Ever since the federal income tax was introduced in 1913, the government has used the tax code to encourage homeownership. Now, as a result of the effort to reduce the federal deficit, the mortgage interest deduction is under fire. Proposed changes to the tax code would have a dramatic impact on home owners and would significantly reduce the value of this deduction.
What is the Mortgage Interest Deduction and Who Benefits from It?
The mortgage interest deduction helps make homeownership more affordable by allowing home owners to deduct the interest that they pay on the mortgage for their home when calculating their annual federal income tax.
Contrary to assertions by some economists, the income tax deductions for mortgage interest and real estate taxes primarily benefit middle class taxpayers with incomes between $50,000 and $200,000, according to the findings of a study by the National Association of Home Builders.
Taxpayers earning less than $200,000 pay 43 percent of all income taxes. However, they receive 68 percent of the total benefit of the mortgage interest deduction and 77 percent of the total benefit of the real estate tax deduction.
Moreover, larger benefits go to larger households and families, such as those with children. And as a share of household income, larger benefits are collected by families with less than $200,000 income, indicating that these tax rules make the tax system more progressive.
Save My MID
NAHB research reveals that tampering with the mortgage interest deduction would have a disproportionate impact, as a share of household income, on younger home owners.
