Tax policy plays a key role in shaping the nation’s housing landscape—so it’s important for real estate professionals to pay close attention to the implications for homeowners, investors and communities. At the Regulatory Issues Forum, held Friday at NAR NXT, The REALTOR® Experience, a panel of experts took on these timely topics in a session titled “The Tax Talk: Housing, Deductions, and Future Tax Priorities.”
No Better Time for Real Estate Investment
The one-hour forum explored the latest tax developments affecting the real estate industry, most notably the sweeping One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law this summer.
The legislation includes several key provisions impacting housing, investment and small business taxation.
Panelists included Gregory Antipoff, CPA, The Real Estate Accountant, Waterford, Conn.; Ryan Ellis, president of the Center for a Free Economy and consultant at Akin, a Washington, D.C.–based public law practice; Greg Zagorski, senior homeownership policy specialist at the National Council of State Housing Agencies, Washington, D.C.
Forum Chair Andrea Sheridan, CRS, of Keller Williams KC North, in Kansas City, Mo., asked the panelists to identify a few key points from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that are most important to the real estate industry. Those included the Qualified Business Income (QBI) deduction, depreciation rules and capital gains treatment.
Ellis highlighted the certainty OBBBA provides for taxpayers by making the Qualified Business Income Deduction, also known as the Section 199A deduction, permanent. The QBI allows eligible taxpayers to deduct up to 20% of qualified business income from pass-through businesses (sole proprietorships, partnerships and S corporations), as well as 20% of qualified real estate investment trust (REIT) dividends and qualified publicly traded partnership (PTP) income.
Antipoff called the Section 199A “essentially a 20% off coupon on the income that you generate in your business.”
Before the passage of OBBBA, the deduction was set to expire at the end of 2025. And although there’s now no expiration date on the provision, real estate professionals should recognize that a future Congress could reexamine the law. “All these things are permanent until they're not,” Antipoff said.
“From a tax perspective,” he added, “there has been no better time in history than for our profession to be investing in real estate,” citing the QBI and bonus depreciation rules. Under OBBBA, the bonus depreciation rule allows owners of real estate rental properties to accelerate depreciation of certain assets. The rule is in effect through the 2030 tax year.
Speaking at a separate NAR NXT session the following day, Antipoff also highlighted federal passive loss rules, which enable real estate professionals (as defined by the IRS) to take tax deductions that aren’t available to the average taxpayer.
Looking Ahead
Zagorski joined the panelists in highlighting the ongoing need for federal-state collaboration in housing programs and the importance of protecting independent contractor status for real estate professionals.
Sheridan closed the forum by reaffirming NAR’s commitment to advocating fair, growth-oriented tax policies that strengthen homeownership and real estate investment nationwide.
As Congress looks ahead to new tax priorities, she said, REALTORS® will continue to be a voice for housing, opportunity and community prosperity.
Funding Affordable Housing: The Power of Tax Credits
The Regulatory Issues Forum also featured remarks from Neal Rackleff, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Houston Housing Authority.
Rackleff highlighted how tax incentives, particularly the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, continue to drive affordable housing development in cities like Houston.
“I've been involved in every single affordable housing program that the federal government has in various capacities, right? I think the [LIHTC] is by far the best. Why? Because of the public-private partnerships,” said Rackleff.
Rackleff also discussed the broader implications of OBBBA, noting that provisions within the new law expand opportunities for mixed-income housing and streamline credit allocation for local authorities.
