Shake it off? Not anymore — Rhode Island floats Taylor Swift Tax on fancy homes sitting pretty and empty

Rhode Island wants to add a new tax to super expensive homes that are often empty and people are calling it the “Taylor Swift tax” because the pop star owns one of those big vacation houses in the state. This new tax would mostly affect rich people with second homes worth over $1 million.

Rhode Island shared its new state budget plans this week. One of the budget ideas is being called the “Taylor Swift tax” by people online and in the news. According to NBC 10 News, this tax would apply to second or vacation homes valued at over $1 million.

Tax is only for homes that stay empty

It would only apply if the home is empty for more than half the year. If approved, owners would pay an extra $2.50 for every $500 of the home's value above $1 million. For example, if a vacation home costs $2.5 million and it sits empty, the owner could owe an extra $7,500 a year.


Taylor Swift’s Watch Hill home in Rhode Island is valued at $17.75 million, so if the rule takes effect, she could end up paying about $136,000 more in taxes each year. Swift bought the house in 2013 and it has 7 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, and is three floors tall, as per the report by NBC 10 News.

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The mansion is famous, Swift even had celebrity Fourth of July parties there, and it inspired her song “The Last Great American Dynasty” from her Folklore album. The Rhode Island Association of Realtors is not happy with the proposal.

Realtors say the plan is bad for buyers

The group’s president, Chris Whitten, said this plan could make the housing market worse and more expensive. He said, “Please, don’t take from our housing market at the moment to balance the budget for other items, it’s going to be detrimental.” Another budget proposal would raise the seller’s closing fee, called the conveyance tax, according to NBC 10 News.

This fee would increase from $2.30 to $3.75 per $500 of the sale price, a 63% rise. For instance, on an average Rhode Island home priced around $492,939, the fee would jump from about $2,200 to $3,700. Both taxes are meant to help the state make more money, but some people think it will hurt regular home buyers and sellers, not just the rich, as per reports.

FAQs

Q1. What is the Taylor Swift tax in Rhode Island?
It's a proposed tax on second homes worth over $1 million that stay empty for more than half the year.

Q2. Why is it called the Taylor Swift tax?
Because Taylor Swift owns a $17.75 million vacation home in Rhode Island that could be affected by this tax.