Overview

• President Trump said July 22 that his administration is considering eliminating federal capital gains taxes on primary residence sales.
• Under current rules, single homeowners can exclude up to $250,000 of home-sale gains and joint filers up to $500,000.
• A National Association of Realtors study finds 29 million single and 8 million joint filers could exceed those exemption limits.
• Congress would need to pass new legislation to enact the full exemption even as the July 4 tax-package extension is projected to add $3.4 trillion to the deficit over ten years.
• Trump tied the proposed tax break to Federal Reserve policy, suggesting lower interest rates might reduce the need for the exemption.