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IRS Perks for couples versus singles when selling a house

I know the IRS code is riddled with various perks for married people and benefits for families (kids are pretty important so I call those benefits instead of perks), but some of them just seem to beg for class action lawsuit.

Take the deduction for proceeds from the sale of a house. Singles: $250K, couples: $500k.

Now what justification that isn't totally frivolous can explain that? It's not like couples are selling two houses, it's just the house, the one house. The number of single home owners has done nothing but grow in the last 40 years or so and there is a a real lack of equality built into this.

Is this a reward, or prize for shacking up with someone? For likely having lower costs due to probable dual income? Like at the carnival when you win a stuffed animal?

(Also note, the deduction is pretty low for today's prices - good NYT article about that this week)

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submitted by /u/buried_lede
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source https://www.reddit.com/r/RealEstate/comments/tpfwvw/irs_perks_for_couples_versus_singles_when_selling/
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