I. Main taxes related to housing
The housing-related taxes in the United States mainly include: ① real estate tax, also known as real estate tax. The expropriation of land and houses needs to be paid every year. The tax base is a certain proportion of the real estate appraisal value (the regulations vary from state to state, mostly 20%- 100%). At present, this tax is levied in 50 States in the United States, and the tax rate of different States and local governments is about 1% ~ 3%. Real estate taxes are mostly collected by local governments. ② Real estate transaction tax. Pay when buying and selling real estate. Different states have different tax rates, ranging from 0. 0 1% Colorado closed at 2. The district of Columbia is 2%. About two-thirds of the States that collect such taxes have tax rates below zero. 5%. Mississippi and other states 15 do not levy real estate transaction tax. ③ Income tax. Personal income tax is subject to an excessive progressive tax rate, with the lowest tax rate of 10% and the highest tax rate of 35%, which is applicable to the income in the form of real estate rental. Capital gains tax is levied according to the difference income obtained when real estate is sold. The interval between purchase and sale is more than one year, and the applicable tax rate is low. If the interval between purchase and sale is less than one year, the applicable tax rate is higher, which is the same as the general income tax rate. ④ Inheritance tax and gift tax. This tax is levied on houses as heritage when they are given away.
Two. Preferential tax policies for housing industry
According to the object, the tax preference of American housing industry can be divided into two types, one is for homeowners, and the other is for residential investors. In fiscal year 2007, the total expenditure of the US federal government on housing-related taxes was 13 1 1 billion dollars. Due to the financial crisis, it was reduced to 1 1 1 billion dollars in fiscal year 2008.
1. Tax incentives for homeowners
(1) Deduct mortgage interest and property tax from taxable income.
The early tax law of the United States stipulated that when collecting personal income tax, all mortgage interest expenses could be reduced or exempted. From 1986, only the loan interest expenses for buying, building and maintaining houses were reduced, which greatly stimulated the development of housing construction and people's enthusiasm for buying houses. Starting from 1997, homeowners are allowed to deduct the mortgage interest of first-class houses and second-class houses from their taxable income, with the value not exceeding 1 10,000 USD. Deducting mortgage interest from taxable income is one of the largest tax expenditure items of the federal government, and the tax reduction or exemption in fiscal year 2007 was about $73.7 billion. In addition to mortgage interest, homeowners can deduct the real estate tax they paid for their main house in the tax year from taxable income. Through this policy, tax relief of about $28.5 billion was realized in fiscal year 2007. In fiscal year 2007, the personal income tax relief brought by the above two deductions accounted for 78% of the total tax expenditure related to housing in that year.
(2) Exemption from the capital gains from the sale of main houses.
1997 "Taxpayer's Burden Reduction Law" was implemented, which adjusted the original policy of capital gains tax reduction and exemption for housing sales, unified the reduction and exemption standards, and expanded the scope of benefits. According to the Act, the (partial) proceeds from the sale of first-hand houses that have lived for two years (which can be discontinuous) in the past five years can be exempted from federal capital gains tax. The maximum income of a single homeowner exempted from capital gains tax is $250,000, and the maximum income of a married couple exempted from capital gains tax is $500,000. Because the house price in the United States is not high and the change of house price is relatively small, the income from house sales can reach the above quota very little. For some special circumstances, such as the change of work place, health reasons, unforeseen environmental changes (death, divorce, separation, the taxpayer himself or other specific eligible individuals have more than one child), the capital gains tax can be reduced or exempted at the time of selling the house according to the proportion of eligible residence for 730 days (two years) in the last five years. Tenants can enjoy this discount once every two years. Through this policy, the total tax relief in fiscal year 2007 was about $654.38+0.68 billion, accounting for 654.38+02.8% of the total housing-related tax expenditure in that year.
(3) Tax reduction for homeowners below the tax exemption standard.
Families below the tax exemption standard do not enjoy the income tax relief brought by mortgage interest and real estate tax deduction. According to the "Housing Assistance Act" implemented in 2008, in 2008 and 2009, these homeowners can deduct a certain amount of property tax from taxable income every year, thus obtaining corresponding tax relief. For single homeowners, the maximum deduction is $500; For married couples, the maximum deduction is $65,438+$0,000. When the paid property tax is lower than the maximum limit, the paid property tax shall prevail.
2. Tax incentives for housing investors
(1) Tax subsidies for low-income housing.
Established by the tax reform law promulgated by 1986, it allows qualified investors to deduct a fixed proportion of the "qualification base" of real estate from the annual federal personal income tax payable in 10. The calculation method of "qualification base" is to subtract the land price and other related expenses from the total development cost of the project to get the "qualification base", and multiply the qualified base by the proportion of low-income households in the project to get the "qualification base". When the project is located in a "difficult development zone" with relatively high housing prices and a "qualified census zone" where low-income families are concentrated, an additional "base expansion factor" of 130% will be obtained, thus improving the qualification base value. For new projects and major renovation projects, the total tax subsidy in 10 is equivalent to 70% of the qualification base value, and the annual tax subsidy is about 8% ~ 9% of the qualification base value; For real estate whose repair cost is less than $3,000 per unit or receiving other federal subsidies at the same time, the total tax subsidy in 65,438+00 years is equivalent to 30% of the qualification base value, and the annual tax subsidy is about 3% ~ 4% of the qualification base value. In fiscal year 2007, the tax relief for this project was about 5 1 billion USD, accounting for 3. 9% of tax expenditure is related to housing.
(2) Issuing tax-free bonds related to housing.
The tax-free bonds related to housing mainly include mortgage income bonds, housing loan tax deduction certificate bonds and multi-family housing bonds. The interest (the income is not higher than 1 15% of the local average income) obtained by purchasing mortgage income bonds issued by various States to provide low-interest mortgage loans to low-income families who purchase houses for the first time is exempt from income tax. The low-interest loans provided by issuing bonds can be used to buy new houses or existing houses, and the house price is required not to exceed 90% of the regional average house price. Interest on bonds issued for issuing tax credit certificates for housing loans shall be exempted from income tax. Low-and middle-income families who buy a house for the first time can deduct the mortgage interest paid by 10% ~ 50% (no more than $2,000) from their federal tax bill in the form of vouchers. This method provides tax incentives for families whose income is not enough to enjoy mortgage interest deduction and tax refund. In fiscal year 2007, the interest of the above two bonds was exempted from income tax of $6543.8+300 million. Purchase multi-family housing bonds issued by various States to provide low-interest mortgage loans and provide funds for the development of rental housing, and the interest earned is exempt from income tax. At least 20% of rental housing units (65,438+05% in some target areas) must be reserved for families whose income is not higher than 50% of the regional average, or 40% of housing units must be reserved for families whose income is not higher than 60% of the regional average. In fiscal year 2007, interest on multi-family housing bonds was exempted from income tax of $700 million. In fiscal year 2007, the tax relief caused by issuing tax-free bonds related to housing accounted for 65,438+0.5% of the total tax expenditure related to housing in that year.
(3) Tax subsidies for the renovation of historic buildings.
The tax subsidy for the renovation of historic buildings is established by the 1978 tax law, which allows investors participating in federally designated renovation projects of historic buildings to receive federal income tax subsidies. A subsidy with a value of 1 USD is equivalent to deducting the income tax payable of 1 USD. The subsidy amount is equivalent to 20% of the renovation cost of the project. Tax subsidies for the renovation of historic buildings are applicable to residential and non-residential buildings. In fiscal year 2007, the tax subsidy for the renovation of historic buildings was $400 million, accounting for 0. 3% of the total tax expenditure related to housing in that year.
(4) Rental of building depreciation is higher than other depreciation systems, resulting in income tax relief. In fiscal year 2007, the tax relief was $4.3 billion, accounting for 3.5% of the total tax relief. 3% of the total tax expenditure related to housing in that year.