Washington/June 29, 2006 - The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) released a new study underlining the importance of widely used preferences in the federal tax code: the home mortgage deduction and real estate taxes deduction.
Among the 35 million taxpayers who use the home mortgage deduction, the average amount of mortgage interest deducted among each tax filer is $9,650. For those who deducted real estate taxes, the average is more than $3,000.
Using the most recent 2003 IRS data, the report analyzes local use of mortgage interest and real estate deductions in each of the 435 congressional districts across America. A minimum of $259 million of mortgage interest and $43 million of real estate taxes were found deducted in at least one congressional district in every state.
"Because the mortgage interest and real estate deductions significantly reduce federal tax liabilities for home owners, they are important tools for promoting homeownership," said Jerry Howard, executive vice president and CEO of NAHB. "The report shows that millions of working families across the nation use and depend upon these important tax incentives to help them maintain their current standard of living."
According to the findings, the average congressional district contains roughly 80,000 taxpayers who use the mortgage interest deduction and 88,000 families who deduct real estate taxes, illustrating the widespread use of these important middle-class tax preferences.
To the alarm of NAHB, the tax deductions came under proposed reform last November by the president’s tax-reform advisory panel. The plan aimed to limit tax breaks to mortgages on primary homes and replace the mortgage-interest deduction with a tax credit equal to 15 percent of the interest paid, among others according to a Nov. 12, 2005 Washington Post article.
In the article, NAHB President David F. Wilson said the plan will "mean a big tax hike for millions of American homeowners, will reduce home values and will send a chill throughout the housing market." NAHB president-elect David L. Pressly said middle-class Americans would be hurt the most, and "the newest homeowners will probably be hit the hardest."
On a national basis, 35 million taxpayers utilized the mortgage interest provision in 2003 and deducted a total of $338 billion, or an average of $9,650 per household. There were 39 million taxpayers in 2003 who deducted an aggregate of $119 billion in real estate taxes, or an average deduction of more than $3,000 per tax filer.
Higher mortgage interest deductions occurred in areas with rapidly growing populations and high house prices. California posted the highest average among states at approximately $14,000 per taxpayer. The 14th district of California, which encompasses parts of San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties, ranked first with an average of roughly $35,000 per household.
The top six congressional districts in terms of cumulative mortgage interest total more than $15.5 billion and are located in the Golden State. By contrast, the five congressional districts with the least mortgage interest deducted are located in the New York City metropolitan area, where renters exceed the number of home owners.
Not surprisingly, on a statewide basis, California had the most amount of mortgage deducted at $64.9 billion. Several other states across the country also registered at least $10 billion in mortgage interest deducted, including New York ($19.7 billion), Florida ($17.6 billion), Texas ($16 billion), Illinois ($15.9 billion), New Jersey ($12.9 billion), Michigan ($11.5 billion), Virginia ($11.3 billion), Ohio ($10.9 billion), Pennsylvania ($10.8 billion) and Georgia ($10.6 billion).
Higher real estate tax deductions were prevalent in areas with high home prices and real estate tax rates. New Jersey, with an average real estate tax deduction of $6,000, had the highest average among states. The Garden State was followed by New York ($5,181), Connecticut ($4,769), Illinois ($4,129) and Vermont ($3,845).
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