Summary: 2017 tax bill and how it affects homeowners and homebuyers

September 25, 2018 - 1 min read

The 2017 tax bill as passed will have many effects on home buyers and homeowners, especially those accustomed to reducing their tax bill by itemizing and deducting mortgage interest.

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Homeowners and home sellers will take a hit

First, fewer taxpayers will benefit from deducting mortgage interest. That’s because the standard deduction for married and joint filers increases from $12,700 to $24,000. And it will remain at that level until 2016. Experts predict that 94 percent of tax filers will just take the standard deduction, so one benefit of financing real estate will be curtailed.

That could lower housing prices, which is nice for those entering the market, but less so for those trying to sell.

For those who are still better off itemizing their tax deductions, the deduction for mortgage interest will be limited to the first $750,000 of the loan. That really hurts states with higher housing costs like California, Hawaii, and New York.

Homeowners will no longer get to deduct interest on home equity lines of credit for new loans. This won’t affect existing mortgages.

Property taxes may be off the table

The property tax deduction is also on the block. Taxpayers can deduct only $10,000 in state and local taxes. And they have to choose between property taxes, state income or sales taxes.

That is really punishing to residents of states with income tax, property tax and sales tax.

So the latest version of tax reform will exacerbate the effect of higher taxes on certain metros, because residents won’t even have the satisfaction of deducting those things on their federal tax.

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Gina Freeman
Authored By: Gina Freeman
The Mortgage Reports contributor
With more than 10 years in the mortgage industry, and another 10 years writing about it, Gina Freeman brings a wealth of knowledge to The Mortgage Reports as its Associate Editor. Gina works with a team of world-class real estate and finance writers to bring timely and helpful news and advice to the audience. Her specialty is helping consumers understand complex and intimidating topics.