Tax benefits imperiled — again

Nov 15, 2013 Kenneth R. Harney

WASHINGTON — Haven’t we seen this movie before? On Capitol Hill for the second year in a row, key federal tax assistance for homeowners is heading for expiration within weeks. And there’s no sign that Congress plans — or has the minimal political will — to do anything about it.

In fact, the prospects for extension of popular mortgage-forgiveness debt relief and deductions for mortgage insurance payments and home energy efficiency improvements appear to be more dire than they were last year at this time, when at least there was a formal bill pending to extend them.

This year there is none at the moment. The House and Senate are spending their time trying to figure out a budget, but are also considering overhauling the entire federal tax system, which could mean that a long list of special interest tax preferences — including for housing — might be sucked into the tax reform vortex and never revived if they expire as scheduled on Dec. 31.

Robert Dietz, vice president for tax policy issues at the National Association of Home Builders, says the name of the movie is “Groundhog Day”