Why is the 1997 exclusion a tax trap for long-time homeowners?

Federal law created the home-sale capital gains exclusion in 1997, and the dollar cap has not been adjusted for inflation since, so decades of appreciation can push a long-time owner's actual gain past that unchanged limit. An owner who bought decades ago in Cherokee, Cobb, Fulton, Forsyth or Bartow County and stayed put may now owe tax on gain that a higher, updated cap would have sheltered. This affects long-tenure sellers far more than recent buyers. Talk to a CPA before listing if you have owned the home for decades.