How Tax Expenditures Subsidize Homeownership Unequally

Episode 83 of The Tax Policy Podcast digs into tax expenditures—the $1.5 trillion annual revenue loss from deductions, exclusions, and credits. Lucas and Luna focus on the mortgage interest deduction as a case study: who claims it, who doesn't, and why economists call it an upside-down subsidy. The hosts trace the deduction's history, its concentration among high-income filers (only 8% of households earning under $100,000 claim it versus 65% of those earning over $200,000), and the equity implications. They compare it to the standard deduction increase in 2018, which reduced itemizers from 30% of filers to about 10%. Luna brings data from the Tax Policy Center showing that tax expenditures on retirement plans and health insurance dwarf the mortgage interest deduction, but homeownership benefits get outsized political support. The episode keeps listener support ad-free with a donation link at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. #TaxExpenditures #MortgageInterestDeduction #Homeownership #TaxPolicy #Economics #TaxSubsidies #UpsideDownSubsidy #TaxPolicyCenter #StandardDeduction #TaxBreak #HousingPolicy #FiscalPolicy #TaxCode #IncomeInequality #TaxReform #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #EconomicsPodcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo