Senate passes ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ with key NAR priorities intact
The bill’s advancement shows that the Trump administration and Congress “respect the voice of our members,” according to NAR’s Shannon McGahn.
Key points:
- The U.S. Senate passed President Donald Trump’s tax bill in a 51-50 vote on July 1.
- Housing leaders praised the bill’s advancement, with NAR and NAHB both declaring that many of their legislative priorities were included.
- GOP leaders in the House aim to get the bill passed in the coming days so that Trump can sign it into law by July 4.
Housing leaders were in celebration mode on July 1 after the U.S. Senate passed President Donald Trump's massive tax bill with several of the industry's legislative priorities included.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie. No Democrats voted for the bill, and three Republican senators joined in voting against it. While Republicans said the passage was a win for Americans, Democrats have criticized the legislation, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declaring that it comprised "the biggest tax breaks for billionaires ever seen."
The bill still needs final approval from the House of Representatives, which passed an earlier version of the legislation. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Republican leadership aims to pass the bill by Independence Day.
NAR cheers for 5 legislative 'wins'
The National Association of Realtors spent months lobbying lawmakers on the tax bill's content and was at the White House as recently as last week "to continue advocating for our members and consumers as the Senate version took shape," according to Shannon McGahn, NAR's EVP and chief advocacy officer.
"The administration and Congress respect the voice of our members and the roles they play as leaders in their communities," McGahn said in a July 1 statement. "We are an army of advocates living and working in every ZIP code in America with a unique insight into the state of the economy."
Among the housing wins in the Senate's version of the bill, the trade organization highlighted five items that McGahn said "form the backbone of the real estate economy." These include:
Permanently extending lower individual tax rates
A new and permanent version of the qualified business income deduction
Quadrupling the SALT deduction cap for five years
Business SALT deduction protections
Permanently extending the mortgage interest deduction
NAHB praises state, local tax deductions
The National Association of Home Builders also released a statement cheering for the advancement of the bill, which it says includes "many wins for NAHB members."
Among those are an increase to the estate tax exemption, the expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which will now be permanent.
However, NAHB expressed disappointment that some energy tax credits will be terminated. "Over their history, these energy tax credits have been subject to starts and stops as Congress has allowed them to expire," NAHB said. "This history suggests that this is not the final word on these tax credits, and NAHB will look for future opportunities to revive them."
MBA 'pleased' with updated bill
The Senate-passed legislation "maintains, and in several cases enhances, numerous pro-housing and economic development tax provisions" that the Mortgage Bankers Association has advocated for, MBA President and CEO Bob Broeksmit said in a statement.
Those priorities include making the mortgage interest deduction permanent, allowing mortgage insurance premiums to be deductible and raising the federal debt ceiling. Additionally, "the inclusion of permanent rounds of Opportunity Zones, along with much-needed improvements to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program, will facilitate more housing production," Broeksmit said.
Looking forward, the MBA intends to continue working with leaders in Congress "to ensure that these beneficial tax policies remain intact in any final package signed into law by President Trump."