Trump Admin Eyes Capital Gains Relief as Home Ownership Push Takes Shape
The Trump administration is exploring ways to make home ownership more affordable for younger Americans. Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling told the Washington Reporter that a key part of this effort is increasing access to affordable homes, particularly for first-time buyers.
JPMorgan Chase has announced an ambitious plan to deploy over $750 billion by 2035 to expand housing supply and homeownership, including financing 1 million affordable housing units and helping 500,000 customers purchase homes. This includes 200,000 first-time homebuyers.
The administration is also considering changes to the capital gains tax treatment of home sales, with National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett saying that President Trump was weighing the issue last month. Former National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said he had discussed indexing capital gains for inflation and increasing the exemption for home sales with Trump, who liked both ideas.
The current law allows individuals to exclude up to $250,000 in gains on the sale of a primary residence, while married couples filing jointly can exclude up to $500,000. However, these thresholds were established in 1997 and have never been indexed for inflation.