You cannot have more than 1 main home. If you live in more than 1 property - for example you own a property in a city you live and work in for part of the week, you must decide which property is your main home. You need to think about:
where your personal property is kept
the amount of time you spend living in each house (if you have more than one house)
where your immediate family lives
where your social ties are strongest
your use of the home
what other ties (for example: employment, business, economic) you have with the surrounding community.
Main home exclusion
The main home exclusion is the tax exemption for income earned from the sale of a main home ( bright-line property rule ). If you buy and sell your main home within 5 years (2 years if the property was acquired on or after 1 October 2015 through to 28 March 2018 inclusive), the income you earn from the sale of the property is not taxable if you used:
the property as your main home more than 50% of the time while you owned it
more than 50% of the area of the property as your main home. This includes the yard, gardens, garage, pool areas and tennis courts, etc.
The main home exclusion does not apply if you show a regular pattern of buying and selling residential property, even if you or your family live in the property before it is sold.
The main home exclusion when you sell a property
Your main home is generally excluded. Any gain you make on the sale of a property is not taxable if you either:
bought the land with a house on it
built a house on the land.
You must have used the house as your main home. The main home exclusion also applies if:
you are a trustee of a trust and one of the trust's beneficiaries lives in the property
you are a property dealer, developer or builder or an associated person.
The main home exclusion does not apply when you have a regular pattern of either buying and selling or building and selling your main home. Just occupying the premises for a short period is not enough, it must be occupied mainly as your residence.
#Source: IRD
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