Housing Notes: Capital gains tax turned empty nesters into listing hoarders

How Did Capital Gains Tax Work Before 1997 Fair warning – my eyes tend to glaze over when the topic of taxes comes up. Here’s a little history. Capital gains taxation began in 1913, when the ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment allowed Congress to enact the modern federal income tax through the Revenue Act of 1913. Capital gains only became a distinct tax category in 1921, with a preferential capped rate of 12.5 percent for gains on assets held more than two years.  Before the 1997 Tax Act and Home Sale Gains, homeowners avoided capital gains tax through two mechanisms: […]

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