Capital Gains Tax

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

My husband (UKC) and I (US/UK dual) are looking to buy our next house (we "bought" our current place together but as I wasn't working at the time, my name is not on the deed or mortgage). All of my research on capital gains and what we might owe when we decide to sell our next property has left me confused. Does anyone have any basic, reliable info about the limits of when you start owing capital gains tax to the US government on a UK home when sold? I thought I understood this already but the IRS does not make this easy at all and I want to know if we should avoid putting me on the mortgage again.

The classic advice from a tax perspective has always been to have the NRA spouse own most/all of the UK home to avoid any possible future US income tax on any gain on future sale of the property and any currency gain on repaying the mortgage. Because of the increasingly generous nil rate tax bands in the UK it might now be worth having the USC spouse own a tiny percentage of equity but pay all of the mortgage interest & claim a deduction for that mortgage interest.

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

My husband (UKC) and I (US/UK dual) are looking to buy our next house (we "bought" our current place together but as I wasn't working at the time, my name is not on the deed or mortgage). All of my research on capital gains and what we might owe when we decide to sell our next property has left me confused. Does anyone have any basic, reliable info about the limits of when you start owing capital gains tax to the US government on a UK home when sold? I thought I understood this already but the IRS does not make this easy at all and I want to know if we should avoid putting me on the mortgage again.

If the home is owned by a US citizen or US tax resident then the usual IRS capital gains tax rules will apply. If you file "married separately" then you can only claim $250k capital gains tax exclusion.