- 92% favor allowing first-time homebuyers to save in tax-free accounts for a down payment.
- 91% want to maintain critical home incentives like the mortgage interest deduction.
- 86% support keeping lower income tax rates for individuals and married couples.
- 83% support the 20% deduction for independent contractors and small businesses.
- 80% support tax incentives to revitalize underserved communities through investment.
- 76% support tax credits to convert unused commercial space into much-needed housing.
- 61% of voters support increasing State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction limits or removing limits altogether.
These are not abstract policy ideas — they directly impact the ability of middle-class Americans to buy, sell, or invest in real estate and for communities to grow sustainably. NAR’s members live and work in every zip code in America and see this play out daily.
Congress has three paths for pro-housing policy: Extend the tax provisions that are working, consider new measures that reflect today’s economy, and resist harmful new “pay-fors.” NAR lays out the polling results and a suite of tax ideas on its federal legislative priorities page at FlyIn.Realtor.
One increasingly urgent issue is the outdated capital gains exemption limits, which haven’t been adjusted since 1997. These limits are now penalizing middle-class homeowners—especially seniors—who choose not to sell their homes to avoid steep tax bills. As a result, fewer homes are entering the market, creating a growing strain on both housing inventory and affordability.
NAR’s poll shows that 67% of voters support doubling the capital gains exemption on the sale of a primary residence — from $250,000 to $500,000 for individuals and from $500,000 to $1 million for couples.
Each year, the exclusion affects more and more middle-class Americans, and a capital gains cliff is fast approaching.
Lawmakers must also resist the temptation to raise taxes on real…