Home Mortgage Deduction

[penner01]

So, our taxes are going to a program to help save people that http://www.usnews.com/blogs/the-home-front/2009/02/26/mortgage-interest-deduction-on-the-chopping-block.htmlshould not have gotten mortgages to stave off foreclosure. Or is it the deductions we aren't going to get that are intended for that program? Not only that, this is going to be a big hit for the housing and real estate markets

How many fronts is he going to use to attack our bank accounts?

[Chucky]

I wonder if the small print will include counting any write-offs/bail-outs as income. That's what happens if you negotiate a smaller payoff with a credit company: they agree to take a smaller amount, but send you a tax form showing the difference as income.

(example: you owe $20k, negotiate to owe only $5k, but the IRS gets notified that you just got an extra $15k in income - you still ultimately pay less than the $20k, but now it's the IRS that's looking for another $3k or so in tax)

[Dreamy]

Is Your Mortgage Deduction Under Fire?

Do you hear the rumble of heavy weaponry? It's not the military's latest training exercise over Washington, but the big housing-industry lobbyists fixing for war. They say nothing less is at stake than the mortgage interest deduction. Next to fall will be motherhood and apple pie.

Here's what sent them to the battlements: The Obama administration's budget proposal would limit the ability of upper-income folks to deduct home mortgage interest from taxable income. For couples earning more than $250,000, or $200,000 for singles, the budget would reinstate the limitation on claiming itemized deductions, including the one for mortgage interest. Note the word reinstate. This limit is not a new thing; upper-income folks have seen part of their itemized deductions wiped away for years. So what's really going on here?

I asked Mark Luscombe, principal tax analyst for CCH, whether this would be a new hit on homeowners -- or just a return to old tax policy. His company publishes tax guides that line the shelves of accountants across the country.

It's a return to old policy, he said. Higher-income taxpayers have had to give up a portion of their itemized deductions for years. But a 2001 law called for getting rid of the limit on itemized deductions over the course of several years, starting in 2006.

For the 2008 and 2009 tax years, the reduction is only one-third as severe as it once was -- but it's still there. The new budget would simply put the limitation back at full force, which means high-income taxpayers would be able to claim only part of their itemized deductions, including mortgage-interest.

Let the debate begin: Do you think the new proposal is fair? Or would it be an unnecessary burden on a struggling housing market? And should there even be a tax deduction for mortgage interest in the first place?

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-address/2009/02/is_uncle_sam_aiming_at_your_mo.html



Charitable deductions are also being taken away. So will this current government step in to fill the void left when people and business stop giving? And where will the money go that was once our mortgage deduction?

[chris13]

It's all part of the war on achievement. They've figured out that Rush is right and the war on poverty is a failure, so they decided to start a war on success.
Oh, and Chucky, it's called "imputed income." They stuck it to us just like they did when they revised the bankruptcy laws.

[penner01]

Charitable deductions are also being taken away. So will this current government step in to fill the void left when people and business stop giving? And where will the money go that was once our mortgage deduction?

Thanks for the clarity on the home mortgage deduction. That does put it in a different perspective but I suspect there will be some impact in the housing market for it.

The charitable contributions I suspect will have a great deal of impact as donations get trimmed. But wait, look at how much money the Obama machine proved could be gathered at just 25.00 $ at a time.........:rolleyes:

[WVRepublican]

Something many people haven't talked about are the people who are just upset or scared because the value of their home has gone down. I understand some are legitimately in danger of losing their homes because they cannot make their payments but much of that is their own doing as well. The ones that irritate me the most though are these people that are upset because they bought a home expecting the values to continue to go up and now they owe more than their house is worth. Now they want to renegotiate those loans so that they get their equity back. Sorry, but you just chose a bad investment. No one is going to replace what was lost in our 401k so why should the government help you get back the equity you lost.

[penner01]

Charitable deductions are also being taken away. So will this current government step in to fill the void left when people and business stop giving? And where will the money go that was once our mortgage deduction?

god knows. He probably has separate bank accounts for all this stuff so he can set in bed and play with his stimulus

[Amallek]

So, our taxes are going to a program to help save people that http://www.usnews.com/blogs/the-home-front/2009/02/26/mortgage-interest-deduction-on-the-chopping-block.htmlshould not have gotten mortgages to stave off foreclosure. Or is it the deductions we aren't going to get that are intended for that program? Not only that, this is going to be a big hit for the housing and real estate markets

How many fronts is he going to use to attack our bank accounts?

I hear you Penner, but if all these houses go into foreclosure it is going to be a much bigger hit to the housing and real estate markets. One foreclosed house destroys the market for the whole neighborhood.

[penner01]

I hear you Penner, but if all these houses go into foreclosure it is going to be a much bigger hit to the housing and real estate markets. One foreclosed house destroys the market for the whole neighborhood.

Oh, I know we will all pay in more ways than one. Still, the truth is that we were all riding on contrived values - it has been an investment decision all along and investments have risk - regardless how sound and lucrative they feel. We have a lot of people saying that corporations should suck it up and suffer the pain.....maybe we all should.

[jmb6]

Let me inform you further. We got an ARM loan two years ago when our LTV ratio was 90%. We weren't concerned knowing we could refinance this year cause we would meet minimum LTV guidelines. Well guess what ? We are now at a 98% LTV. No, we didn't see that coming. If you did perhaps you should get out your crystal ball and let me know economic stats in 2011. We can't get refinanced even with all these programs coming down cause we aren't delinquent on our mortgage. Where is the help for "responsible homeowner's" who don't want a hand out just a hand up? We just want the ability to refinance not get back lost equity! Furthermore purchasing a home/property is never a "bad" investment.

No offense, man, but you rolled the dice and lost. You should never have gotten a ARM in the first place. You "thought" you could short change the system, and you can't.

I lost more than you did in my retirement savings, most likely, and I am not looking for a "hand up".

Pro-tip: ARM are risky deals that almost never work. Don't DO IT.

Edit: You don't need to be delinquent to be eligible. You just need to have a payment that is more than 31% of your monthly income. If you make 52k a year (4k a month) if your total mortgage payment is 1240 or more, you are eligible. My mortage is 21% so I don't qualify. Of course, I have a 30 year fixed 5.5% interest mortgage, not an ARM.

[Reform2009]

I hear you Penner, but if all these houses go into foreclosure it is going to be a much bigger hit to the housing and real estate markets. One foreclosed house destroys the market for the whole neighborhood.

How about commercial properties? Tons of foreclosures, especially strip centers. A lot of realty and mortgage offices occupied strip centers and the majority of them vacated. Does anyone know if there are special programs for commercial investors?

[Studebaker_Hawk]

So, our taxes are going to a program to help save people that http://www.usnews.com/blogs/the-home-front/2009/02/26/mortgage-interest-deduction-on-the-chopping-block.htmlshould not have gotten mortgages to stave off foreclosure. Or is it the deductions we aren't going to get that are intended for that program? Not only that, this is going to be a big hit for the housing and real estate markets

How many fronts is he going to use to attack our bank accounts?

As a person who paid cash for my home, why am I penalized by doing the responsible thing and saving for my home?

[Reform2009]

As a person who paid cash for my home, why am I penalized by doing the responsible thing and saving for my home?

Obama and his wife were community activists after they both graduated from Harvard Law School. I own and operate apartments and the laws are gears towards the tenants and the poor. I cannot reject a section 8 tenant because that is against the law. I know. I am paying the price. I am getting sued for refusing section 8 tenants and each one of those rejects wants to settle for $25K a piece. I was livid and wanted to take this case to court. Every lawyer that I have talked to told me that I will lose and for me to settle. Section 8 also rewards people on their program where if you stay in the program for a minimum for 8 years, you get a $35K grant from the government to be used towards your first home purchase and section 8 will assist in your mortgage payments.

[Where's my Gov. Job?]

Originally Posted by Dreamy http://forums.hannity.com/firestorm/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://forums.hannity.com/showthread.php?p=50039831#post50039831)
Charitable deductions are also being taken away. So will this current government step in to fill the void left when people and business stop giving? And where will the money go that was once our mortgage deduction?

Of course the government will "step in to fill the void" when the affluent stop giving. That was the idea all along. Non-profit private charities are "competition" for most government welfare programs. I can predict the line in the speech now..."With charitable giving at the lowest levels since the Great Depression, the most distressed citizens among us need the collective resources of the rest of us just to survive."