Reuters: Millions Would Stop Bothering with Mortgage, Charity and Property Tax Deductions

Millions of households would no longer benefit from federal tax deductions for charity donations, mortgage interest payments and property tax under Republican tax plans being debated in the U.S. Congress, a think tank said on Thursday.

The left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy said that up to 29 million U.S. households now writing off donations, home loan interest and state and local property tax payments would no longer be able to do so under either of the two plans.

While all three deductions are maintained in some form in one or both of the rival Senate and House of Representatives bills, far fewer taxpayers could take advantage of them because of other proposed changes, said the Washington-based group.

“The House and Senate have voted to fundamentally transform those write-offs in ways that most people don´t understand,” said Carl Davis, research director of the institute.

Under the bills, the mortgage interest and charitable deductions would be ‘worthless for most people”, Davis said. “Less than one in 10 people is going to be able to write-off their donations to their churches or local nonprofits if this legislation is signed into law.” Read more

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