<prompt> Human: Read an article in USA Today which stated that if you pay off your mortgage early, youll lose the tax deduction. They use the example that if you are in a 25 income tax bracket and pay 24,0000 in mortgage interest a year, youll lose 6000 without the deduction. Ive never understood this logic since youre still paying 18,000 in mortagage interest. Am I missing something?  <response>: The only thing youre missing is that if you have a debt at a higher interest rate than the true interest rate of the mortgage i.e. the interest you still pay yourself and dont get refunded come tax time, then you should focus on that debt, first. Otherwise, no, youre not missing anything. 