Major Tax Wins in “One Big Beautiful Bill”

Following a long and difficult congressional process that started early this year, President Trump on July 4th signed into law H.R. 1, “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (the Act). It includes several important tax provisions that will have a large impact on real estate professionals and on real property investment.

What This Means for You:

  • 20% Qualified Business Income Deduction (Section 199A) is now permanent. Its extension and enhancement prevent a tax hike that otherwise would have hit most real estate professionals in a few months.
  • SALT deduction cap increased from $10,000 to $40,000 through 2029 (then reverts to $10,000).
  • Opportunity Zones extended and strengthened for long-term real estate investment.
  • Estate tax exemption raised to $15M per person, protecting family-owned real estate.
  • More affordable housing credits and 529 account expansion to include licensing costs.

What This Means for Your Clients:

  • Lower tax rates and higher standard deductions extended permanently
  • Enhanced child tax credits
  • Greater federal tax benefits for homeowners through 2029
  • More than one million new affordable housing units projected

US Senate Passes the VA Home Loan Reform Act

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed H.R. 1815—the VA Home Loan Reform Act, by voice vote. The National Association of REALTORS® strongly supported this bipartisan legislation, which aims to make permanent the VA’s temporary policy allowing veterans to directly compensate their real estate agents, ensuring they can participate in the housing market on equal footing with other homebuyers. The bill also creates a partial claims program to assist veterans who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments. The bill now heads to the president’s desk for signature.

Senate Committee Unanimously Passes Bipartisan ROAD to Housing Act

The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs unanimously passed the bipartisan Renewing Opportunity in the American Dream to Housing Act of 2025 (ROAD to Housing Act) in committee. The legislation represents a comprehensive federal response to housing challenges, targeting barriers that have made it increasingly difficult for families to achieve homeownership. The bill now moves to the full Senate for consideration.

The ROAD to Housing Act includes provisions designed to meet America’s diverse housing needs:

  • Building More Homes and Cutting Red Tape: Helps communities overcome zoning and other barriers, streamlines environmental reviews for housing projects, and creates grants for communities that build more homes.
  • Opening Doors to Homeownership: Removes barriers that make it harder to get smaller mortgages, improves the home appraisal process, helps families save for homes, and ensures veterans know about their home loan benefits.
  • Supporting Housing Innovation: Updates rules and financing for manufactured and modular homes and encourages new building technologies that make housing more affordable.
  • Helping Communities Recover from Disasters: Permanently authorizes disaster recovery efforts to help communities rebuild while incorporating resilience measures to reduce repetitive losses and maintain insurability.

Have any questions? Reach out to govtaffairs@har.com