Welcome Guest. Register Now!  


Itemized Deductions Schedule-A


Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1 (permalink)  
Old 03-07-2011, 11:05 AM
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 1
MFS: mortgage in spouse's name; payments via joint account; mortgage interest / real estate deduction options

- Ohio
- Married
- Home mortgage in spouse's name - purchased before marriage. (1098 has spouse's ss# as payer)
- Mortgage / real estate tax payments made from joint/marital account.

- We plan to filie MFS as it would provide us with a smaller overall income tax payment compared to MFJ when considering both fed and state.
- We are also considering the option of my MFS claiming the mortgage interest and real estate tax payment deductions as it would provide us the smallest income tax.

Is this option available to us since payments were made through joint / marital account or are we limited to my spouse claiming the deduction?


Last edited by ohjustbob : 03-07-2011 at 11:12 AM.


Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Reddit! stumble!bookmark in google!Share on Facebook!
Reply With Quote
  #2 (permalink)  
Old 03-08-2011, 01:08 AM
Moderator
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 5,258
“Is this option available to us since payments were made through joint / marital account or are we limited to my spouse claiming the deduction?”---->You can’t deduct both r/e taxes and mortgage interest expenses. 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 spouse’s mortgage to help her out, however, you cannot deduct the interest unless you co-signed the loan; the mortgage( deed) is in yourspouse’s name and under your spouse’s SSN and that is how it is reported. To deduct real estate taxes, the taxes must be imposed on the person taking the deduction. Real estate taxes would be imposed on the owner of the property. The Tax Court has allowed beneficial owners to also claim the deduction. The co-signer would not be a legal owner and the status of "beneficial owner" is a very difficult one to establish. Hence the co-signer cannot deduct the real estate taxes. I guess you MAY file jointly you will make out better.



Digg this Post!Add Post to del.icio.usBookmark Post in TechnoratiFurl this Post!Reddit! stumble!bookmark in google!Share on Facebook!
Reply With Quote
Ads
Reply


Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Mortgage interest and real estate taxes paid on second property bought in 2010. kjhoch Itemized Deductions 3 03-20-2011 03:16 AM
Mortgage interest deduction for unmarried couple Rhulon Itemized Deductions 1 02-11-2011 09:37 PM
Using Mortgage Interest Deduction instead of Student Loan Deduction MrGermyD Itemized Deductions 0 01-14-2011 11:20 PM
Mortgage Interest for Joint Owners aldc7d Itemized Deductions 0 02-05-2010 04:07 PM
Real estate professional offsetting Real Este losses against spouse's W-2 income MRAMANNA Rental Real-Estate 2 03-08-2009 01:49 PM

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Google Buzz Rss Feeds

» Categories
 
Individual
 » Income
 » IRA/Sep
 » Medical
 
Corporations
 » Payroll
 
Forum for CPAs
 
Financial Planning
 
 
 

» Recent Tax Q&A
No Threads to Display.