I have owned my home since 1989 and I am sitting on a huge capital gain. I don't want to sell the home but I have rented it for the past two years while I have been working overseas.

I read that you can exclude capital gains if the property has been your primary residence at least three of the last five years. So I am worried - if I rent my home for another year have I lost my exclusion on 20+ years of capital gain - over $200,000? If so I would be better off selling it! Can I start a property management company and sell the house to my own company to protect all that gain from tax?

I would prefer to keep the house and probably make it my personal residence again a few years from now. What are my options?