizing in retirement.

Then put a price on each path. The typical price for paid help at home is $35 an hour across the country. For assisted living it is $6,200 a month. Both are national medians, the middle price, from the CareScout Cost of Care Survey for 2025. Costs differ by area, so get local prices before you choose.

How do I choose a real estate agent for a sale after 65?

Choose an agent who has handled sales like yours, and ask three questions to find out. A big sales number doesn’t tell you how an agent handles a move after decades in one house.

Some agents hold a designation called SRES, short for Seniors Real Estate Specialist. It’s a starting point. The three questions tell you more.

1. How many sales have you handled for sellers over 65 in the last two years?

2. How do you work with my family without sidelining me?

3. What happens if the timeline has to slow down or speed up?

Good answers have detail in them. You hear what the agent did and who they called.

For the longer list of questions, read what to ask an agent before you sign. For the basics, read how to choose a real estate agent.

You’re the one doing the hiring. You are the senior partner in this sale, and the agent works for you.

How do I prepare to sell my house?

Start with the house itself. Then sort the stuff and sign the legal papers. Give yourself three to six months before you list. That’s my rule of thumb, and it means no part gets rushed.

The house

Ask your agent to show you the recent sales behind the price they suggest. You should be able to see where the number comes from. Before you spend money on repairs, ask which ones are worth doing and which are not.

Then ask what will come out of your check at closing. My working estimate for the total is 8 to 12% of the sale price. That counts commission, closing costs and repairs. On a $500,000 sale, it is $40,000 to $60,000. Get each cost in writing, so closing day holds no surprises.

The stuff

Sort everything into three piles.

1. Coming with me

2. Going to someone I love

3. Going somewhere else

Most of what is in your home is emotionally valuable, not financially valuable. Those are different markets, and families get stuck when they treat them as one. In my experience, most of it lands in the third pile. That’s normal.

Gift the things that matter while you can still see the smile and tell the story.

If your children are helping you sort, ask them to read how to help a parent downsize without taking over.

If the volume feels like too much, hire help. A senior move manager plans the move with you, then does the sorting and packing alongside you. The National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers keeps a directory you can search by area. I tell families it’s often the best money they spend. The move manager does the work, and the family gets to be family.

The legal side

Handle the legal papers before you need them. A power of attorney is “a legal document that allows someone else to act on your behalf.” That is how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau defines it.

I tell homeowners to ask an elder law attorney about four documents.

• A durable power of attorney for money, which keeps working even if you later can’t act for yourself

• A power of attorney for health care

• A living will, which puts your wishes for care in writing

• A last will

Sign them early, while nobody is rushing you. Then the choices in them are yours.

(This is not legal advice. An elder law attorney can tell you what applies in your state.)

Do I pay capital gains tax if I sell my house after 65?

In most cases you don’t pay capital gains tax on the full gain when you sell your house after 65. The IRS lets you leave up to $250,000 of gain out of your income when you sell your main home. On a joint return with your spouse, the limit is $500,000. This is called the home sale exclusion. IRS Publication 523 also calls it the Section 121 exclusion.

The tax is on the gain, not on the sale price. Say you bought the house for $80,000 in 1975 and you sell it for $580,000. Your gain is $500,000 before you count improvements and selling costs. A married couple filing jointly could owe no federal tax on it.

You must have owned the home and lived in it for at least two of the last five years. You generally can’t use the exclusion if you used it on another home in the two years before. Those rules are in IRS Topic 701.

Is there still a one-time capital gains exemption for sellers over 55?

No, not anymore. You may remember a one-time $125,000 exclusion for sellers over 55. Congress replaced it in 1997 with the rule above, according to the Congressional Research Service. Today’s rule isn’t a one-time deal. You can use it again, as long as you haven’t used it in the two years before the sale.

Is there a new capital gains break for sellers over 65?

Not yet. A bill called H.R. 9064 was introduced in Congress in May 2026. It would raise the limit to $1 million for a single seller who is 65 or over and has owned the home for at least 25 years. On a joint return, the limit would also be $1 million, and only one of you would need to be 65. It would cover sales from 2027 through 2030. As of October 2026, it has not passed, so it is not law. Plan on today’s $250,000 and $500,000 limits.

Which other home sale rules matter after 65?

Four more matter, and all four are in IRS Publication 523.

• Improvements that are still part of the home add to your basis. Your basis is the cost of the home for tax purposes, and a higher basis means a smaller gain. Keep the old receipts for a new roof or an addition. Repairs and upkeep don’t count.

• If your spouse has died and you haven’t remarried, you may still use the $500,000 limit. You have to sell within two years of the death.

• If your spouse has died and you owned the home together, the basis of their share resets. It becomes what that share was worth on the date of death, which usually lowers the gain. Some states treat what a married couple owns as shared by both. They are called community property states. In one of them, the basis of the whole home usually resets. Ask your CPA which rule is yours.

• If you can no longer care for yourself, time in a licensed care facility can count toward the two years. A nursing home is one example. You must have lived in the home for at least 12 months of the five years before the sale.

You may get a Form 1099-S after the sale. It is the tax form that reports the sale to the IRS. If you get one, report the sale on your tax return, even when all the gain is excluded.

What if my gain is more than the exclusion?

Gain above the exclusion is taxed at the federal capital gains rate. For a home you’ve owned over a year, that rate is 0%, 15% or 20%, based on your taxable income. IRS Topic 409 lists the income limits. If any of the gain is taxable, you report the sale too.

At higher incomes, a separate 3.8% tax can apply to the same gain. The line is income above $200,000 on a single return, or $250,000 on a joint return. IRS Topic 559 explains it.

Your state may tax the gain as well, and the rules differ by state. Ask your CPA.

Learn these rules before you list. Three of them run on a two-year clock, so the date you sell can decide what you keep.

(This is general education, not tax advice. Rules change and your numbers are your own. Take them to a CPA before you list.)

What should I do with the money from selling my house?

Put the money somewhere safe first. Then decide what to do with it slowly, with a CPA or a fee-only financial planner. When I say fee-only, I mean you pay the planner directly and they earn nothing from selling you a product.

Know four facts before closing day.

1. Deposit insurance has a limit. The FDIC is the federal agency that insures bank deposits. It covers $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each type of account ownership. Ask your bank how a larger deposit will be covered before the money lands.

2. A taxable gain can raise your Medicare Part B premium two years later. The last question in this guide shows how.

3. Medicare doesn’t pay for long-term care. If you think you’ll want help at home or assisted living later, ask your planner how you’d pay for it.

4. Gifts to family can matter later. Say you ask Medicaid to help pay for long-term care. Under federal rules, the program looks back 60 months, which is five years. Your state’s rules can differ. A gift made in that window can delay the help. Talk to an elder law attorney before you give sale money to your children.

There’s no deadline on this money. Take your time, and bring in your CPA or planner before you move any of it.

(This is general education, not financial advice. I don’t recommend products.)

How do I plan the move and the first 90 days?

Plan the move as a two-week window, and put three check-ins on the calendar for the first 90 days. Treat both as part of the sale.

Two weeks out, confirm the movers and the utilities in writing, and forward your mail.

Don’t rush emptying the house. Saying goodbye to it takes longer than packing it. The day before the move, take an hour and walk through every room on your own. People who skip it tend to find, three months later, that the move doesn’t feel finished. I wrote that in The Senior Partner.

A move rarely travels alone. It sits on top of whatever change in health, money or family led to it. That’s why the months after need a plan too.

Mark three dates on your calendar before you move.

1. At 30 days, ask yourself what is working and what still feels unfamiliar.

2. At 60 days, ask what routines you have rebuilt and what is still missing.

3. At 90 days, ask whether this feels like home yet, and what is worth trying next.

Keep all three dates, even when nothing feels wrong, because the check-ins catch small things while they’re still small.

What should I unpack first?

Unpack the small things that make a morning yours. In The Senior Partner, homeowner edition, I call them anchors. Set up the coffee maker and make the bed on the first day. Put your chair where you want it, and hang one family photo. Keep your medicines and the papers you can’t lose with you, not on the truck. The people who set up these anchors in the first 48 hours tend to feel at home sooner.

Questions homeowners ask

At what age should I sell my house?

No age is the right one. The typical home seller is now 64, the oldest age the National Association of Realtors has recorded. Sell when the cost of staying outweighs the cost of going, at 65 or at 85. The home sale exclusion is the same at any age. My article on whether to sell at 65 or stay shows you how to run both numbers.

How long does it take to sell a house and downsize?

My rule of thumb is three to six months to get ready, plus the time on the market. The National Association of Realtors found homes typically spent 31 days on the market in August 2026. Your local market will differ.

Should I sell my home before I buy or move into the next one?

There’s no single right order. It depends on your local market and your money. A bridge loan is a short-term loan that lets you buy before you sell. Ask your agent and your CPA or a fee-only planner before you commit to either order.

Should I take a cash offer for my house?

Only after you check it. A fast offer can be a fair one. Find out what your home is worth, and ask who is buying. Get in writing what you’d walk away with. Never sign the same day, and have someone you trust read it first.

Should I sell my house before I turn 65?

Your age doesn’t decide it. The timing can matter for Medicare, though. Medicare sets your premium from your tax return two years before. So a taxable gain at 63 or 64 can raise your first Medicare premiums. Gain you leave out under the home sale rule doesn’t count. If your gain may go over the limit, ask a CPA to check the timing before you list.

Will selling my house raise my Medicare premiums?

It can, if the sale leaves you with taxable gain. Gain you exclude under the home sale rule is left out of your income. Medicare sets your premium from the income on your tax return from two years before. The standard Part B premium for 2026 is $202.90 a month. Above $109,000 of income on an individual return, or $218,000 on a joint return, you pay an extra charge. The limits change each year. Medicare calls that charge an income-related monthly adjustment amount, or IRMAA. So a taxable gain this year can raise your premium two years from now. Ask a CPA to run your numbers before you sell.

Where the numbers come from

• The typical home seller is 64, the oldest age the survey has recorded. National Association of Realtors, 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 2025.

• Paid help at home, $35 an hour, and assisted living, $6,200 a month. CareScout, Cost of Care Survey, 2025.

• What a power of attorney is, and what makes it durable. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What is a power of attorney? Reviewed August 2026.

• The $250,000 and $500,000 exclusion, the two-of-five-year test, the two-year limit on using it again, Form 1099-S and when you must report the sale. Internal Revenue Service, Topic no. 701, Sale of your home, reviewed September 2026.

• The $125,000 exclusion for sellers over 55, replaced in 1997. Congressional Research Service, The Exclusion of Capital Gains for Owner-Occupied Housing, August 2025.

• A bill to raise the exclusion to $1 million for sellers 65 and over who have owned the home for at least 25 years, for sales from 2027 through 2030. It was introduced on May 29, 2026, sent to the House Committee on Ways and Means, and has not passed. U.S. Congress, H.R. 9064, 119th Congress, checked October 2026.

• The Section 121 name, how improvements and selling costs lower the gain, the two years after a spouse’s death, community property and the 12-month rule for a care facility. Internal Revenue Service, Publication 523, Selling Your Home, 2025 edition.

• Capital gains rates of 0%, 15% and 20%. Internal Revenue Service, Topic no. 409, Capital gains and losses, for tax year 2025.

• The 3.8% net investment income tax and its $200,000 and $250,000 thresholds. Internal Revenue Service, Topic no. 559, Net investment income tax, reviewed September 2026.

• Deposit insurance of $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Deposit Insurance at a Glance, 2024.

• The two-year look-back on income, and that the amount can change each year. Medicare.gov, Costs, 2026.

• The $109,000 and $218,000 income limits and the standard Part B premium of $202.90 a month. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles, November 2025.

• Medicare doesn’t pay for long-term care. Medicare.gov, Long-term care, 2026.

• The federal 60-month look-back on gifts. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Transfer of Assets in the Medicaid Program, 2008.

• Homes spent 31 days on the market in August 2026, the median for the month. National Association of Realtors, Existing-Home Sales report, September 2026.

• The 8 to 12% cost of selling and the three to six months to get ready are my own working estimates. They are the figures I use in my book, The Senior Partner, homeowner edition. Each is a rule of thumb, not a study.

Figures checked October 2026.