NAMB Pushes Senate on Homeowner Tax Protection Relief

Homeowners still need more time to get out from under the downturn in home prices. Banks and insurance companies were granted extraordinary relief during these times and we ask Congress to pass an expiring tax provision that will help homeowners find tax protection relief when they sell their homes.

NAMB—The Association of Mortgage Professionals is urging the Senate to include in the tax extender package ''The Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act,'' as soon as possible in the few remaining days of this session of Congress.

This legislation would extend an expired provision that has helped millions of distressed American families by allowing tax relief for homeowners when lenders forgive some portion of the mortgage debt they owe. There are millions of homeowners who found themselves in homes they could not sell or afford. There are estimates of over 5.3 million homes still under water. Congress should send these homeowners one more lifeline to financial freedom.

If this provision is not enacted, homeowners trying to make a fresh start will have to pay income tax on ''phantom income’’ when selling their home. Without this provision, we will further destabilize the housing market, disrupt communities, and delay the return of homeowners to financial stability and back on the road to homeownership.