Home Mortgage Tax Deduction is Favored by Voters But Less so by Millionaires

While the home mortgage tax deduction is popular across a broad spectrum of Americans, Millionaire Corner research indicates less support for this among millionaires.  Just 50 percent of our respondents said eliminating this deduction was a concern for them.

Although younger millionaires were slightly more in tune with the rest of the American public, preferring to retain their home tax deductions for mortgages and home equity loans, they did so by a thin margin.

Those aged 55 to 64 and those aged 54 and younger were more likely to cite the elimination of home mortgage deductions as a concern, at 53 percent and 52 percent, respectively.  Those aged 65 and older were less concerned, at just 45 percent of respondents, with an overall concern rate that split the difference at 50 percent of respondents.

In fact, the elimination of the home mortgage deduction placed last out of seven national concerns, with the national debt, political environment, tax increases, a prolonged economic downturn, inflation, and terrorism all topping the mortgage deduction among our respondents.

In terms of overall issues, the national debt was at 76 percent and the political environment at 72 percent.  Worries over possible tax increases and a prolonged economic downturn tied at 70 percent.  Inflation was cited by 65 percent of respondents and terrorism was at 57 percent.

A survey conducted in May on behalf of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) indicated one in four Americans support federal tax incentives for home ownership – a view that remains strong across all regions and political lines indicating that the home mortgage deduction remains part of the national culture.  The NAHB survey also indicated that 75 percent of voters believe owning a home is the best long-term investment they could make and 73 percent of non-home owners said buying a home was a goal.