Tax Reform and Housing: All Your Questions Answered
New tax reform legislation makes major changes to longstanding federal tax incentives for homeowners -- and brings lots of questions. Here are some answers.
Policy & Industry
Americans Split on Fairness of Local Property Tax Rates
Currently, Americans overall are almost evenly split on the fairness of the property tax rate in their community. Looking ahead, it’s unclear how these attitudes may shift as federal tax changes set to take effect in 2018 potentially lead more to fully feel the pinch of local property tax bills.
Tax Reform With $750k Cap on Mortgage Interest Deduction Would Leave 1 in 7 U.S. Homes Eligible
As the House and Senate search for common ground between their respective tax overhaul plans, reports indicate at least one discrepancy – the cap on the Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID) – might already be resolved.
Bump in 2018 Conforming Loan Limits Likely to Save Borrowers Thousands
Tens of thousands of homes in some of the nation’s priciest housing markets – including New York, L.A., Miami and Seattle – will no longer require a jumbo purchase mortgage next year, likely saving their potential buyers thousands of dollars.
Changes to Capital Gains Taxes Could Radically Alter the Calculus for Home Sellers
Proposed changes to the laws governing the exclusion of home sales from capital gains taxes would both radically change the time horizon for short-term homeowners considering selling their home and have a potentially huge impact on the inventory of homes for sale.
Senate Tax Plan Would Make MID Feasible on Fewer Homes Than House Bill
Changes to the nation’s tax code as proposed by the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate are set to impact current and would-be homeowners in a number of ways.
How Republicans and Democrats View Property Taxes
They diverge on fairness, with Republicans thinking property taxes are unfair to high-income households and Democrats thinking they’re unfair to low-income households.
Political Parties Agree on Value of Homeownership
Republicans are slightly more likely than Democrats to believe that homeownership is necessary to live the American Dream -- but metros with slower home value growth are more politically divided on that question.
Taxing Foreign Home Buyers: What It Does and Doesn’t Do – Intended or Not
One proposed explanation for rapid housing cost growth in many of these cities is the notion that foreign home buyers are to blame. In response to this theory, a handful of global cities have enacted new taxes on foreign home buyers – notably Vancouver, Toronto, Singapore and Sydney. A number of U.S. communities are weighing similar proposals.
Here’s Where Housing Assistance Falls Short
Only about a quarter of people who are eligible for federal housing assistance nationwide actually receive it. The largest form of assistance is Housing Choice Vouchers -- and in many markets where rents are rising quickly, voucher holders scramble for places to live, because the value of their vouchers isn’t keeping pace with market realities.
