House GOP eyes mortgage interest deduction


              Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., walks to a meeting with House Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., walks to a meeting with House Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Latest on the tax overhaul from House Republicans (all times local):

9:45 a.m.

House Republicans are proposing to place new limits on the tax deduction for mortgage interest in their soon-to-be-released overhaul.

A summary of the plan says it would reduce the cap on the popular deduction to interest on mortgages of $500,000 for newly purchased homes. The current mortgage cap is $1 million.

The idea is sure to generate opposition from the real estate lobby, but it's being used to help pay for tax cuts elsewhere in the plan.

The plan also limits the deductibility of local property taxes to $10,000 while eliminating the deduction for state income taxes.

The child tax credit would rise from $1,000 to $1,600, though the $4,050 per child exemption would be repealed.

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4:30 a.m.

House Republicans are planning major changes to the U.S. tax system while looking to preserve current rules for retirement accounts popular with middle-class Americans and to retain a top income-tax rate for million-dollar earners.

GOP negotiators have worked furiously this week to finalize details of the first major revamp of the tax system in three decades.

Still, they missed a self-imposed Wednesday deadline as leading Republicans batted down rumors that the public rollout could be delayed until next week.

The legislation is a longstanding goal for Capitol Hill Republicans. They see a once-in-a-generation opportunity at rewriting the tax law.

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