I am not trying to be political here in calling it a tax or not but basically it is an addition to capital gains taxes which already exist. It only applies to individuals making over $200,000 per year or $250,000 per year for married couples. That being said, if you happen to be in a position to sell a large piece of property, you may rather quickly be in this category. If you happen to sell the family farm or other long held property with a very low basis the capital gain is counted in your income and may put you over the threshold. Most people selling their primary residences remain excluded from this tax(and capital gains taxes up to $500,000 for a married couple).The new law also does not allow or disallow the use of a 1031 tax free exchange to avoid this tax.
I know many of you have read that there will be a 3.8 percent sales tax on the sale of every home. This is simply an exageration. The provisions of this part of this law will apply to very few people and even then only the amount over the minimum threshold. Here is a link to the brochure put out by the National Association of Realtors regarding this topic
