The 2025 tax legislation signed into law by President Trump, commonly referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, largely preserves the existing capital gains tax framework. Long-term capital gains rates remain set at 0%, 15% and 20%, with no changes to the underlying brackets.
On May 28, 2021, the White House and Treasury released the Fiscal Year 2022 Federal Budget and the Treasury Green Book, or "Green Book", which includes new details regarding the Biden administration's proposed 2021 tax reform -- including a retroactive proposed capital gains tax increase to 37% to the extent household ...
Donald Trump has recently proposed eliminating property taxes across the United States, stirring up a major debate on housing and taxes.
Contents. In recent Congresses, multiple bills have been introduced to alter the exclusion of capital gains tax on sales of owner-occupied housing, and in July 2025 President Trump indicated that the Administration is considering an elimination of the capital gains tax on homes.
A common way to defer or reduce your capital gains taxes is to use tax-advantaged accounts. Retirement accounts such as 401(k) plans, and individual retirement accounts offer tax-deferred investment. You don't pay income or capital gains taxes on assets while they remain in the account.
Does the Trump Tax Plan Affect Capital Gains Tax Rates? Trump's tax law leaves existing capital gains tax rates and income tax brackets unchanged. Capital gains remain a key consideration for investors, especially those with taxable brokerage accounts, real estate holdings or long-term investment portfolios.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated in 2018 that the 2017 law would cost $1.9 trillion over ten years, and recent estimates show that making the law's temporary individual income and estate tax cuts permanent would cost roughly another $4.2 trillion through 2035.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) or the Big Beautiful Bill (P.L. 119-21), is a U.S. federal statute passed by the 119th United States Congress containing tax and spending policies that form the core of President Donald Trump's second-term agenda. The bill was signed into law by Trump on July 4, 2025.
At the end of 2025, the individual portions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expire all at once. Without congressional action, 62 percent of filers could soon face a tax increase relative to current policy in 2026. At the same time, the price tag for extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts is in the trillions.
The IRS allows no specific tax exemptions for senior citizens, either when it comes to income or capital gains. The closest you can come is contributing to a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k) with after-tax dollars, allowing you to make qualified withdrawals on a tax-free basis.
For example, in 2025, a single filer won't pay any tax on long-term capital gains if their total taxable income is $48,350 or less. But an individual filer with income between $48,350 and $533,400 would pay a 15% long-term capital gains tax rate.
Long-Term Capital Gains tax rate is 12.5% and Short-Term Capital Gains tax rate is 20% or at slab rates as updated in Budget 2024. Profit on sale of capital assets such as land, building and stocks are subject to capital gains tax.
1837: Andrew Jackson
This resulted in a huge government surplus of funds. (In 1835, the $17.9 million budget surplus was greater than the total government expenses for that year.) By January of 1835, for the first and only time, all of the government's interest-bearing debt was paid off.
President Biden has formally proposed the highest top capital gains tax in over 100 years. Here is a direct quote from the Biden 2025 budget proposal: “Together, the proposals would increase the top marginal rate on long-term capital gains and qualified dividends to 44.6 percent.”
Seven major tax cuts took effect for 2025 under the OBBBA:
In 1978, Congress eliminated the minimum tax on excluded gains and increased the exclusion to 60%, reducing the maximum rate to 28%. The 1981 tax rate reductions further reduced capital gains rates to a maximum of 20%.
On a $100,000 capital gain, you'll likely pay 15% for long-term gains, resulting in about $15,000 in federal tax (plus potential state tax), but it could be 0% or 20% depending on your total taxable income and filing status, while short-term gains are taxed as ordinary income (potentially 22-24%).
Second, capital gains taxes on accrued capital gains are forgiven if the asset holder dies—the so-called “Angel of Death” loophole. The basis of an asset left to an heir is “stepped up” to the asset's current value.
If you sell your house and don't buy another, you'll have cash proceeds (after paying off the mortgage and selling costs) and need to decide on new housing, often renting or moving in with family; financially, you might benefit from the IRS capital gains exclusion (up to $250k/$500k profit if you've lived there two of the last five years), but you'll pay tax on gains beyond that, while also managing the new costs of renting or storage.