Mortgage interest relief at source, or MIRAS, was a scheme introduced in the United Kingdom from 1983 in a bid to encourage home ownership; it allowed borrowers tax relief for

interest In finance and economics, interest is payment from a borrower or deposit-taking financial institution to a lender or depositor of an amount above repayment of the principal sum (that is, the amount borrowed), at a particular rate. It is disti ...

payments on their

mortgage A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any pu ...

. Previously tax had to be reclaimed from HMRC In the 1983 Budget

Geoffrey Howe Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon, (20 December 1926 – 9 October 2015) was a British Conservative politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to 1990. Howe was Margaret Thatcher ...

raised the tax allowance from £25,000 to £30,000. Unmarried couples with joint mortgages could pool their allowances to £60,000, a provision known as Multiple Mortgage Tax Relief. This remained in place until the 1988 Budget, when

Nigel Lawson Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, (born 11 March 1932) is a British Conservative Party politician and journalist. He was a Member of Parliament representing the constituency of Blaby from 1974 to 1992, and served in the cabinet of Margare ...

ended the option to pool allowances from August 1988. Lawson later publicly expressed regret at not having implemented the change with effect from the time of the budget, as it is generally accepted that the rush to beat the deadline fuelled a sharp increase in house prices. MIRAS was completely abolished in April 2000 by

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...

, who argued it had become a middle class

perk Perk may refer to: Places *Perk, Belgium, part of the municipality of Steenokkerzeel ** Perk Castle, a castle near there * Perk Summit, Victoria Land, Antarctica People * August Perk (1897–1945), anti-Nazi German resistance fighter * Brian Perk ...

. Receiving MIRAS was one of the justifications given by mortgage advisers when selling

endowment mortgage An endowment mortgage is a mortgage loan arranged on an interest-only basis where the capital is intended to be repaid by one or more (usually Low-Cost) endowment policies. The phrase "endowment mortgage" is used mainly in the United Kingdom by le ...

s. There is a similar scheme in the Republic of Ireland, although not available for mortgages drawn down after 2013.

References

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References

See also