Home Mortgage Interest

scottyb

Well-known member
I had to search a little for this and didn't see a recent thread so I thought I would post this up for those of us who weren't sure.


Qualified Home


For you to take a home mortgage interest deduction, your debt must be secured by a qualified home. This means your main home or your second home. A home includes a house, condominium, cooperative, mobile home, house trailer, boat, or similar property that has sleeping, cooking, and toilet facilities.


The interest you pay on a mortgage on a home other than your main or second home may be deductible if the proceeds of the loan were used for business, investment, or other deductible purposes. Otherwise, it is considered personal interest and is not deductible.


Main home. You can have only one main home at any one time. This is the home where you ordinarily live most of the time.
Second home. A second home is a home that you choose to treat as your second home.


It is from IRS Publication 936 (2013)
 

JohnDar

Prolifically Gabby Member
Yup, been deducting it since we first got the previous TT. Didn't think to put a porta-potty in the pop-up :(
 

recumbent615

Founding MA Chapter Leader-retired
Same here, since 1990 I've been taking advantage on this deduction.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

brianharrison

Well-known member
This is not a deduction that is allowed up here in Canada. Tends to encourage us Canadians to pay off mortgages and keep them small...

Brian
 

HornedToad

Well-known member
For you to take a home mortgage interest deduction, your debt must be secured by a qualified home. This means your main home or your second home.

scotty,

The sad thing is this deduction stops with the second home/boat/trailer. I started taking this deduction when I bought a small cuddy cabin boat, we slept on it, it had a porta potti, I think I was fudgin' with the Coleman stove. When I started deducting for a house I bought in Lubbock for the girls to live in while they were going to Tech, TurboTax quit letting me take a deduction on the boat and it never let me deduct for any of the trailers I've owned.

We sold that house last year after everyone graduated and I've paid off the boat, so now I am looking forward to claim the interest on my trailer when I file my taxes.
 

scottyb

Well-known member
It's one of those things that my sales person told me, but I was skeptical and had to check it out myself. This was my 1st "2nd home" and I missed about 4 months worth last year. Maybe others in the same situation will see this.
 

EandJ

Well-known member
It's one of the few things a salesperson will tell you that is accurate. :p I work in the tax field so I stay pretty up to date on what I can legally deduct.

Of course there are limitations to it - it is the IRS after all - but TurboTax and the like should guide you pretty well through it with the questions they ask. I really don't think the limitations apply as even the most expensive Landmarks are well under the $ limit threshholds.


One other item that may/may not apply to y'all - if you bought your trailer or tow vehicle last year. It depends mainly on what state you live in. You can take an itemized deduction for the larger of state income tax paid or sales tax paid. For people like me in Texas with no state income tax - the default is a deduction for sales tax. Basically it is calculated as a % based on your adjusted gross income I believe. And that is fine for most purposes - Turbotax and friends will calculate that correctly. But if you happened to purchase a large item that you paid sales tax on (vehicle, RV, boat, etc) you can also take that specific amount of sales tax + the amount calculated as a % of your income.
 

EandJ

Well-known member
One other quick thing to note. As of right now, this deduction expired on 12/31/13. For the last 10 years or so, it has been renewed 1 or 2 years at a time. This year, due to y'alls government :rolleyes: being a bunch of nitwits, it along with a lot of other deductions for both businesses and individuals expired. So if you buy a car/RV/Plane in 2014, don't count on getting to deduct the sales tax. It might come back, but I'm not holding my breath.
 

jmgratz

Original Owners Club Member
One other quick thing to note. As of right now, this deduction expired on 12/31/13. For the last 10 years or so, it has been renewed 1 or 2 years at a time. This year, due to y'alls government :rolleyes: being a bunch of nitwits, it along with a lot of other deductions for both businesses and individuals expired. So if you buy a car/RV/Plane in 2014, don't count on getting to deduct the sales tax. It might come back, but I'm not holding my breath.

Thank you Congress :(
 
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