No other industry gets this favored treatment on the form 1040.
It was also partially to blame for some of the worst excesses of the housing bubble. Look how many refinanced to the hilt and pi$$ed away the proceeds, in part because they got a huge deduction on those mega-payments.
And by lowering overall tax rates to balance the loss of that deduction, all taxpayers - not just those deeply in mortgage hock - would benefit.
The mortgage deduction needs to go the way of agriculture subsidies and ethanol.
I keep trying to explain to my wife why we’re paying off the house as fast as we can to get rid of the mortgage.
She’s like “But we get the deduction”
Spends $200 and says “But I saved you $300 it was a sale.”
You cannot blame the mortgage crisis on the mortgage deduction.
You cannot do it. The mortgage deduction has been around for a long time, and helped millions of people to achieve home ownership without any negative effects whatsoever.
Blame the crisis on the lending of money to people who had either no intention or capability to pay back borrowed money.
People did refinance beyond their means, but THAT was not the core of the rotten tree.
I will concede that I cannot use the phrase “without any negative effects whatsoever” because I do believe it has contributed to the inflation of house prices and other effects.
I tend to view the mortgage deduction as a mechanism our society has used in the past with the intention to aid and facilitate the family unit in obtaining housing, much the same way the dependent tax deduction has.
But there is no way the mortgage crisis was the result of the mortgage deduction.
And also a huge subsidy for liberal enclaves where home prices are far above the average: Calif/NYC/Chicago/WashDC
I'm with you Notary, let's get rid of this!
The mortgage interest deduction came in with the income tax around 1913. I’m sure it caused the housing bubble 90 years later. /s
Do you seriously think they have any intention of lowering rates?
Perfectly stated. You’re one of the few “conservatives” who gets it.
The gov’t has no business subsidizing one lifestyle over another thru tax incentives like the mortgage interest deduction. It should be eliminated.
I have a mortgage but would actually “vote against my wallet” by supporting elimination of the mortgage interest deduction OUT OF PRINCIPLE!
Suppose I opted for a renting lifestyle, rather than home ownership? Why should I subsidize other people’s homes (they get a deduction and I don’t, so I indirectly subsidize their homes)??
The Mortgage Interest Deduction is another case of social engineering gone wrong.
I agree. There is no reason for the government to favor homeowners over renters. However, like all government programs, it is easy to start and difficult to end. People come to expect it. That is why it is crucial to repeal Obamacare before it becomes entrenched.
Are you also for rental property owners giving up their loan interest, utility, maintenance, and repair deductions? How about the deductions for loan interest by all businesses?
How anyone but a prog can label welfare for those seeking to pay less in taxes is beyond me. Welfare applies to deadbeats (aka parasites and others who pay no taxes, don’t work, and make no contribution to society) and the prog notion that allowing taxpayers a bit of relief is hardly welfare.