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How Much Do You Get Back From Interest Paid on Mortgage

Deducting Mortgage Interest FAQs

Updated for Tax Year 2021 / November 15, 2021 04:55 PM


OVERVIEW

If you're a homeowner, you probably qualify for a deduction on your home mortgage interest. The tax deduction also applies if you pay interest on a condominium, cooperative, mobile home, boat or recreational vehicle used as a residence.


If you itemize, you can usually deduct the interest you pay on a mortgage for your main home or a second home, but there are some restrictions.

deducting mortgage interest

Here are the answers to some common questions about this deduction:

Deductible mortgage interest is any interest you pay on a loan secured by a main home or second home that was used to buy, build, or substantially improve your home. For tax years prior to 2018, the maximum amount of debt eligible for the deduction was $1 million. Beginning in 2018, the maximum amount of debt is limited to $750,000. Mortgages that existed as of December 14, 2017 will continue to receive the same tax treatment as under the old rules. Additionally, for tax years prior to 2018, the interest paid on up to $100,000 of home equity debt was also deductible. These loans include:

If the loan is not a secured debt on your home, it is considered a personal loan, and the interest you pay usually isn't deductible.

Your home mortgage must be secured by your main home or a second home. You can't deduct interest on a mortgage for a third home, a fourth home, etc.

For the IRS, a home can be a house, condominium, cooperative, mobile home, boat, recreational vehicle or similar property that has sleeping, cooking and toilet facilities.

You do, if you are the primary borrower, you are legally obligated to pay the debt and you actually make the payments. If you are married and both you and your spouse sign for the loan, then both of you are primary borrowers. If you pay your son's or daughter's mortgage to help them out, however, you cannot deduct the interest unless you co-signed the loan.

Yes, your deduction is generally limited if all mortgages used to buy, construct, or improve your first home (and second home if applicable) total more than $1 million ($500,000 if you use married filing separately status) for tax years prior to 2018. Beginning in 2018, this limit is lowered to $750,000. Mortgages that existed as of December 14, 2017 will continue to receive the same tax treatment as under the old rules.

For tax years before 2018, you can also generally deduct interest on home equity debt of up to $100,000 ($50,000 if you're married and file separately) regardless of how you use the loan proceeds.

For details, see IRS Publication 936: Home Mortgage Interest Deduction.

Here are a few special situations you may encounter.

If all your mortgages fit one or more of the following categories, you can generally deduct all of the interest you paid during the year.

If a mortgage does not meet these criteria, your interest deduction may be limited. To figure out how much interest you can deduct and for more details on the rules summarized above, see IRS Publication 936: Home Mortgage Interest Deduction.

When you refinance a mortgage that was treated as acquisition debt, the balance of the new mortgage is also treated as acquisition debt up to the balance of the old mortgage. The excess over the old mortgage balance not used to buy, build, or substantially improve your home might qualify as home equity debt. For tax years prior to 2018, interest on up to $100,000 of that excess debt may be deductible under the rules for home equity debt. Also, you can deduct the points you pay to get the new loan over the life of the loan, assuming all of the new loan balance qualifies as acquisition.

That means you can deduct 1/30th of the points each year if it's a 30-year mortgage—that's $33 a year for each $1,000 of points you paid. In the year you pay off the loan—because you sell the house or refinance again—you get to deduct all the points not yet deducted, unless you refinance with the same lender. In that case, you add the points paid on the latest deal to the leftovers from the previous refinancing and deduct the expense on a pro-rated basis over the life of the new loan.

In the event of an IRS inquiry, you'll need the records that document the interest you paid. These include:

TurboTax will search over 350 deductions to get your maximum refund, guaranteed. If you're a homeowner, TurboTax Deluxe gives you step-by-step guidance to help turn your biggest investment into your biggest tax break.


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TurboTax Deluxe searches over 350 tax deductions to get your maximum refund, guaranteed.

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The above article is intended to provide generalized financial information designed to educate a broad segment of the public; it does not give personalized tax, investment, legal, or other business and professional advice. Before taking any action, you should always seek the assistance of a professional who knows your particular situation for advice on taxes, your investments, the law, or any other business and professional matters that affect you and/or your business.

How Much Do You Get Back From Interest Paid on Mortgage

Source: https://turbotax.intuit.com/tax-tips/home-ownership/deducting-mortgage-interest-faqs/L4a9KF9mI

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