| “I am in California on H1B visa. I am considered a tax resident (spend >183 days in a year here).I am considering buying a property in Australia (my home country, as defined by Homeland Security)Can I offset my US income tax with the mortgage interest payment?”------>As a US resident for tax purposes, you are subject to US taxes on your US source and world wide income (if you have any); therefore you can claim worldwide deductions. You can deduct the interest on your principal residence, plus a vacation home, as long as the total mortgage amount for both homes combined is less than the $1,100,000 cap. As long as the AUS bank wouldn't be issuing you a Form 1098 to report the interest you paid to them, you would need to report it on the line on Sch A of 1040 line 11 used for mortgage paid but not reported on 1098.
“Would this impact my future green card application?”----->In my personal opinion, No; I am not an immigration expert; you may get some professional help from an immigration broker/attorney on the issue, Ok??
“What if I leave the US in the future, do i have to declare capital gains tax one day?”---->No UNLESS you dispose of it in AUS when you leave the US as a US person/ a dual status filer for tax purposes. As a dual status alien, I mean a nonresident at end of year when you leave the US, you need to pay LTCG tax to the IRS if you sell it in AUS. However, you need to pay LTCG tax(es) to AUS. You can file form 1116 you claim your LTCG tax(es) that you pay to AUS o your US federal return. If you are a US person/ a dual status filer for tax purposes, and you have lived in the house in AUS for at least 24 months in that 5-year period. In other words, the home must have been your principal residence;in this case,if you have a gain from the sale of your main home, you may be able to exclude up to $250,000 of the gain from your income ($500,000 on a joint return in most cases). You generally can exclude up to $250,000 of gain ($500,000, in most cases, if married filing a joint return) realized on the sale or exchange of a main home in 2011. The exclusion is allowed each time you sell or exchange a main home, but generally not more than once every 2 years. To be eligible, during the 5-year period ending on the date of the sale, you must have owned the home for at least 2 years (the ownership test), and lived in the home as your main home for at least 2 years (the use test). But I guess this is not for you; you’d not live in the house for at least 24 months in that 5-year period since yu are in US , NOT in AUS.
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