On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia) introduced the No Tax on Home Sales Act, a bill that would eliminate the federal capital gains tax on the sale of a primary residence. If you live in a high cost housing state like California this is significant. There are federal capital gains taxes on anything above your primary resident's basis and home owner exemption ($250,000 for an individual and $500,000 for a couple filing jointly). In the past you were able to reinvest in a new primary residence and avoid capital gains but that is not the current federal law.
In California, the median sales price of a home (including attached properties like condos) is over $750,000. If you have lived in your home for many years, for example a senior who bought in the 1960 when the median price in California was roughly $12,000, you would most likely be facing capital gains taxes depending on your regular income. This bill isn't just for the wealthy in our state and would, most likely, allow seniors to sell and keep their equity to live on in retirement. This would be a huge motivator to open up more housing for first-time buyers.