Can't find info on this anywhere-is US IRS doing away w/deducting interest on mtg payments?

Question

Heard on local radio 9/27...but can't find anywhere...
Is the IRS thinking about fazing out the interest deduction that homeowners have on their mortgage payments?

* We lost the deduction for interest paid on car payments
* We lost the deduction for interest paid on credit cards

Now they are going to do away with this VERY NEEDED deduction on our taxes?

Please advise and thanks!!

101007 7:50

Answer 1

Nothing has been done yet.....and probably won't be done in the near future.

One plan was to eliminate the AMT and offset that loss with a reduction (not elimation) of the mortgage interest deduction.

Another proposal was to phase out the deduction for people whose houses are over 4200 square feet. The theory was to discourage people from buying huge houses as they are so wastefull as far as energy is concerned.

Neither idea has had much traction in congress. Don't lose sleep over it.

Answer 2

I have a friend in Sweden and the gov't there takes 90% of his paycheck in taxes. From that they cover his medical, supply him with basic foods, give him a fuel allotment and basically cover all of his "necessary" expenses. He claims that he has a better deal since our gov't charges us MORE than that. I queried and he replied "they charge you sales tax, and property tax, fuel taxes, income taxes, hotel tax, and on and on. The IRS would like everyone to forget the fact that they were NEVER approved by Congress and they have no legal right to collect taxes. The other interesting tid-bit is the 16th Amendment, I believe that's the one, that says CORPORATIONS are solely responsible for paying taxes. Individual citizens MAY make personal contributions should their conscious demand it but it is NOT legally required. So why are we paying taxes anyway? It is NOT legally required by law ... but there seems to be an unwritten law that says that we have to give money to the IRS. Why? they don't bother to answer ... they just say "Don't ask questions ... just give us your money!" Sheriff of Nottingham style. Needing the IRS? Not really. We have a Treasury Department and they can easily send out bills from there. We might need to move some IRS employees to a different building and give them a new title but the T.D. is more than capable of collecting money. This would give the gov't the chance to streamline money collection into a new genre. Eliminating the IRS will save BILLIONS of dollars each year. The problem is that the gov't will never cut off a pinky finger let alone a whole arm as big as the IRS. We the people would have to introduce a bill somehow or riot until we get what we want, or be killed in the process. Introducing a bill is the "acceptable" form of protest but who would submit it for us? We would simply have to find a gov't employee in the House or Senate who would want to speak FOR the people and DO what the people request? Impossible? Yeah, pretty much. But that's what it would take. Maybe we could introduce a bill that would charge 15% of our total income? That way the rich would pay the most and the poor would not be taxed so severely. OR ... we could follow the Constitution to the letter and let the corporations pay ALL the taxes and divy it up whatever way is necessary to cover them for it. THAT's the way this Republic was designed. Strange that the corporations were able to switch it all around and make US responsible for THEIR tax debt. Who missed that one? The gov't needs to grow up and the corps need to face up to their responsibilities so that "we the people" can bet a break for once. Reagan proved that the best way for the gov't to get money is to LOWER taxes ... aka Laffer's Curve. Bill Clinton implemented it well and ended up with an economic SURPLUS. Bush's tax cuts were a feeble attempt at the same. The "trickle-down-economics model" is now failing miserably since the corporate officers are steeling it at the top before it can "trickle" down, under the guise of "performance bonuses". The gov't can give all the tax incentives they want to the corps but it won't matter if the CEO gets the savings, not the American people.

Answer 3

Change your radio station, that's a bunch of BS. It's true that a study was conducted by the Bush Admin. where they were instructed to look at all options, and one possiblity explored was getting rid of this arguably unfair (to renters, among others) and not needed deduction - other countries survive without it and the U.S. did once, too. But the fact is the real estate industry has a very powerfuly lobby, this deduction is loved by most, and there is no way anyone is going to touch it - unless a flat tax or sales tax only system is put into place, and that's just not going to happen any time soon.

Answer 4

No because ending the deduction for interest on home mortgages would kill the housing market and end home ownership in this country.
Allowing deductions for interest on home loans is one of the few things the government has ever gotten right!

Answer 5

It's just a rumor. A few deadheads in Congress have suggested it but there's little chance of it ever succeeding.

Oh, yeah, and switch Rush off. As you are learning, he's just a giant gas bag full of hot air and little else.

Answer 6

I don't think so.The whole country would be in an uproar. My financial advisor said NO. Check your information and or call up your local Tax service .

Answer 7

It is unlikely that they would do that. Every Congressmen in the country would get threatened by thousands of voters who own homes.

Answer 8

The IRS does not decide this. Congress does.

Answer 9

We have enough trouble,with our own income tax,here in the uk

Answer 10

did you go to irs website www.irs.org