this post was submitted on 07 Aug 2025
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A Boring Dystopia

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Joel and Kathryn Friedman, both 71, are counting the days until they can sell their home and move into a 55-plus community.

The retired empty-nesters have been ready to downsize for years, but are reluctant to sell their five-bedroom, 5,000-square-foot Southern California house [mansion] in large part because of at least $700,000 in capital gains taxes they estimate they'd have to pay.

Since 1997, home sale profits over $500,000 (for married couples) and $250,000 (for single filers) have been subject to a capital gains tax of up to 20%. That threshold hasn't changed since 1997, meaning that — between inflation and soaring home prices pushing an ever higher number of houses above that limit — many more home sellers have to pay the tax now than when it was first implemented.

The Friedmans are among a growing number of older homeowners discouraged by the tax from selling their valuable properties. Housing economists say that dynamic has exacerbated a shortage of family-sized homes on the market, especially in expensive places like California.

The Friedmans' house is too big for them, and maintenance costs are only rising, Joel said. "There are a million reasons why we'd like to move, but we're not because the tax is just burdensome," he said.

But that could change — there's bipartisan support in Congress for raising the federal tax threshold to boost home sales in a stagnant market.

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[–] kerrigan778@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 2 hours ago

So in other words it is taxed substantially less than income... Even though it is clearly a form of income... Cry me a river...

[–] phoenixz@lemmy.ca 10 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Where exactly is this a dystopia? The part where rich people too have to pay taxes?

I guess you're mistaken, /r/aceoandultrawealthydystopia is a different sub.

[–] Saledovil@sh.itjust.works 5 points 5 hours ago

The fact that the house is woth that much in the first place. Thing is owning a single home doesn't make you rich, since you need a home to life, you can't get that money unless you're willing to downgrade. Now these people are, but the tax is limiting their options. Real estate should be taxed while you have it, not when you sell.

[–] MangoPenguin@lemmy.blahaj.zone 17 points 7 hours ago

The tax is only 20%, like you get to keep the other 80%. That sounds pretty good to me.

[–] Jollyllama@lemmy.world 37 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Your home listed at...$4,500,000 is going to cost you $700,000 in taxes? Cry me a river straight to the bank with your remaining $3,800,000. I hope they raise the tax.

[–] Fuckfuckmyfuckingass@lemmy.world 9 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

Plus they're in their 70's. Pretty sure 3.8 mil will last you the rest of your life.

[–] MrMcGasion@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

I'm in my 30s and could make 3.8 million last me the rest of my life. Even if I wasn't good at investing and just put it in an interest checking account earning 1% interest, it would earn 38,000 a year. Which is right around what I make now. There's two of them, and you do have to account for inflation, but it really wouldn't be difficult to get 2-3% return on that and still be able to live off the interest alone.

[–] Saledovil@sh.itjust.works -1 points 4 hours ago

Not if you need it to buy a house.

[–] burgerpocalyse@lemmy.world 36 points 13 hours ago

these capital gains taxes are ruining my life! I can't sell any of my assets without paying a small fee! aaaggh!

[–] ur_ONLEY_freind@lemmy.zip 117 points 20 hours ago (4 children)

700k is 20% of 3.5 million

That leaves 2.8 million

If put into savings with a 4% annual interest rate, that is 112k per year

And they are complaining?

You fucking kidding me?

[–] Ajen@sh.itjust.works 11 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

The first $500k is taxed at a lower rate, so they're actually making more than that on the sale.

[–] ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world 19 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

Agreed... this couple isn't hurting either way.

However as they said the limit hasn't changed in almost 20 years. For most older people in America their home is the single most valuable possession and what many have to sell when they are unable to care for themselves and have to go into some kind of care facility. For people living in a HCOL area, their home can easily be many times more valuable than their savings and their primary or only asset of significant value, and a $1M house is a starter home.

It makes sense for the limits to be increased, but the couple that's the subject of this article doesn't deserve anyone getting teary-eyed.

[–] Chainweasel@lemmy.world 31 points 19 hours ago

2.8 million dollars is more than most people have the ability to save for retirement in the first place.
They want us to cry for them because their payout from a single asset after tax is more than the average middle class retirement account?
Get fucking real, if anything this makes me think the capital gains tax is too low for their bracket.

[–] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 12 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Also at their age they could live on that money until they die. I hope an earthquake takes out the home making it worthless. Fucking greedy bastards. They are Fucking 71.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 4 points 8 hours ago

at my age i can live on that money until i die and i'm much younger.

[–] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 44 points 19 hours ago (2 children)

This is the dumbest fucking article, holy shit. Fucking boomers. Cry more about paying the already generously low LT cap gains tax. Jesus fucking christ.

The one thing that would turn my exhausted ire into joyful schadenfreude is if they equity-leveraged the shit out of it, and didn’t understand that this would hit them in the balls when they eventually sold.

[–] Bytemeister@lemmy.world 6 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

Yeah. My wife and I paid roughly 38% on the 120k we made last year through grueling hours and hard work.

These old fuckers should pay at least that much in taxes on the house they made millions on just by living in it.

[–] 1995ToyotaCorolla@lemmy.world 13 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago)

I wish the boomers would just die already. At this rate I’m going to live my whole life under their greedy little thumbs

They are soooooo poor 😭 😭 😭 i can't contain my sadness over this unjust tax 😭 😭 😭 Their house is worth 🤑4,5 million dollars🤑, and they don't want to 😡subsidize the state😡, that would be 👿evil socialism👿 ‼️ ‼️ ‼️

damn, i wish i had that problem.

[–] SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world 37 points 21 hours ago

Sounds like they can afford it if they're rich enough to own that house.

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 54 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Capital gains tax of up to 20%.

What's 5x 700,000 ?

[–] TammyTobacco@sh.itjust.works 97 points 1 day ago

"The Friedmans finally put their house on the market in May for nearly $4.5 million"

Cry me a fucking river, boomers.

[–] Gumbyyy@lemmy.world 18 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, and the tax is only on the profit they make, not the entire selling price.

[–] pneumaticFax@lemmy.world 7 points 13 hours ago

And any capital improvements will lower that ‘profit’ too. So anything from a new water heater to a new roof can be used to raise the cost basis of the home lowering the tax paid.

[–] surewhynotlem@lemmy.world 32 points 1 day ago

Enough that they shouldn't fucking care.

[–] LordWiggle@lemmy.world 61 points 1 day ago (9 children)

I pay zero taxes if I were to sell my house. Because I don't own a house, I can't afford one. I'm forced to rent.

My boomer parents constantly complain their pension is shit. They have to watch their spendings, they tell me. They live in a big house, surrounded by water and nature (in the Netherlands, so expensive AF), with a sailing boat AND an expensive motorboat in front of their house, an SUV and caravan, they completely remodeled their garden including expensive fences, they go on holiday about 5 times a year, they got solar panels and heat pump installed, got a new kitchen, bathroom and toilet, expensive automated sun screens for all their windows (all around the house). But they are treated like shit with their poor pension. My dad bought his first house when he finished his studies, my mom never had to work anymore as my dad made more than enough to support a household of 5, we always lived in middle class neighborhoods, we went to private schools. But they complain they have to buy fuel to come visit me, so they rather have me visit them instead. I live in social housing and struggle every month paying my bills. They never gave me a penny as soon as I left the house as I'm a major disappointment, even though I'm financially and mentally struggling (autism, ADHD, PTSD). They even changed their will because I'm such a disappointment so I will get the bare minimum and my perfect younger brother gets almost everything even though he makes loads of money every month.

I don't give a fuck. I don't want anything from them when they die. I'm not complaining about not getting anything. I'm just complaining their love for me is measured in success and that they are privileged fucks who constantly complain about their sad rich lives while many others are actually struggling and they don't give a fuck about them. They are an example of what's wrong with society. I broke off all contact with them. Fucking boomers. They even turned full right wing racists even though their parents and grandparents fought in the resistance during the second world war and got deported and tortured to death by the nazis in concentration camps.

[–] krawutzikaputzi@slrpnk.net 12 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

I guess all the boomer parents are like that. I have a really good relationship with my parents, but they wouldn't help me out when my boyfriend and I bought a flat. Went as far as telling me that I'm trying to rob them, because maybe I can't afford the flat and then the bank will take their houses. I told them the bank just can't do that and they didn't believe me until they went to talk to a lawyer. And best part is, now they always say I'm not thankful because I will inherit their houses and they build them for me? And their parents were really poor small scale farmers, still they saved up to help them with their first home. As you can tell I'm still bitter about that.

[–] LordWiggle@lemmy.world 7 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

I know some proper boomer parents but they are rare AF.

My parents paid everything for my perfect brother when he went studying. He had a luxurious life as a student.

I failed in school, because I was special (autistic later turned out) but should have acted like nothing was wrong. So I didn't get a penny when I couldn't eat for a week because I was completely broke. Instead they told me. To get my shit together, act like an adult for once and take responsibility for my actions.

So far they never acknowledged they ever made a single mistake, they project all their mistakes and failures into me or others, they complain constantly like spoiled entitled teenagers and they do nothing but judge people who are less fortunate.

I'm 38 now, they still tell me I'm behaving like a child even though I always say sorry for the mistakes I make, I always take responsibility and acknowledge when I'm wrong. I fought in wars (in the military), I have fought mental health my entire life, I struggled within the system my whole life, I have loads of friends who I'd die for and who'd die for me, while my parents have no one and are just a bunch of entitled sour lonely fucking boomers. Who's the responsible adult here? Although I doubted myself many many times, my therapists and friends have ensured me it's them, not me. And I started to see that too, so I ended my relationship with my parents for good. And with my entitled little brother who always takes my mom's side no matter what.

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[–] Denjin@feddit.uk 175 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Couple are set to make $3.5 million in profit, are asked to pay tax, say no and greedily hoard their asset some more and cry about the hardship.

Fuck off.

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[–] echo@lemmings.world 69 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Oh jesus fucking christ.... sell the damn thing. They'll still walk away with $2.8 million in their pockets that they can't currently spend. They're just being stupid greedy fucks who can't bear the idea that it could become even more valuable if they wait longer.

[–] potpotato@lemmy.world 16 points 1 day ago

Nearer $3M as the first $500k is deductible, but mind those closing costs.

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[–] november@lemmy.vg 191 points 1 day ago (3 children)

In other words, their house would sell for at least 3.5 million. Where exactly is the problem?

[–] blitzen@lemmy.ca 185 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (10 children)

3.5 million is the increase in value over what they paid. That means they were making well over $100,000 every year for the past three decades, and they are complaining about paying cap gains.

Fucking Boomers.

Although increasing the exemption amount to peg inflation does make sense.

[–] frezik@lemmy.blahaj.zone 81 points 1 day ago

Also, fucking Business Insider for running this obvious tripe.

Not surprising from an outlet created by DoubleClick founders and a guy who is barred from exchanges due to securities fraud.

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[–] lowleekun@ani.social 137 points 1 day ago (26 children)

Ohh no they have to pay taxes? Was this written by a toddler?

I swear to go, people are so disgustingly greedy i have little hope without a thorough revolution.

[–] webhead@lemmy.world 1 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Business Insider so basically yes. I've never seen a "news outlet" blow business people as hard as them so I guess the name fits.

[–] lowleekun@ani.social 1 points 5 hours ago

Problem is, many people do not see the lunacy and think taxes are stealing while it is at the moment the only way to take at least a share from the wealthy and give it to the poor.

But people hate the poor and needs. "Those lazy fucks deserve what they got" seems to be the spirit of the people i have talked to.

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[–] ook@discuss.tchncs.de 148 points 1 day ago

Growing desperate to move, the Friedmans finally put their house on the market in May for nearly $4.5 million.

[–] throbbing_banjo@lemmy.world 50 points 1 day ago (8 children)

Yep that's how taxes fucking work

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[–] unmagical@lemmy.ml 97 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Make $3,500,000 in profit and you get upset that you have to pay taxes on your 3.5x return on "investment."

If you can't cover <$1M in taxes from the sale of your $4.5M home maybe you should live within your means or get a roommate to help cover the bills like a normal person or something.

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[–] anachronist@midwest.social 6 points 19 hours ago

I know a way they could avoid those capital gains taxes...

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