[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 60 (Wednesday, May 13, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E839]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page E839]]



           INTRODUCTION OF THE HOMEOWNERS MILITARY EQUITY ACT

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                            HON. LINDA SMITH

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 13, 1998

  Mrs. LINDA SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to 
introduce legislation correcting an inadvertent inequity in the 
Taxpayer Relief Act (TRA) we passed last year.
  The TRA gives taxpayers who sell their principal residence a much-
needed tax break. Prior to this, taxpayers were allowed a one-time 
exclusion on the profit from selling their home, but to take the 
exclusion you had to be at least 55 years old and live in the residence 
for 2 of the 5 years preceding the sale.
  In 1997, we changed that. Under the TRA all taxpayers who sell their 
personal residence on or after May 7, 1997, are not taxed on the first 
$250,000 of profit from the sale ($500,000 for joint filers.) To 
qualify, there is a two-part test. The taxpayer must own the home for 
at least 2 of the 5 years preceding the sale, and he or she must also 
have lived in the home as their MAIN home for at least 2 years of the 
last 5 years. For most people, Mr. Speaker, all of this is fine. But 
there is a very important group of people we left out--military 
personnel on active duty away from home.
  For these people--the men and women serving in our military who are 
assigned somewhat away from their home--qualifying for the new 
exemption can be difficult. I'm sure everyone would agree that our 
military personnel should be able to qualify for the same tax relief 
available to every other homeowner. Serving one's country away from 
home shouldn't be an impediment to qualifying for the exemption, but 
that's exactly what it is in many cases.
  The measure I am introducing today amends the home ownership test in 
the Taxpayer Relief Act so that military personnel who are away on 
active duty can include that time spent serving our country when they 
calculate the number of years they lived in their primary residence. 
Under the bill's provisions, members of our Armed Forces will be 
considered to be using their house as their main residence for any 
period that they are away on extended active duty as long as they lived 
in the house as a principle residence before being ordered away.
  Senator McCain has introduced a similar measure in the other body. I 
hope my colleagues here in the House will support this legislation and 
act swiftly to extend the same tax relief available to everyone else to 
the dedicated men and women in our Armed Forces.

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