Upside-down on mortgage interest deduction policies
In metro Denver, for example, the average tax saving from the mortgage deduction for households earning more than $100,o00 (in adjusted gross income) is $5,183, according to a study by three economists published in the current issue of National Affairs. For those below that threshold, the average subsidy in Denver is just $2,199, with of course most of the benefit congregated toward the upper part of the spectrum.
“Most Americans receive no benefit from the preferential tax treatment of home ownership,” write Andrew Hanson, Ike Brannon and Zackary Hawley, “and those who do see such benefits tend to be high-income earners who own large, expensive homes, and who are therefore unlikely to be on the fence about whether to buy or rent.”
