Okay, I'm not a single issue voter...but if they take away the mortgage interest deduction I will be

[Anonymous]

Sorry, but This. ATM does make the mortgage rate deduction tiny on a house valued at 950k which we paid 640k for if your income is over 200k. Don't blame Obama for this. It is a republican plan. Why do we Dems let the uninformed control the conversation. Le sigh.

This. YOU are exactly the ones who YOU wish to have pay more in taxes. So here's your opportunity to do so without excessive whining and wildly pointing at others who have just a bit more assets and income. Pay up, honey.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hilarious ... a single mom with $200k in income and a $500k mortgage considers herself middle class. Having special needs kids is no doubt the rationale here. As is typical (so as not to pick on only the OP), EVERYONE thinks they are middle class, and the family down the road that earns $10 more is "rich" ... particularly when deciding how much in taxes one feels one owes.

Tax expenditures such as the mortgage deduction and the charitable donation deduction and others largely benefit the upper class, not the middle and lower classes. So if you are a democrat who would love to see the upper class pay more of their "fair share" ... you should be delighted about caps being placed on these items. Paying $10,000 a year more in taxes when you earn $200,000 doesn't sound so terrible to me, personally!

Of course, our household makes $10 less than yours, so we are middle class where as you are obscenely wealthy.

When did I say I considered myself middle class? I consider myself (1) wealthy, and (2) heavily taxed already. I mentioned special needs child only because he needs to go to a particular school which demands that my house not be located an hour away in the suburbs.

If you read further, I said I agree you should not be subsidizing my house and I saw the rationale in removing it. My main points were that there shouldn't be an arbitrary cut off between getting a whalloping deduction and not getting any, and that removing it should be phased.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:this is 13:16, and I believe that was the first time I posted on this thread - so not sure what you meant by me claiming to be a tax expert. Certainly I am not, but (i) I can google AMT and mortgage interest deduction and (ii) I have a huge mortgage interest deduction and very little AMT liability.

So anyways, from what I can tell, you can deduct mortgage interest against the AMT. Not home equity loans used for non-home purposes though ...

Sorry, I confused you with another poster. It depends on your income. Higher incomes have higher AMT liability. The mortgage interest deduction has been legislated out of usefulness for anyone with HHI over 250k. Just another way the Republicans will rape the middle class and apparently, they will like it.

I don't think this is correct. I don't see any income requirements with respect to the AMT and mortgage interest deductions.

We have a HHI of about $230, mortgage interest of about $35000, charitable contributions of about $10,000. We have paid the AMT for over 6 years, back when we had an HHI of $190,000. mortgage interest was about $40000 and charitable was about $8000. Why did we pay AMT back then, then?

your mortgage interest is not that great to lower your AMT burden. The mortgage interest is alllowed on top of the approx $70K AMT exemption. Our household income is about $250K and we are right in the AMT crosshairs, but the mtg interest of $60K+ brings us out of it. Now the AMT does not allow you to deduct real estate taxes or home equity interest, so that is a big difference, but the one way around the AMT is a big fat mtg payment (up to $1M in debt).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hilarious ... a single mom with $200k in income and a $500k mortgage considers herself middle class. Having special needs kids is no doubt the rationale here. As is typical (so as not to pick on only the OP), EVERYONE thinks they are middle class, and the family down the road that earns $10 more is "rich" ... particularly when deciding how much in taxes one feels one owes.

Tax expenditures such as the mortgage deduction and the charitable donation deduction and others largely benefit the upper class, not the middle and lower classes. So if you are a democrat who would love to see the upper class pay more of their "fair share" ... you should be delighted about caps being placed on these items. Paying $10,000 a year more in taxes when you earn $200,000 doesn't sound so terrible to me, personally!

Of course, our household makes $10 less than yours, so we are middle class where as you are obscenely wealthy.

When did I say I considered myself middle class? I consider myself (1) wealthy, and (2) heavily taxed already. I mentioned special needs child only because he needs to go to a particular school which demands that my house not be located an hour away in the suburbs.

If you read further, I said I agree you should not be subsidizing my house and I saw the rationale in removing it. My main points were that there shouldn't be an arbitrary cut off between getting a whalloping deduction and not getting any, and that removing it should be phased.

OP, why are you so quick to blame Obama when, if Jeff is right, it is not his proposal?

[Anonymous]

your mortgage interest is not that great to lower your AMT burden. The mortgage interest is alllowed on top of the approx $70K AMT exemption. Our household income is about $250K and we are right in the AMT crosshairs, but the mtg interest of $60K+ brings us out of it. Now the AMT does not allow you to deduct real estate taxes or home equity interest, so that is a big difference, but the one way around the AMT is a big fat mtg payment (up to $1M in debt).

I call BS. You pay INTEREST of $60k per year, on a salary of $250k per year? You make about $20k per month - figure about 35% ($7k) of that is paid/withheld in taxes (federal, state, FICA). That leaves $13000 per month - and that's before one cent of retirement or other savings. You spend almost half your take home pay on mortgage interest (not even principal)? No way. (Or, if it's true, you've way overbought.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hilarious ... a single mom with $200k in income and a $500k mortgage considers herself middle class. Having special needs kids is no doubt the rationale here. As is typical (so as not to pick on only the OP), EVERYONE thinks they are middle class, and the family down the road that earns $10 more is "rich" ... particularly when deciding how much in taxes one feels one owes.

Tax expenditures such as the mortgage deduction and the charitable donation deduction and others largely benefit the upper class, not the middle and lower classes. So if you are a democrat who would love to see the upper class pay more of their "fair share" ... you should be delighted about caps being placed on these items. Paying $10,000 a year more in taxes when you earn $200,000 doesn't sound so terrible to me, personally!

Of course, our household makes $10 less than yours, so we are middle class where as you are obscenely wealthy.

When did I say I considered myself middle class? I consider myself (1) wealthy, and (2) heavily taxed already. I mentioned special needs child only because he needs to go to a particular school which demands that my house not be located an hour away in the suburbs.

If you read further, I said I agree you should not be subsidizing my house and I saw the rationale in removing it. My main points were that there shouldn't be an arbitrary cut off between getting a whalloping deduction and not getting any, and that removing it should be phased.

OP, why are you so quick to blame Obama when, if Jeff is right, it is not his proposal?

Because I was mistaken, that's why.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:your mortgage interest is not that great to lower your AMT burden. The mortgage interest is alllowed on top of the approx $70K AMT exemption. Our household income is about $250K and we are right in the AMT crosshairs, but the mtg interest of $60K+ brings us out of it. Now the AMT does not allow you to deduct real estate taxes or home equity interest, so that is a big difference, but the one way around the AMT is a big fat mtg payment (up to $1M in debt).

I call BS. You pay INTEREST of $60k per year, on a salary of $250k per year? You make about $20k per month - figure about 35% ($7k) of that is paid/withheld in taxes (federal, state, FICA). That leaves $13000 per month - and that's before one cent of retirement or other savings. You spend almost half your take home pay on mortgage interest (not even principal)? No way. (Or, if it's true, you've way overbought.)

well whether or not we overbought wasn't really the point - it was about the AMT. But yeah, buying a $1M house in 2006 wasn't the smartest move in hindsight. But we are young and we think the incomes will go up considerably over time while the payments are fixed. We have since paid off a 2nd mtg and refinanced so the $60K number is probably down to about $40K or so ...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[

your mortgage interest is not that great to lower your AMT burden. The mortgage interest is alllowed on top of the approx $70K AMT exemption. Our household income is about $250K and we are right in the AMT crosshairs, but the mtg interest of $60K+ brings us out of it. Now the AMT does not allow you to deduct real estate taxes or home equity interest, so that is a big difference, but the one way around the AMT is a big fat mtg payment (up to $1M in debt).

Why? How does a big mortgage help you get around the amt? We are about to take on a $1 mil mortgage. If this means no more amt, I will be very happy. Last year we paid about 130k in taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[

your mortgage interest is not that great to lower your AMT burden. The mortgage interest is alllowed on top of the approx $70K AMT exemption. Our household income is about $250K and we are right in the AMT crosshairs, but the mtg interest of $60K+ brings us out of it. Now the AMT does not allow you to deduct real estate taxes or home equity interest, so that is a big difference, but the one way around the AMT is a big fat mtg payment (up to $1M in debt).

Why? How does a big mortgage help you get around the amt? We are about to take on a $1 mil mortgage. If this means no more amt, I will be very happy. Last year we paid about 130k in taxes.

mtg interest is allowed on top of the standard AMT exemption, as far as I know.

[Anonymous]

I think the proposal seems reasonable but what I would love to see will never happen....I would like to see some actual reflection of the fact that $100K in salary In Iowa is not worth the same as $100K in salary in the DC (or other major metro areas). The Feds do this for doling out salaries. Why Is it impossible to reflect in the tax code?

[Anonymous]

There is already a limit on mortgage interest deductions. You cannot deduct the interest on a mortgage balance of over $1 million. There is some complicated formula for figuring out what deduction you are entitled to if your mortgage balance is more than $1 million (as ours is). It sounds like all they are talking about is changing the limit from $1 million to $500K. As far as AMT, etc., all deductions (including the mortgage interest deduction) and personal exemptions are reduced or elimintated altogether at certain income levels. At the income levels likely to be affected by this change, it may not be fun but it should not be hysteria-inducing (says someone who will certainly be affected by any of the proposals).

I've never believed in public policy through tax deductions anyway. I've never made a decision on whether to buy a house or give to a charity based on whether and how much of it was deductible.

[Anonymous]

no, the AMT exemption is not affected by qualifying mtg interest. It is one way around the AMT.

[Anonymous]

Apart from the issue of whether it is fair or not fair, won't taking away the mortgage interest deduction make homebuying less attractive in an already terrible housing market? Won't destablizing the housing market even more make the economy worse than it is already?

[Anonymous]

Tax deduction = government hand out. WELFARE QUEEN!