Showing posts with label Taxes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Taxes. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Statement From NAHB Chairman Bob Nielsen on Proposal to Raise Mortgage Fees to Pay for the Payroll Tax Extension
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 - Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Reno, Nev., today issued the following statement on a congressional plan to raise fees charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and use them to help pay for an extension of this year's payroll tax cut through 2012:
"Congress is essentially proposing to raise taxes on millions of potential home buyers in order to pay for a payroll tax cut and other non-housing legislative initiatives. With the housing market struggling to regain its footing, such a short-sighted move would be extremely counterproductive and threaten the fragile economic recovery.
"The guarantee fees (g-fees) that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge lenders to protect against credit-related losses should not be used for purposes unrelated to the safety and soundness of the housing finance system.
"Just as we are beginning to see modest signs of improvement in scattered housing markets across the nation where employment is gaining and consumer confidence is rising, Congress is tampering with g-fees and needlessly raising the cost of buying a home. This will jeopardize the tenuous rebound and is the last thing this economy needs."
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Homeownership Tax Change Would Harm Seniors
By Marc Burkholder
President
Home Builders Association of the Grand Traverse Area, Inc.
For many Americans, getting married, buying a home, having children and providing them with an education, then being able to retire comfortably without financial worries is the embodiment of their American Dream.
Homeownership has long been the foundation of a family’s ability to achieve their American Dream. For more than a century, Americans have counted on their investment in their homes to be able to pay for their children’s education and to enable them to live where and how they want to after they retire.
But those expectations are in jeopardy for the nation’s 75 million home owners. Policymakers seeking to reduce the federal deficit are considering eliminating or reducing the mortgage interest deduction. Changes to the deduction would not only harm home owners who currently rely on it to manage their household expenses, it would also hurt millions of seniors who no longer claim the deduction but still depend on its existence to secure their future.
According to most economists, eliminating or scaling back the mortgage interest deduction would trigger a drop in home values. This would cause more home owners to be saddled with mortgages that are larger than their property’s value, which would lead to even more foreclosures and place even more downward pressure on home prices.
Seniors looking to use the proceeds from the sale of their home to relocate to a different part of the country, to move into a retirement community, to help defray health care costs or to fund other long-term obligations would find they have a much smaller retirement nest egg than they’d planned on. They may be forced to keep working for many more years, or to postpone or cancel moving to a new home because they can’t afford or are unable to sell their current home.
Changing the rules now by eliminating or curtailing the deduction would be unfair. It would take money out of the pockets of those home buyers who counted on the deduction being there when they needed it, and it would penalize millions of baby boomers nearing retirement and seniors who own their homes outright.
Seniors have played by the rules and made sacrifices to get where they are, and they don’t deserve to have the rug pulled out from under them. Learn more about the threat to the mortgage interest tax deduction and find out how you can take action to protect it at www.SaveMyMortgageInterestDeduction.com, or contact the Home Builders Association of the Grand Traverse Area, Inc. by calling 231.946.2305
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
TAX TIME CAN MEAN BIG SAVINGS FOR HOMEOWNERS
WASHINGTON, March 15 - As the April 18 federal income tax filing deadline approaches, many American homeowners are realizing the financial benefits of homeownership--savings that can add up to tens of thousands of dollars over several years.
"The mortgage interest deduction is one homeownership tax incentive that has been part of the tax code for nearly 100 years," said Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders and a home builder from Reno, Nev. "Incentives such as this have helped millions of American families be able to afford a home of their own."
A study from NAHB economists, "The Tax Benefits of Homeownership," details sample savings for a variety of income levels and homeownership situations. In one example, a household with an $80,000 annual income that buys a home with a $200,000 mortgage will save on average $1,765 in the first year--and realize a total benefit of $41,138 over the expected period of homeownership.
The three most important sources of tax savings for homeowners are: deductions for mortgage interest; deductions for real estate taxes; and the capital gains exclusion for the sale of a principal residence.
Homeowners who itemize their federal income tax deductions can deduct 100 percent of their mortgage interest payments on a first or second home for up to $1 million of mortgage debt, as well as interest paid on up to $100,000 of home equity loans.
State and local real estate taxes paid each year on an owner-occupied home are also deductible.
Mortgage insurance premiums--generally required when a home is purchased with a down payment that is less than 20 percent of the mortgage loan amount--can be deducted from taxable income as well.
When it is time to sell their home, most taxpayers don't have to pay capital gains tax on the profit from the sale. Under present law, married couples who have owned and occupied their principal residence for at least two of the past five years do not have to pay any taxes on the first $500,000 in profits from the sale of their home. Single filers earn up to $250,000 tax free.
Homeowners rely on the mortgage interest deduction each year to help offset the costs of homeownership, but the deduction is in danger as a national deficit commission has proposed reducing or eliminating it as part of a restructuring of the tax code.
The NAHB website SaveMyMortgageInterestDeduction.com provides the study "The Tax Benefits of Homeownership" and additional information about the threat to the mortgage interest deduction.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: NAHB is providing this information for general guidance only. This information does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services, investment advice, or professional consulting of any kind nor should it be construed as such. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional tax, accounting, legal, or other competent advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action on this information, you should consult a qualified professional adviser to whom you have provided all of the facts applicable to your particular situation or question. None of the tax information in this release is intended to be used nor can it be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. The information is provided "as is," with no assurance or guarantee of completeness,
accuracy, or timeliness of the information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose.
"The mortgage interest deduction is one homeownership tax incentive that has been part of the tax code for nearly 100 years," said Bob Nielsen, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders and a home builder from Reno, Nev. "Incentives such as this have helped millions of American families be able to afford a home of their own."
A study from NAHB economists, "The Tax Benefits of Homeownership," details sample savings for a variety of income levels and homeownership situations. In one example, a household with an $80,000 annual income that buys a home with a $200,000 mortgage will save on average $1,765 in the first year--and realize a total benefit of $41,138 over the expected period of homeownership.
The three most important sources of tax savings for homeowners are: deductions for mortgage interest; deductions for real estate taxes; and the capital gains exclusion for the sale of a principal residence.
Homeowners who itemize their federal income tax deductions can deduct 100 percent of their mortgage interest payments on a first or second home for up to $1 million of mortgage debt, as well as interest paid on up to $100,000 of home equity loans.
State and local real estate taxes paid each year on an owner-occupied home are also deductible.
Mortgage insurance premiums--generally required when a home is purchased with a down payment that is less than 20 percent of the mortgage loan amount--can be deducted from taxable income as well.
When it is time to sell their home, most taxpayers don't have to pay capital gains tax on the profit from the sale. Under present law, married couples who have owned and occupied their principal residence for at least two of the past five years do not have to pay any taxes on the first $500,000 in profits from the sale of their home. Single filers earn up to $250,000 tax free.
Homeowners rely on the mortgage interest deduction each year to help offset the costs of homeownership, but the deduction is in danger as a national deficit commission has proposed reducing or eliminating it as part of a restructuring of the tax code.
The NAHB website SaveMyMortgageInterestDeduction.com provides the study "The Tax Benefits of Homeownership" and additional information about the threat to the mortgage interest deduction.
###
EDITOR'S NOTE: NAHB is providing this information for general guidance only. This information does not constitute the provision of legal advice, tax advice, accounting services, investment advice, or professional consulting of any kind nor should it be construed as such. The information provided herein should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional tax, accounting, legal, or other competent advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action on this information, you should consult a qualified professional adviser to whom you have provided all of the facts applicable to your particular situation or question. None of the tax information in this release is intended to be used nor can it be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. The information is provided "as is," with no assurance or guarantee of completeness,
accuracy, or timeliness of the information, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of performance, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose.
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