Yijie Chen (J.D. 2027, Indiana-Maurer) & Stephanie Hunter McMahon (Indiana-Maurer), Beyond Homeowner Preference: Three Frames for Housing Taxation, 191 Tax Notes Fed. 95 (Apr. 13, 2026):

Much of the existing discussion of housing’s tax advantages tends to emphasize a familiar subset of homeowner-facing provisions, which can make the system look like a simple story of homeowner advantage. Once other frames are considered, however, the picture becomes less clear. Landlords and other business users of property often receive deductions and depreciation unavailable to owner-occupants, and Congress has decreased tax advantages for homeowners in the TCJA and the OBBBA without significant discussion of the impact on the housing market, homeowners, and family savings. Because multiple code provisions shape housing outcomes both directly and indirectly, policymakers and scholars should be cautious about efforts to rebalance owners and renters without first specifying the target concern and considering cross-effects and potential new distortions.

Throughout these concerns, empirical questions abound and may ultimately prove unanswerable. Nevertheless, it would be a step forward to admit that we do not know who of homeowners, landlords, or renters are most tax advantaged rather than concluding based on incomplete analysis and uncollected data that homeowners are so favored. What the law should not do is disguise trade-offs as neutrality. A more honest housing tax policy would make its priorities explicit and defend them on those terms.

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