Renting Vs. Buying a Home

Should you buy or rent your home? This decision can include financial as well as nonfinancial factors. Even if the nonfinancial aspects are extremely important, you should not overlook the financial side.

Crucial ratio

One key to choosing between buying or renting is to determine the annual rent-to-purchase price ratio in the housing market you’re considering. The higher this ratio, the greater the advantage of buying a home.

            

Example 1: Art Smith is considering buying a home that is priced at $200,000. He can rent a comparable home in the same neighborhood for $800 a month, which is $9,600 a year. The rent-to-purchase ratio is $9,600 to $200,000, or 4.8%.

            

Example 2: In a different area of the U.S., Beth Jones also is eyeing a $200,000 home. A comparable home would rent for $1,200 a month. Thus, the rent-to-price ratio for Beth is $14,400 to $200,000, or 7.2% a month.

            

A recent study from Morningstar’s HelloWallet unit indicates that renting might be a better choice when the rent-to-price ratio is below 5%, while buying may be preferable if that ratio is over 7%. That is, the more you’ll have to pay to rent a desirable home, relative to home prices, the greater the chance that the numbers will favor a purchase. 

Assuming the rent-to-purchase price ratio is favorable, young taxpayers with relatively low early career incomes might do well to rent rather than buy a home. The same may be true for relocating retirees who have modest incomes after they stop working.

Conversely, high-income taxpayers might enjoy considerable tax savings from home ownership, assuming they are comfortable with the purchase price. Today’s low interest rates make financing a home purchase appealing, and the leverage can add to any profits from home price appreciation.

Thinking about taxes

Homeowners may enjoy multiple tax benefits that are not available to renters. Mortgage interest and property tax payments generally are tax-deductible. Moreover, profits on a sale of a home often enjoy an exemption from capital gains tax. Assuming the home was owned and occupied at least two of the preceding five years, up to $250,000 of gains are untaxed ($500,000 for married couples filing a joint tax return).

Of course, there is no way for a home buyer to know if a home eventually will be sold at a profit. What’s more, the deductions for mortgage interest may not generate any actual tax savings. That’s because those savings are available only to taxpayers who itemize deductions. Homeowners who take the standard deduction get no tax benefit from their mortgage interest or property tax deductions.

            

Example 3: Craig and Diane Emerson bought a house for $200,000, taking out a $160,000 mortgage. At a 4% mortgage rate, their interest payments this year are $6,400 (4% of $160,000). The Emersons also pay $4,000 in state and local taxes and make $2,000 in charitable donations, for a total of $12,400 in possible itemized deductions.

            

In 2015, the standard deduction is $6,300 for single filers and $12,600 for married couples filing jointly. (Taxpayers who are blind or at least age 65 have higher standard deductions.) Thus, the Emersons will choose the standard deduction and get no tax benefit from paying mortgage interest or property taxes.

Tax bracket truths

Now, what happens if the Emersons had $14,200 in itemized deductions instead of $12,400? If so, they would itemize and deduct their mortgage interest and property tax payments. In this scenario, $14,200 of itemized deductions is $1,600 greater than the standard deduction for couples, so the Emersons’ net tax deduction from home ownership would be $1,600. Assuming an effective marginal income tax rate of 20%, that $1,600 in net deductions would save them $320 in tax this year.

            

Example 4: Assume the same financial information as in example 3, but assume the Emersons have a higher income and, thus, have an effective marginal tax rate of 40%. Then that same $1,600 in net tax deductions from home ownership would save the Emersons $640 in tax. With a higher income, owning a home saves more tax.

           

             

Other issues

The decision about whether to rent or buy a home involves more than the purchase price, rental rates, and tax savings. Buying a house means saving up a great deal of cash for a down payment and putting that cash into an illiquid asset. Renting may leave you with more easily accessible cash, but will that cash be invested wisely or spent imprudently? It’s also important to decide if the responsibility of home ownership is for you.

           

Nevertheless, financial concerns are vital to residential decisions.