An unmarried (or married filing single) couple co-own their home. When it comes time to sell, does each person get the $250,000 credit for tax-free capital gains?
$250k each. And this even applies to co-owners who are NOT married, provided they all used it as their primary residence for the required time.
IANA Tax Accountant, but my understanding is that if you jointly own property, and you all used it as your primary residence, you split the gains and each get the $250k exclusion.
Here is a cite that backs up that claim: How Does the Capital Gains Tax Exclusion Apply to Three Co-Owners of a Home? | Nolo
As an aside, if the gain exceeds $250k, it’s worth noting that many people are not aware of the many things they can add to their cost basis to reduce the cap gain. Many of the expenses associated with purchase, mortgage and sale; and any improvements to the home (capital expenditure, not routine maintenance). It’s important to keep careful records for all this stuff from the time of purchase - it can be substantial, and some of it may be very hard to remember (let alone document retrospectively) if you live in a house for 20 years.