Though the mortgage interest tax deduction is defended as a popular benefit, 69% of the total benefit in 2009 went to filers earning $100,000 or more. As the housing market slumped, the deduction has meant less to fewer taxpayers: in 2007 the breaks totaled $491 billion, but in 2009 it was down to $420 billion, or $11,515 per filer on average.
For a Congressional Budget Office estimate of the revenue boost from a gradual phaseout of the mortgage interest deduction, see today’s infographic. Then join the discussion below: would a phaseout cool interest in homeownership even further?
