Last week, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) introduced the No Tax on Home Sales Act, a proposal to eliminate the federal capital gains tax on the sale of primary residences.
“Families who work hard, build equity, and sell their homes should not be punished with massive tax bills,” Greene said in a statement. “The capital gains tax on home sales is an outdated, unfair burden — especially in today’s housing market, where values have skyrocketed. My bill fixes that.”
The capital gains tax is a federal levy triggered when someone sells an asset, such as a home, personal property or investment securities, “for more than [a seller’s] adjusted basis,” which the IRS defines as the original purchase price of the item.
The IRS currently allows an exclusion of up to $250,000 ($500,000 for joint filers) in capital gains from home sales. But these limits haven’t been updated since 1997, when the median U.S. home price was $145,000. Today, that figure has climbed to $360,239.
Realtor.com, citing research from University of Illinois Chicago, claims that 31% of homeowners ages 65 and older exceed the $250,000 exclusion limit for single filers. This results in an average tax bill of $41,232, which is about $6,500 more than the national average, despite this group making up a smaller share of those affected.
According to a July 10 release from Greene’s office, her proposal would not only eliminate the federal capital gains tax on home sales but also claims to “encourage mobility by removing a key disincentive to selling, helping to increase housing supply, deliver tax relief to homeowners looking to downsize or relocate without being penalized for appreciation [and] protect first-time buyers by improving inventory and lowering prices in the most constrained housing markets.”
The bill would explicitly apply to individuals selling their primary residences — not home flippers or real estate investors.
“Homeowners who have lived in their homes for decades, especially seniors in places where values have surged, shouldn’t be forced to stay put because of an IRS penalty. My bill unlocks that equity, helps fix the housing shortage, and supports long-term financial security for American families,” Greene said.
Greene told Realtor.com that homeowners “get penalized so much [by capital gains taxes] because of the large amount of equity they’ve gained,” and that the bill’s goal is to make it easier for everyday homeowners to sell their homes without losing a portion of their profits to the IRS.
Recent reports suggest that potential capital gains taxes are making many homeowners — especially older ones — apprehensive to sell.
“This would be the greatest gift to the baby boomers ever; they win again if this happens. States like California and New York will benefit if this passes,” HousingWire Lead Analyst Logan Mohtashami said.