House Blocks Bill to Boost State and Local Tax Deduction
On a procedural vote of 195-227, the House on Feb. 14 rejected legislation that would temporarily double the state and local tax (SALT) deduction limit for married couples. NAHB strongly supported the SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act.
The SALT Marriage Penalty Elimination Act would have raised for tax year 2023 the cap on the SALT deduction for married taxpayers filing joint returns and earning less than $500,000 a year from the current $10,000 limit to $20,000 for the current tax year. This would have allowed eligible taxpayers who are filing their 2023 tax returns now to immediately claim the expanded benefit.
The SALT deduction allows itemizing taxpayers to deduct taxes paid to state and local governments — including property taxes — from their federal tax return. Beginning in 2018, itemizing taxpayers were limited to a maximum $10,000 deduction for all state and local tax deductions. The $10,000 cap was not indexed for inflation, and is identical for singles and couples, which imposes a sizeable marriage penalty.
Considering that home size, price and property taxes tend to increase with family size, the current SALT deduction limits can be viewed as penalizing families who are already struggling with high housing costs and rising inflation.
Under the principle that taxes paid to state and local governments should not be double-taxed as income by the federal government, NAHB supports eliminating the SALT deduction cap entirely. With the failure of this procedural vote, it’s unlikely any further legislation to modify the SALT deduction cap will be considered this year.
Under current law, the $10,000 deduction limit expires after 2025, alongside many other tax provisions that were enacted as part of the 2017 tax reform bill. This deadline will force Congress to re-evaluate those 2017 tax changes next year, including the limit on SALT deductions.
Latest from NAHBNow
Aug 29, 2025
NAHB's Monthly Update Features Canadian Lumber Duties Talking PointsThe update provides the latest messaging framework to help members articulate housing priorities and latest news related to the Canadian lumber imports and builder sentiment.
Aug 28, 2025
Podcast: Congressional Priorities and the Trump Economy Heading into FallOn the latest episode of NAHB podcast Housing Developments, NAHB CEO Jim Tobin and COO Paul Lopez discuss how the rest of the year looks as Congress gets ready to return to Washington next week.
Latest Economic News
Aug 29, 2025
Multifamily Absorption Rises in the Second QuarterThe percentage of new apartment units that were absorbed within three months after completion rose in the second quarter, according to the Census Bureau’s latest release of the Survey of Market Absorption of New Multifamily Units (SOMA).
Aug 28, 2025
Mortgage Rates Move Lower, Hitting 10-Month LowAverage mortgage rates in August continued their steady decline and are now at their lowest rate since last November.
Aug 27, 2025
Wood-Framed Home Share Increased in 2024Wood framing continues to dominate the U.S. single-family home construction market, according to NAHB analysis of 2024 Census Bureau data.