Overall:
To use the Home Ownership Tax Benefit calculator, enter the information on your house and tax situation in the white boxes. Your future interest and tax payments, tax benefits and tax benefits as a percentage of home value will be calculated. They will appear below the entry form.
Down Payment or Equity:
Enter as a decimal, e.g. 20 percent=.20. If you already own a house with an existing mortgage, you can approximate your remaining tax benefits by entering the percentage of equity you have. Make certain that the resulting mortgage figure matches what you still owe.
Estimated Real Estate tax:
Local real estate tax rate as decimal of market value, e.g.
2 percent=.02
CPI:
Enter your estimate of future inflation. The standard deduction
is indexed to the CPI. Enter as a decimal.
Standard Deduction:
This is the figure for 2003. It will automatically be adjusted upward by your estimate of inflation.
Tax rate:
Enter your marginal tax rate -- the tax rate you pay on your last
$1,000 of income. Enter as a full number, e.g. if your marginal tax rate is 27 percent, enter 27. If your taxable income (joint return) is under $47,450 your Federal tax rate is 15 percent. Up to $114,650 it's 27 percent. Over $114,650 it's 30 percent. Over $174,700 it's 35 percent. And over $311,950 it's 38.6 percent. Where applicable you can adjust upward for state income taxes.
Taxes premium:
If you think real estate taxes will rise faster than inflation,
add an amount here. Otherwise leave at zero. This is a real judgment call and should generally be left at zero.
Interest Rate:
Enter a mortgage rate. Enter this figure as a full number, e.g. enter 5.5 if the rate is 5.5 percent.
Number of payments:
Enter the number of payments. This number must be divisible by 12. This calculator is limited to whole years.
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