My mother is 93 and is selling her home in SC to pay for an assisted living facility. Does she pay taxes on the money made from the sale?

You should have an attorney for closing. This is where you get advice based on where you live. You might also want to see a financial advisor and elder attorney. You need advice on how to invest what she has and you might want to find the right way for someone to be on her checking to assist her in paying for AL if she ever gets hospitalized. Paying fees for these professionals will save a lot in the long run. Their services may be tax deductible including the medical portion of her AL

Your real estate attorney or real estate agent will guide you in the rules of your state, or your own cpa. You need expert advice for your state. In some states the sale of your single primary home is somewhat protected 1st sale. Again, not something to get wrong. Call her CPA. Newbie wife has some advice below for federal taxes. I would, as I said, always check these things with an expert as often there hare hidden reasons for something that might be missed.

For an individual, up to $250,000 in capital gains from the sale of a home is not taxable. Here's the language from the IRS: "to qualify for the Section 121 exclusion, you must meet both the ownership test and the use test. You're eligible for the exclusion if you have owned and used your home as your main home for a period aggregating at least two years out of the five years prior to its date of sale. You can meet the ownership and use tests during different 2-year periods. However, you must meet both tests during the 5-year period ending on the date of the sale. Generally, you're not eligible for the exclusion if you excluded the gain from the sale of another home during the two-year period prior to the sale of your home." In figuring how much the capital gain is that needs to be reported on her taxes, you'll need the original sales price, plus any costs involved in the original purchase (closing costs), plus the cost of any improvements made over the years. That is the "cost basis" of the house. Any costs involved in the sale of the house are excluded when computing the value of the sale, i.e., commission, other closing costs, any money spent to fix up and stage the house. Unless mom's house is worth a lot and has appreciated a lot since she owned it, it's not likely she'll have $250,000 in capital gain. The home sale does need to be reported when filing taxes for the year the sale took place.