It comes around every year, the one day of the year that you never look forward to, the one day of the year you would like to sleep through and the one day of the year it’s impossible to ignore. No it’s not your birthday or your brother-in-law’s winter visit, it's tax day.

As much as we hate to pay Uncle Sam, if you’re a homeowner you are probably eligible for a very substantial annual deduction, your mortgage interest. Last year United States’ homeowners received a total of roughly $70 billion dollars in federal tax breaks through deductions on their primary home, second home or investment property. And not surprisingly there are critics and supporters of this deduction.

Critics of the mortgage tax deduction make the case that the deduction mainly benefits Americans in the upper tax brackets and costs the government too much in lost revenue. There have been proposals floating around Congress for years attempting to limit the mortgage deduction, and it’s very likely that eventually some kind of reform will become a reality.

Two changes that are at the top of the likely list are raising the eligible deduction from a $1 million mortgage down to a $500,000 mortgage and eliminating the deduction for second homes.

Proponents of maintaining the mortgage tax deduction claim that it promotes homeownership as well as all of the economic by-products of homeownership that go into maintaining and updating a home. In addition, home ownership and the equity that it accrues is the asset that most middle class citizens depend on to supplement their retirement. For the middle class, equity in their homes exceeds one third of their total assets far more than financial portfolios.

And don’t forget that although all homeowners want to see their properties appreciate, even if appreciation rates are low you will create equity just by making your monthly mortgage payment.

Also, if your own your own home, whether it’s your primary residence or a second home, you are eligible to deduct your property tax. Investment properties have other deductions available to them like maintenance and depreciation, but they also have to claim any income associated with the rental of that property.

In addition, the federal government provides for tax benefits when you sell your primary home at a profit. The current law states that a sales gain up to $250,000 or $500,000 for married couples filing jointly is tax-fre as long as the homeowner owned the property for two years and lived in it for two of the five years before the sale.

The benefit of this law, in addition to protecting gains earned through property appreciation, also provides homeowners the flexibility to move up or down to another home based on their life style, age and family size without fearing loss of equity because of a large tax bill.

Naturally, all real estate professionals and the National Association of Realtors strongly oppose eliminating the mortgage interest deduction, stating that housing is the engine that drives the economy.

Certainly a large part of Anna Maria’s economy is driven by housing, and in particular, second home housing. Eliminating the second home mortgage tax deduction would negatively impact the Island’s economy and those homeowners who have invested in the Island for both second home and investment properties.

April 15 may not be the most fun day of the year, but it’s one that you can’t take the chance of sleeping through. Make sure you are taking advantage of all of your eligible tax deductions and make your feelings known to your state and federal representatives about the future of the mortgage tax deduction.