Date of sale in real estate - is it date of Close or date of Signing

Question

I'm in the process of selling my home and am getting very close to the time limit on the gains exemptions (2 months from now). The IRS says that the date that matters is the 'date of sale' - is that the date of closing or the date of signing the contract with the buyer?

Answer 1

The sale "closes", i.e.: becomes final, at a certain date at which the transfer deed is recorded by the escrow/title company. Until that moment the sale is not closed, and as such - not final. Until that time you can back out of the deal (with or without penalties, depending on the contract), and as such - the sale is not yet final.

The IRS only cares about the date at which the sale becomes final. That is the closing date.