LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Update # 1 - Mortgage Relief Passed by Congress & Signed Into Law by the President!

On Thursday, December 20th, President Bush signed into law a bill passed by Congress: HR 3648 –Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007.  The three major points are:

Elimination of the "phantom tax" on foreclosures, short sales or other discharges of debt on a primary residence.  Consider this scenario:  A property is worth $250,000, and the mortgage balance is $300,000.  Under the old rules, if a lender forgave the $50k difference as part of a foreclosure, short sale, refinance or loan modification, the borrower had to claim the $50k as income and pay federal income taxes on that amount.  The new law eliminates this "phantom tax", and the forgiven debt is no longer treated as taxable income to the borrower as long as certain requirements are met, such as the discharged mortgage balance must be on the taxpayer's principal residence.

The tax deduction for mortgage insurance premiums is now extended until December 31, 2010 instead of expiring at the end of 2007.  The same rules apply as before in terms of the income limitations etc., and these rules are covered in the taxation section of the CMPS curriculum.

The capital gains exclusion is now $500,000 instead of $250,000 for an unmarried individual who sells their primary residence within 2 years of the time their spouse has died. 

This new guideline applies to sales after December 31, 2007, and provides relief for widows and widowers by giving them a 2 year window from the time their spouse has died to sell their home and receive the $500,000 exclusion.  Of course, the same rules apply as before, where the individual(s) need to have lived in the home as their primary residence for 2 out of the last 5 years.  You can read the full version of the bill by visiting the Library of Congress THOMAS web site and searching for HR 3648.  Version # 6 (the enrolled / ENR version) is the final version that was passed by both the House and Senate.

Update # 2 - AMT Relief Passed by Congress (FINALLY)!

After much drama and a few rounds of chicken between the House and Senate, Congress FINALLY passed AMT relief on Wednesday, December 19.  The President has indicated a strong willingness to sign this bill into law, and it is currently awaiting his signature.  Under this one year patch, approx. 20 million taxpayers have escaped the clutches of the AMT.  However, approx. 3.5 million taxpayers are still expected to be subject to the AMT.

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