I have a question for everyone at large- or more a challenge, I guess.
I would like for someone to explain to me why the mortgage interest deduction is such a good deal. I fail to see how this is a real benefit to anyone unless their earned income is very high or their house is very expensive... and even then, it seems like there are far better alternatives available to them if they need a good tax write off.
My thoughts on this stem from the fact that people suggest you take into account the tax savings as a result of this deduction, but no one (or at least in my experience) nobody points out that you get the standard deduction without having to pay any interest to anybody.
So, I understand that for some high income individuals, with expensive homes (over 300,000) they may get a net positive benefit - but it is limited, and they STILL had to pay the interest in the 1st place. They would be much better off paying interest on investment property - which they can make money, write off the interest, and still get the standard deduction.... I also understand that it may benefit someone who has some other expenses (health care etc.) that are not high enough to justify itemizing on their own, but in conjunction with a high mortgage interest makes it worthwhile.
Outside of these specific scenarios, I don't see how anyone really benefits from this, and the benefit is significantly less than touted - (i.e. " i was able to write off the 12000 I paid in interest this year= wrong answer, you already had that in the standard deduction.) Why is this seemingly so obscure to people?