Changes to Mortgage Interest Deduction Cap Still on the Table

Diana Olick writes: "The mortgage interest tax deduction has long been considered politically untouchable — until now, that is."

According to Olick, the forthcoming Congressional debate about tax reform is still expected to take up the matter of the mortgage interest deduction.

The mortgage interest deduction, which only benefits about 20 percent of taxpayers, is currently capped at loans up to $1 million for married couples who file jointly and at $500,000 for individual filers. The median value of a U.S. home just crossed the $200,000 market, according to Zillow, so not a lot of people make it to that cap. 

Olick's sources say that early discussions are pushing the target for the cap toward $600,000, though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is on the record recently saying people worried about the deduction can "breathe easy."

For more on the influence of the mortgage interest deduction to the built environment as well as the nation's economy, see previous Planetizen coverage.