The Harris Campaign’s Tax Policy Platform

Note: This reflects the current tax policy positions taken by the Harris Campaign, which may change or be expanded upon. We will continue to update as policies are developed.  

On July 21, 2024, President Joe Biden made the unprecedented decision to halt his campaign for re-election to the Presidency and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee in his stead. Kamala Harris formally became the Democratic nominee for President on August 5, 2024. While President Biden’s tax policy proposals have been well documented, the replacement of Biden with Harris left open questions about what her tax policy positions will look like. With the Harris-Walz campaign now in full swing, a fuller picture of what tax policy would look like under a Harris administration is beginning to take shape.  

Current Policy Positions 

Vice President Harris has been the nominee for a comparatively short period, meaning there have not been months to develop policy positions as in a typical presidential campaign. However, her campaign has espoused some policy positions at campaign rallies, through press releases and the campaign website, and as part of the Democratic National Convention from August 19 to 22.  

Individual Provisions 

Many of the tax policy positions the Harris campaign has taken so far have focused on individuals, with an emphasis on providing credits and tax incentives for lower- and middle-class taxpayers.  

Harris has put forth a proposal to significantly expand the child tax credit, with proposed credit amounts of: 

• $6,000 for a qualifying child under the age of one, 

• $3,600 for a qualifying child between the ages of one-five, and 

• $3,000 for a qualifying child over the age of five, but under the age of 17.  

Additionally, Harris, like former President Trump, has expressed support for eliminating taxation on tips received by service workers. Vice President Harris supports expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit for taxpayers who do not have children. She has also supported the creation or expansion of several housing-related incentives, such as a $10,000 credit for first-time homebuyers. (She has also proposed a $25,000 down-payment assistance plan for all first-time homebuyers.) She also supports making the COVID-era expansion of the premium tax credit permanent.  

Harris also supports an increase in capital gains taxes to 28% for those making over $1 million, which is a notable departure from President Biden’s proposal to tax capital gains and qualified dividends as ordinary income for the same demographic. It has been reported that she supports increasing the net investment income tax from 3.8% to 5% but has yet to officially endorse that proposal. 

Taxation of Unrealized Gains 

One of the most talked-about proposals is one on taxing unrealized gains. To date, Harris has not explicitly endorsed this proposal but has expressed support for Biden’s budget proposals broadly. Since the campaign has not released any concrete information on this proposal, we can look to the explanations in the 2025 Treasury Greenbook released on March 11, 2024, for a glimpse into how such a proposal would work.  

The proposal would introduce a minimum income tax of 25% on total income, including any unrealized gains, on taxpayers with wealth (determined under the proposal by subtracting liabilities from assets) greater than $100 million. Under the proposal, payments of the minimum tax would be treated as “prepayments” of tax to be credited against any tax that would subsequently be due upon the sale of the assets. In the case of unrealized losses or charitable gifts of the assets, refunds would be provided to the extent net prepayments exceed the long-term capital gains rate times the taxpayer’s unrealized gains.  

If the taxpayer’s tradeable assets make up less than 20% of the taxpayer’s wealth, the taxpayer would be deemed “illiquid” and could elect to pay the tax only on tradeable assets. In case of such an election, the taxpayer would be subject to a deferral charge upon, and to the extent of, the realization of gains on non-tradeable assets. The deferral charge would not exceed 10% of unrealized gains. The minimum tax would be phased in at the $100 million mark, with the full 25% tax rate on those taxpayers with wealth greater than $200 million. The proposal would allow taxpayers to spread payments over time, subject to a deferral charge, to account for potential liquidity issues.  

Corporate/Business Provisions 

While most of her policies have focused on individuals, Vice President Harris has expressed support for some policies that would impact businesses and corporations. Chief among these is one of the biggest proposals from Biden’s budget: increasing the corporate rate from 21% to 28% and the minimum tax to 21% from 15%.  

Aside from the proposals to increase the corporate tax rate, her business tax policy has been mainly focused on housing and small businesses. Harris has proposed a new credit for builders of new “starter homes,” an expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, and a limitation on credits and deductions for large investors in property.  

She has also proposed increasing the IRC Sec. 195 deduction amount for small business startup expenditures from $5,000 to $50,000. Harris has proposed revamping how small businesses file their taxes and compared her proposal to the former 1040-EZ for individuals. Additionally, she supports increasing the excise tax on stock buybacks to 4% from 1%. Her position on extending or making permanent the expiring business provisions from the TCJA, such as the qualified business income deduction or bonus depreciation, has not been detailed yet. 

The estimated cost of the individual proposals is $1.7 trillion over ten years, offset by an estimated revenue increase of $1 trillion through raising corporate tax rates, for a net deficit increase of $600 billion. (Note: The proposal to include unrealized gains in income has not been estimated yet.) 

Democratic Party Platform 

As the presidential nominee for the Democratic Party, Harris is the standard-bearer for the platform formally adopted by the Democratic Party at their convention, which concluded on August 22, 2024. That platform contains many of Harris’ positions discussed above but also contains the following provisions:   

• Increase the top marginal tax rate to 39.6%, 
• A minimum income tax rate of 25% for billionaires, 
• Apply ordinary income rates to capital gains and dividends for those making over $1 million (indexed for inflation), 
• Increase capital gains rates for those making over $1 million, 
• Eliminate stepped-up basis for the “wealthiest Americans,” 
• Increase the stock buyback excise to 4% (currently 1%), 
• Close the carried interest loophole, 
• Increase fuel taxes on corporate and private jets,
• End like-kind exchanges under IRC Sec. 1031,
• Reduce the ability for corporations to deduct multimillion-dollar salaries for executives, 
• Make the New Markets Tax Credit permanent, 
• Expand the income base subject to Medicare Tax, and 
• Create the Disaster Resiliency Tax Credit to incentivize and assist in natural disaster preparedness and recovery. 

The Biden administration previously proposed many of these provisions in the 2025 budget proposal.  

It is important to remember that any successful presidential candidate will need the support of a majority in both the Senate and the House if they expect to pass significant and sweeping tax changes. As demonstrated by the ultimate failure earlier this year to pass even a small tax package, even getting bipartisan legislation through a divided Congress can be an uphill battle.  

With the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expiring at the end of 2025, whoever wins may have an opportunity to shape tax policy for years—or even decades—to come. Policies can come together quickly, so taxpayers should engage a tax professional who will proactively keep them informed of expected changes.