Ask the Taxgirl: Home-Related Tax Deductions When You’re Not On the Deed
**Can you deduct property taxes or mortgage interest on a home you don’t own? Here’s what the tax rules say about paying expenses for a family member’s home.**
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Ask The Taxgirl: Are Home Equity Loans Still Deductible?
Taxpayer asks: In September 2017 we refinanced our house to pay off crushing credit card debt we incurred during the recession and could not hope to get out from under. My question — Is the 2018 refinance law stating that we can only use home equity to pay for work on our dwelling/property retroactive or…
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IRS Issues Guidance On Home Equity Loan Interest After Tax Reform
Taxpayers and tax professionals had questions about what the new tax law meant for homeowners with debt. Today, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) finally issued guidance concerning deducting interest paid on home equity loans.
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Will Tax Reform Cause Housing Prices To Drop?
Republicans in the Senate have announced that they believe they have enough votes to move their latest version of the tax reform bill forward. The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is warning that the bill will cause housing prices to drop.
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Taxes From A To Z (2013): J Is For Junk Fees
J is for Junk Fees. If you’ve ever bought or sold a home, you’ve probably seen a laundry list of fees on your sale or mortgage papers. These fees, usually found at the bottom, are in addition to notary fees and appraisal fees, and are sometimes called “junk fees.” While a specific fee may be…
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Tax Trivia: Home Mortgage Interest Deduction
We have a winner! See the correct answer in the comments. Our next tax trivia question for the giveaway is: According to the IRS, what percentage of those taxpayers who itemized tax deductions for tax year 2008 claimed the home mortgage interest deduction? I’m looking for answer +/- a percentage point. The first correct answer…
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The Morning After: The Tax Deal Hangover
I’ll admit that I didn’t see yesterday’s tax deal coming. I was fairly certain that the drama would play out through this week. We still have drama but now it’s more of the “let me explain” variety. Let me see if I can sort out for you what happened and why. First, let’s talk timing….
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Ask The Taxgirl: Does Renting Mean I Can’t Itemize?
Taxpayer asks: Hello Taxgirl! I have a question! I was married last year, and this is the first time I will be filing a joint tax return. My husband and I rent our house, and we paid about $6,000 out of pocket last year for medical expenses (this includes $2000 my husband paid for the…
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Caroline Rummel Just Won an A!
…or at least a nice letter to Professor Holcomb over at the University of Minnesota Law School. Caroline’s entry on “Why It’s Time to Take the Red Pen to the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction” come out on top in my legal writing contest. I received a number of great entries and remain really impressed by…
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Fix The Tax Code Friday: Mortgage Deduction
Bush’s tax plan has suggested severely limiting the mortgage deduction and eliminating deductions for interest on home-equity loans or mortgages for vacation homes. So today’s Fix the Tax Code Friday question is: Should we eliminate the deduction for home mortgages? Or should we limit the deduction to first time home buyers?
