Refinance

[Grieve]

I'm betting they'll grandfather in the deductions, if they ever remove them. Otherwise I see it causing Housing Crisis #2 as more people get forced to foreclose due to effectively higher taxes.

I think that's a little extreme, although I'm sure housing industry lobbyists would agree.

Maybe if the vast majority of homeowners are married, filing jointly on a modest house or an old loan. If you're filing singly or if you have a newer loan or if it's just a large loan then your mortgage interest deduction alone will exceed the standard deduction.

That's what I thought too, but then you and I both live in Maryland, which last time I checked was the richest state in the US (in terms of average income). If you live somewhere with lower house prices, it's probably less significant. And I'd bet the vast majority of homeowners ARE married with kids - I'm pretty sure you're much more likely to be renting if you are single.