Homeowners could deduct all property taxes without itemizing return under proposed law
Plain Dealer – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown on Wednesday proposed a bill that he said would help 1.5 million Ohio homeowners save an average of $450 on their federal income taxes.
The Ohio Democrat said he is co-sponsoring the Homeowner Tax Fairness Act because all homeowners — even those who don’t itemize their federal income tax returns — should be able to deduct all of their state and local property taxes.
About 49 percent of Ohioans who pay property taxes do not itemize their deductions, so they don’t claim their property taxes, according to Brown’s estimates based on U.S. Census and IRS data.
Before 2008, a homeowner could claim property taxes as a deduction only if that person itemized. A temporary change was approved in 2008, allowing homeowners to deduct their property taxes without itemizing, but the deduction was capped at $500 per individual and $1,000 per family. The proposed law would allow all filers to deduct all of their property taxes regardless of whether or not they itemize.
Under Brown’s proposal, it is estimated that 165,000 homeowners in Cuyahoga County could deduct nearly $410 million from their federal tax returns. Statewide, an estimated 1.5 million homeowners could deduct about $2.9 billion.
