Far fewer people will benefit from the mortgage tax break moving forward because of the tax legislation passed earlier this year, CNBC staffer Sarah O’Brien reports.
Estimates from the Joint Committee on Taxation show that about 3.8 million taxpayers will be able to claim the mortgage-interest deduction in 2018, down from more 32.3 million in 2017. That's about a 57% drop.
The anticipated drop is largely due to the near-doubling of the standard deduction that took effect Jan. 1 under the new tax law. Fewer taxpayers are expected to itemize their deductions, which is the only way to take advantage of the tax break for interest paid on mortgages.
The new report estimates that 18 million households will itemize deductions this year, down from 46.5 million last year.
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