Loss on home

I sold my primary residence in California in 1998 at a loss (especially given improvements made later). I have not bought another home yet. Can I now claim this as a capital gains loss on my income taxes? And if I can (or can't), how does this affect my one-time capital gains exemption that I'll claim in the future?

You cannot deduct a loss on the sale of your personal residence. This sale at a loss will not affect the exemption for sale of you home in any way. By the way, the one-time exemption is no longer the law. Instead, there is an exclusion of up to $250,000 ($500,000 if you are married) of gain on the sale of your residence. Generally, you can qualify for that after living in the home as your principal residence for 2 years.