Final answer:
A married couple filing jointly may exclude up to $500,000 of gain from the sale of their residence, with certain conditions involving ownership and use tests. U.S. tax law also includes various forms of taxation, such as estate tax, with exemptions for surviving spouses that were extended to same-sex couples after the Supreme Court's Windsor ruling.
Step-by-step explanation:
Yes, a married couple filing a joint tax return can exclude up to $500,000 of gain on the sale of a personal residence, provided both spouses meet the ownership test and at least one spouse meets the use test. The ownership test requires that at least one spouse have ownership of the property for at least two out of the five years preceding the sale. The use test, on the other hand, requires that the residence has been used as a main home for a cumulative total of two out of the five years prior to selling.
This provision is part of the larger framework of U.S. tax law that includes various forms of taxation and exemptions. For instance, the estate tax exemption for surviving spouses was historically affected by laws such as the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), but after the ruling in United States v. Windsor in 2013, same-sex married couples gained the same federal rights as heterosexual couples, including the rights related to joint tax filing and exclusions on gains from the sale of personal residences.
Tax brackets in the United States are progressive and change over time. For example, tax information from certain years may refer to estate taxes applying only to those leaving inheritances above a certain threshold (such as $5.43 million in 2015), affecting a small percentage of those with high levels of wealth.