How Will The New Law Affect Middle-Income Homeowners?
This example is drawn from The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act – What it Means for Homeowners and Real Estate Professionals, an in-depth review by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).
To illustrate how the new law might affect middle-income family of five, consider the example of Steve and Melinda. Steve is a store manager making $55,000 per year, while Melinda is a school principal, earning $65,000. They have three children, ages 17, 14, and 9. Steve and Melinda recently relocated from another city, and while they are getting to know their new community, they are leasing a home. But they would like to purchase as soon as they identify which area is the best fit for their family. As renters, they pay state income tax on their salaries, totaling $6,000, and also make some charitable contributions equaling $3,120. Since these itemized deductions do not reach the level of the standard deduction, they do not itemize, but they expect to do so when they purchase their home.
Here is a look at Steve and Melinda’s tax liability for 2018, computed under the prior law:
Salary income | $120,000 |
Standard deduction | ($ 13,000) |
Personal exemptions (5 x $4,150) | ($ 20,750) |
Taxable income | $ 86,250 |
Tax before credits | $ 12,870 |
Child tax credits (2 x $1,000 less $500 phase-out) | ($ 1,500) |
Net Tax | $ 11,370 |
Under the new law, Steve and Melinda, as renters, would get a tax cut, computed as follows:
Salary income | $120,000 |
Standard deduction | ($ 24,000) |
Personal exemption | ($ – 0 -) |
Taxable income | $ 96,000 |
Tax before credits | $ 12,999 |
Child tax credits (2 x $2,000) | ($ 4,000) |
Net Tax | $ 8,999 |
Tax Difference Under New Law As Renters. Steve and Melinda lose the big benefit of the personal and dependency exemptions for the two adults and three children. And the increase in the standard deduction is not enough to make up for this loss. However, the big increase in the child credit for the two younger children and the lower tax rate are enough to deliver them a tax cut of $2,371 ($11,370 – $8,999) as compared with the prior law.
Let’s now consider how Steve and Melinda’s tax situation changes if they were homeowners, rather than renters. Assume they find an ideal home in a nice neighborhood that costs $425,000, and after offering a 10% down payment, Steve and Melinda take out a 30-year fixed mortgage at a 4% rate. Let’s say that their real property tax for the year totals $4,250, which is just 1% of the home’s value.
Here is how their 2018 tax liability would be computed as homeowners, under the prior law:
Salary income | $120,000 |
Mortgage interest | $ 15,189 |
Real property tax (1%) | $ 4,250 |
State income tax (5%) | $ 6,000 |
Charitable contributions (2.6% of income) | $ 3,120 |
Total itemized deductions | ($ 28,559) |
Personal exemptions (5 x $4,150) | ($ 20,750) |
Taxable income | $ 70,691 |
Tax before credits | $ 9,651 |
Child tax credits (2 x $1,000 less $500 phase-out) | ($ 1,500) |
Net Tax | $ 8,151 |
Note. Under the prior law, Steve and Melinda would lower their tax liability for 2018 by $3,219 ($11,370 – $8,151) by purchasing their home instead of renting. This is the financial effect of the prior law’s tax benefits of buying a home. This amount effectively lowers their monthly mortgage payment by over $268 per month.
Now, let’s take a look at what her tax situation would be under the new law as a home-owning family instead of renters:
Salary income | $120,000 |
Mortgage interest | $ 15,189 |
Real property tax (1%) | $ 4,250 |
State income tax (5%) (limited by $10,000 cap) | $ 5,750 |
Charitable contributions (2.6% of income) | $ 3,120 |
Total itemized deductions | ($ 28,309) |
Personal exemptions | ($ – 0 -) |
Taxable income | $ 91,691 |
Tax before credits | $ 12,051 |
Child tax credits (2 x $2,000) | ($ 4,000) |
Net Tax | $ 8,051 |
Tax Difference Under New Law As Homeowners. For Steve and Melinda, most of their itemized deductions from the prior law are preserved by the new law. They are limited slightly ($250) by the $10,000 limit on the deduction of state and local taxes. However, they lose big by the repeal of the personal and dependency exemptions, which equal $20,750 for this family. Even so, Steve and Melinda receive a small tax cut of $100 ($8,151 – $8,050) under the new law, thanks to the much larger child credit and lower tax rate. But as renters, they received a tax cut of almost $2,400. Thus, buying a home becomes a net tax change of almost $2,300.
What happened? What happened is that the new law is taking away most of the tax benefits of owning a home. Under the prior law, this benefit was $3,219 for Steve and Melinda. But under the new law, they enjoy only a benefit of $948 ($8,999 – $8,051). This gives them a benefit of just $79 per month, which is obviously a far weaker incentive to own.
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