First, the concept of main residence-the concept of the first and multiple houses in American families and the policy of differential treatment.
In the United States, if taxpayers own more than one house, there is a concept of main residence (or main residence), that is, the basic residence of every married family or single individual, which is different from other houses (such as investment rental houses, holiday apartments, etc.). ).
According to the definition of main residence in the IRS tax law, if a taxpayer owns two houses at the same time, then the house where he has lived for a relatively long time is his main residence. The government allows buyers to deduct the interest on first-hand housing loans from their income when paying taxes, which is equivalent to giving buyers a big discount, and the interest rate on first-hand housing loans is the lowest.
In addition, if taxpayers want to sell their houses, they will have to pay federal capital gains tax. However, if these houses are first-class houses, and the head of household has lived in these houses for at least two years in the past five years, and the profit from selling houses is less than 250,000 US dollars for individuals and less than 500,000 US dollars for couples, there is no need to pay capital gains tax.
However, only the main residence can enjoy this preferential treatment, and other residences, such as investment in rental housing, need to declare capital gains tax.
After the taxpayer declares his main residence, the IRS will regularly check the taxpayer's telephone records, bill payment, whether the taxpayer has exercised his right to vote in the residential area and a series of situations that can show whether the taxpayer has lived in that residence. Therefore, it is difficult for taxpayers to lie about their basic housing conditions.
Second, the American housing security system-"everyone has the opportunity to live" and "provide affordable housing"
Since 1930s, the American government has been gradually adjusting and perfecting its housing policy in view of the housing problems of low-and middle-income groups.
1, housing subsidies for low-income groups
The federal government will allocate special funds to public housing management departments to provide housing subsidies to low-income grassroots people in two ways. One is to build and provide cheap government apartments for low-income families, and the other is rent subsidies.
From 65438 to 0949, the federal government revised the National Housing Law, established the Urban Redevelopment Bureau, authorized it to demolish the old city and dilapidated houses and sell them to private institutions for redevelopment, and planned to build a large number of public housing, but the implementation was not satisfactory.
1965, the United States passed the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965, and established the HUD (Ministry of Housing and Urban Development) at the same level as the Cabinet, which is responsible for most housing plans in the United States. In the same year, the "rent subsidy" plan was adopted, stipulating that the housing expenditure of low-income families should not exceed 20% of their income, and the rest of the rent should be subsidized by the government.
1974 promulgated Article 8 of the American Housing Law replaced Articles 235 and 236 of the original 1937 American Housing Law, and explicitly provided credit guarantee for the rent of low-income groups. In the 1980s, Article 8 was revised, and the proportion of low-income groups in income gradually increased to 25% and 30%.
When low-income people or retirees take a fancy to the housing that meets the government regulations, they can agree that the owner will go to FHFA (federal housing finance institution) to sign a lease contract.
2. Ownership of residential buildings
1986, the United States passed the tax reform bill, which stipulated that the interest on mortgage loans and consumer loans could be offset from taxes. These laws and regulations make the housing mortgage loan market develop rapidly.
1990, the Bush administration promulgated the National Affordable Housing Act, which takes home ownership as the main strategy, implements the "Hope Plan", that is, "everyone has the opportunity to live", sells public housing, and integrates some social services with housing problems, making home ownership the main strategy.
The U.S. government encourages private houses to build and buy houses by establishing residential mortgage loan system and guarantee system. In addition to offsetting personal income tax with mortgage interest, there are other real estate tax preferential policies, such as property tax reduction, housing sales capital gains reduction, low-interest loans for first-time buyers mentioned above, and value-added tax reduction for first-hand residential assets.
American housing policy advocates the concept of "affordable housing". According to the mortgage loan standard of the Federal National Mortgage Association, the national mortgage loan should follow the principle of 28/36, that is, the loan for housing supply should not exceed 28% of the family's monthly income, and the total loan including car supply, student loan and credit card should not exceed 36% of the family's monthly income.
If it exceeds this limit, it can be considered that the housing burden is too heavy. According to a survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2007, although 38% of households are burdened with mortgages that exceed 30% of their total monthly income, middle-income families in the United States are still able to buy houses. Moreover, due to the sound social security in the United States, people have extra funds for other consumption.
3. Who bought more houses than the second one?
According to the survey, in 20 15, the sales volume of American holiday houses increased by 57% compared with 20 14, and a total of10.3 million holiday houses were sold. According to the survey, most buyers are the generation born in the last baby boom. They were born between 1946 and 1964, and have gradually entered the retirement period, becoming the main force in purchasing holiday homes to prepare for future retirement. Lending an existing property to get a lower interest rate can reduce your monthly payment or borrow more net worth to buy another property.
What kind of second house has the most investment value?
First, the rental income is higher than the monthly payment;
Second, the location of the house has a good environment, so the risk is minimal.
In a word, the most basic feature of the management of housing problems and markets in the United States is that it is managed according to law, and it is managed by increasingly strict legal systems and systems through continuous legislation.
Among them, the most important thing is the legislative purpose and management concept, which is really based on realizing people's living and working in peace and contentment, rather than using housing as a speculative tool to stimulate the economy, let alone turning housing into a tool for wealth transfer and exploitation of people.