Call-for-Action: REALTORS® Continue to Oppose Federal Tax Reform Proposal

Real Estate Professionals and Homebuyers Need to Act TODAY to Protect Important Homeowner Incentives!

More than 150,000 REALTORS® from throughout the country have taken action on Tax Reform!

The Greater San Diego Association of REALTORS® (SDAR) joins with the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) and the California Association of REALTORS® (CAR) to urge Congress to oppose current efforts to eliminate important homeowner incentives! We urge you to TAKE ACTION TODAY by contact your Representative to OPPOSE this reform proposal because it dramatically weakens tax incentives for owning a home.

Here's what you can do to help:

1. Call 1-800-278-3615  (Call from 6:00 AM to 2:00 PM Pacific Time Weekdays)
2. Enter Your PIN number associated with your Representative (see below chart) followed by the # sign to be connected to your Member of Congress's office.

3. When staff answers the phone, you can use the following script: "Hi, this is (insert your name). I'm a constituent and a REALTOR®. Please ask my Representative to OPPOSE this and  ANY tax reform proposal that WEAKENS THE INCENTIVE TO OWN HOMES."
4. ASK THE AGENTS IN YOUR OFFICE TO CALL TOO! They can use their own NRDS number or the PIN number FOUND HERE.  

Additional Information from C.A.R. on the House Tax Reform Proposal

C.A.R. OPPOSES H.R. 1, the Congressional “Tax Reform” Bill Because:

This makes the decline in California’s homeownership rate even worse! For over 100 years Congress has incentivized homeownership with the tax code; currently through the mortgage interest deduction.  Any effort at reforming the tax code should maintain and prioritize this incentive. The current proposal only pays lip service to incentivizing homeownership. The proposed changes will result in only top earners itemizing their deductions. Therefore, the vast majority of people will no longer receive any tax incentive to purchase a home. So, while the proposal keeps the mortgage interest deduction, the incentive effect of the deduction for Americans to become homeowners disappears.

H.R. 1, the Congressional “Tax Reform” bill weakens the mortgage interest deduction.

• It cuts the mortgage interest deduction in half and caps the deduction to the interest on a mortgage principal of $500,000. 25% of the residential loans originated in California are for more than $500,000. Capping the mortgage interest deduction essentially nullifies the incentive for homeownership, thereby removing the incentive for people to buy homes.
• Homeowners would no longer be able to deduct the interest they pay on home equity loans.
• The deductibility would be eliminated for second homes and limited to loans on a family’s primary residence. 

Families build wealth through homeownership. According to a report by the Federal Reserve in 2016, homeowners amassed wealth at a greater rate than renters. Renters had a median net worth of $5,200 while homeowners had a net worth of $231,400. This bill pushes people away from home ownership.

H.R. 1, the Congressional “Tax Reform” Bill Disproportionately Hurts Californians. California is already a “donor” state, paying more in tax revenues to the federal government than it gets back. As a matter of fact, California ranks 42^nd out of 50 states in the amount of federal spending per capita in the state. Now, without being able to fully deduct their state and local taxes, Californians will shoulder even more of the federal tax burden, effectively taxing them twice on a substantial portion of their income.

Here’s What Else the Bill Does:

• Taxpayers won’t be able to deduct their student loan interest;
• Medical expenses won’t be deductible; and
• Many small businesses won’t benefit. A lot of small businesses that are classified as professional service providers, won’t be able to get the lower corporate tax rate.