In California, there are more than 652,000 homes “under water” and if Congress doesn’t act quickly, many of these home owners face an uncertain future.
Why? Congress has not yet extended the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Tax Relief, which stops the IRS from treating mortgage debt forgiveness as income.
If Congress does not step in before the end of the year, these Californians will face an inflated tax bill based on “phantom income” they did not actually receive. And if they can’t pay, they may be forced into foreclosure.
NAR urgently needs your help to push Congress to extend the “Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act.”
This bipartisan legislation would extend this expired provision that has helped millions of distressed American families by allowing tax relief for home owners when lenders forgive some portion of the mortgage debt they owe.
Today’s housing market is finally recovering but there are still too many homeowners unable to meet their mortgage obligations. If “The Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act” is not enacted, hundreds of thousands of American families who did the right thing by short-selling their home or received a much needed loan reduction from their lender will have to pay income tax on “phantom income.”
Urge your Member of Congress and Senators to act on “The Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act” before the end of 2014 and help provide certainty for struggling home owners and stability for our nation’s housing markets.
Kenny Parcell
REALTOR® Party Director
Click here for more information about Mortgage Debt Cancellation Relief