President Donald Trump is considering a new capital-gains tax push ahead of the November midterm elections, including inflation-adjusted gains and a wider exemption for certain home sales.
The discussions could lead Trump to call on Congress to cut capital gains taxes, but no legislation or formal White House proposal has been released. National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said Trump is developing additional policy commitments that Republicans could take to voters before November.
Inflation Indexing Would Reduce Taxable Gains
One option under discussion would index an asset’s cost basis for inflation, effectively taxing only the gain remaining after changes in the price level are removed.
Former National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow recently discussed the approach directly with Trump and said the president was receptive. Kudlow also proposed exempting gains on sales of homes valued at $2 million or less.
Current federal rules allow qualifying homeowners to exclude up to $250,000 of gains from a primary residence, rising to $500,000 for many married couples filing jointly. The $2 million idea being discussed would therefore represent a substantially broader benefit, although its final structure has not been defined.
Most changes to capital-gains taxation would require congressional approval. An administration attempt to introduce inflation indexing without Congress could also face legal challenges, an issue that has surfaced during previous efforts to reinterpret how asset basis is calculated.
Crypto Impact Depends On Final Proposal
A broad capital-gains indexing regime could also become relevant to digital assets if cryptocurrencies remain within its scope.
U.S. taxpayers currently report sales and exchanges of capital assets through the federal capital-gains framework, while digital-asset transactions increasingly feed into the same reporting infrastructure. The burden has already surfaced in the tax-season debate over Bitcoin users facing capital-gains reporting on routine disposals.
No draft currently establishes that Bitcoin, Ether or other cryptocurrencies would receive inflation-adjusted basis treatment. The effect on crypto investors therefore depends on how any future legislation defines eligible assets and whether Congress ultimately advances the proposal.
Tax Policy Enters Midterm Campaign
Trump’s latest tax discussions arrive as the 2026 U.S. midterms become increasingly important for crypto policy and financial markets, with control of Congress determining the path for tax, market-structure and broader economic legislation.
White House spokesman Kush Desai said Trump routinely evaluates new economic ideas but that formal policy announcements would come directly from the administration.
The administration has not released a proposed capital-gains rate, legislative text or implementation date. Any congressional tax package would need to clear both the House and Senate before reaching Trump’s desk.
