The Chancellor has largely left mortgages alone in recent budgets, but last week he came out fighting.
Mr Osborne said: “Buy-to-let landlords have a huge advantage in the market as they can offset their mortgage interest payments against their income, whereas homebuyers cannot. And the better off the landlord, the more tax relief they get. For the wealthiest, for every £1 of mortgage interest cost they incur, they get 45p back from the taxpayer.”
The Chancellor highlights this as a contribution to the rapid growth in buy-to-let properties, which now account for over 20% of the mortgages we arrange at Mortgage Required. The Bank of England warned us last week could pose a risk to our financial stability. Personally, I think it’s the lack of pensions we can all look forward to which has spurred the growth in this sector.
Mortgage interest relief will still remain, but we will be restricted to the basic rate of income tax. The withdrawal of the higher rate of relief will be phased in over a four-year period and only starts in April 2017.”
The other dramatic change is the basis on which “Support for Mortgage Interest” payments will be made.
Currently, homeowners receiving certain income-related benefits can get a portion of their mortgage interest paid by the government. As part of the Chancellor’s Welfare cuts, he announced in his budget that this payment will in future come in the form of a loan.
The message for me, is that it is now more important than ever to make sure your mortgage is protected. If you can’t pay it, this government won’t!
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