The House of Representatives has passed the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill,” which includes several provisions altering the U.S. tax code. Several changes originally passed in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) would become permanent if this bill is signed into law.
The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), which previously praised an earlier draft of the bill released on May 12 as reflecting the real estate industry’s priorities, released similar comments about the just-passed version.
The bill—which was passed by the razor-thin margin of 215 – 214, with two Republicans voting no and another “present”—still faces the hurdle of Senate passage before it can eventually go to President Donald Trump’s desk.
“We appreciate House leaders for taking this important step with a bill that supports hardworking families and strengthens the real estate economy,” said NAR Chief Advocacy Officer Shannon McGahn, who said NAR will “stay closely engaged with lawmakers to ensure real estate remains a central focus” as the bill makes its way through the Senate and faces possible changes.
Upon the release of the bill draft, NAR had listed five “legislative priorities” that were addressed and have been in essence retained in the now-passed version. The priorities included increasing the qualified business income deduction (QBI) from 20% to 23%, which benefits real estate agents who are classified as independent contractors rather than employees.
Other priorities were making the lower individual tax rates of the TCJA permanent and indexed for (read: responsive and adjusting to) inflation, as well as the preservation of both the mortgage interest deduction for homeowners and Like-Kind Exchanges of property under Section 1031.
Another priority, and major sticking point in negotiations for lawmakers, is the state and local tax deduction (SALT). SALT allows taxpayers to deduct the cost of certain local taxes—such as property taxes—from their federal tax bill. The TCJA capped potential SALT deductions at $10,000 for individual payers or married couples filing jointly.
Under the TCJA, the cap would sunset at the end of 2025. The current draft of the bill preserves the cap but raises it to $40,000. The bill does not eliminate the “marriage penalty,” where married couples are capped at the same deduction as individual taxpayers.
The May 12 draft of the bill only raised the SALT cap to $30,000—Republican lawmakers representing districts in New York (a state with high local taxes) said at the time that the $30,000 cap was too low for them to support the bill. According to Politico, New York Republicans are indeed the ones who pushed for the higher SALT cap, offset by moving implementation of Medicaid work requirements from January 2029 to December 2026.
The bill has also earned the cautious approval of the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA). In a press release, MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit singled out for praise similar provisions that NAR did—such as the QBI, changes to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program to benefit developers and expansion of opportunity zones (where developers can receive tax breaks for investing in an area).
“MBA looks forward to engaging with the Senate on possible improvements to this House-passed reconciliation baseline as changes are considered and crafted,” said Broeksmit. “We will continue to advocate for our industry’s tax priorities throughout the debate this summer.”
