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To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to give individuals with deceased spouses the same exclusion of gain from the sale of a principal residence as is allowed to married couples, regardless of how much time has passed since such death.
Summary
This bill amends the tax code to allow individuals whose spouses have died to exclude up to $500,000 of gain from the sale of their principal residence, rather than the $250,000 exclusion available to other single individuals. The higher exclusion applies if the deceased spouse met the home ownership and use requirements before death, and the surviving spouse has not remarried. Currently, only married couples filing jointly can exclude $500,000 of gain from the sale of a principal residence; this bill extends that benefit to widows and widowers who meet the specified conditions. The change is effective for home sales in tax years beginning after the bill's enactment.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Rep. Barrett, Tom [R-MI-7] (R-MI)
2 cosponsors
- Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19] (D-CA)
- Rep. Smith, Adrian [R-NE-3] (R-NE)
Actions (2)
- Feb 4, 2026 Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. · house
- Feb 4, 2026 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 4, 2026
Mr. Barrett introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
A BILL
To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to give individuals with deceased spouses the same exclusion of gain from the sale of a principal residence as is allowed to married couples, regardless of how much time has passed since such death.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Time to Heal Act”.
SEC. 2. SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN HOME SALES BY INDIVIDUALS WITH DECEASED SPOUSES.
(a) In General.—Section 121(b)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended to read as follows:
“(4) Special rule for certain sales by individuals with deceased spouses.—In the case of a sale or exchange of property by an individual whose spouse is deceased on the date of such sale or exchange, paragraph (1) shall be applied by substituting ‘$500,000’ for ‘$250,000’ if—
“(A) the requirements of paragraph (2)(A) were met immediately before such date of death, and
“(B) such individual has not remarried at any time after such date of death and before the close of the taxable year in which such sale occurs.”.
(b) Effective Date.—The amendment made by this section shall apply to sales and exchanges made in taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act. <all>
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