4 ms·

This comment is slightly off topic... One thing that really bothers me are the tax rules applied to different types of interest. For people that buy a home, t

This comment is slightly off topic... One thing that really bothers me are the tax rules applied to different types of interest. For people that buy a home, they can write off 100% of the interest. For someone with $100k in grad loans and a high salary, but living in an expensive city, they can only right off $3k in interest. Why does the person 'investing' in their education not able to get the same tax benefit as the person buying a home to enjoy? This tax inequity disproportionately favors the wealthy.

tedunangst 10y ago
Because even before we decided that everybody must attend college, we decided that everybody must own a house.
paulddraper 10y ago
(1) Student loans are subsidized. (2) $3k goes a long way, considering the low rates due to #1. Sure, it may not be the interest for all 100k, but jeez, don't do that.
- wtvanhest 10y ago
  (1) Student loans on undergrad are subsidize, most grad loans are not. Many law students have over $200,000 in loans, most of which exceed 7% interest. Medical loans are up there too. (2) "don't do that." For many professionals it makes sense to pull out $100k in loans to rapidly increase their income / move jobs etc. Just because it goes a long way does not mean it is sufficient. I am speaking to the inequity of the situation, which IMO is really terrible.
  - paulddraper 10y ago
    Yes, I was thinking of undergrad.
Mz 10y ago
I owned a 3 bedroom house in Kansas that didn't qualify for any write off, but I benefitted from writing off my student loan interest (and it was never $3k). So, these numbers are not some one-size-fits-all situation. Trying to make policies that work equally well for a wide variety of situations is nigh impossible.
- wtvanhest 10y ago
  > I owned a 3 bedroom house in Kansas that didn't qualify for any write off Were you living in it? Why didn't it qualify for the write off?
  - Mz 10y ago
    Yes, I was living in it. It was in a small town in he midwest and interest rates were low. I wasn't paying enough interest to qualify for the tax write off. Big cities and small towns are fundamentally different real estate environments. Federal laws that aim to help some mythical "average American" usually fail to account for such things.

tedunangst 10y ago

Because even before we decided that everybody must attend college, we decided that everybody must own a house.

paulddraper 10y ago

(1) Student loans are subsidized. (2) $3k goes a long way, considering the low rates due to #1. Sure, it may not be the interest for all 100k, but jeez, don't do that.

wtvanhest 10y ago
(1) Student loans on undergrad are subsidize, most grad loans are not. Many law students have over $200,000 in loans, most of which exceed 7% interest. Medical loans are up there too. (2) "don't do that." For many professionals it makes sense to pull out $100k in loans to rapidly increase their income / move jobs etc. Just because it goes a long way does not mean it is sufficient. I am speaking to the inequity of the situation, which IMO is really terrible.
- paulddraper 10y ago
  Yes, I was thinking of undergrad.

Mz 10y ago

I owned a 3 bedroom house in Kansas that didn't qualify for any write off, but I benefitted from writing off my student loan interest (and it was never $3k). So, these numbers are not some one-size-fits-all situation. Trying to make policies that work equally well for a wide variety of situations is nigh impossible.

wtvanhest 10y ago
> I owned a 3 bedroom house in Kansas that didn't qualify for any write off Were you living in it? Why didn't it qualify for the write off?
- Mz 10y ago
  Yes, I was living in it. It was in a small town in he midwest and interest rates were low. I wasn't paying enough interest to qualify for the tax write off. Big cities and small towns are fundamentally different real estate environments. Federal laws that aim to help some mythical "average American" usually fail to account for such things.