10 Surprising Ways Real Estate Cuts Your Taxes

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Once you own property, you may be eligible for a long list of tax breaks, whether you use it as your primary home, for rental income, or sell it for profit. Let's run through familiar benefits, such as the mortgage interest deduction, and also the various (stunning!) tax breaks real estate investors, landlords, and homeowners enjoy.

1. Mortgage Interest

This is the most familiar of all deductions and one of the very few times that you can use the interest that you're paying to reduce your tax bill. Besides deducting mortgage interest that you're paying for the purchase of your primary residence, you can also deduct mortgage interest from a second mortgage or a home equity line of credit (HELOC).

You can deduct up to $500,000 ($1 million if married filing jointly) in all mortgage interest used to buy, construct, or make substantial improvements in your first home (and second, if applicable). You can't, however, deduct any mortgage interest for purchases on a third home and so on. You can also deduct up to $50,000 ($100,000 if married filing jointly) from all home equity debt for reasons other than to buy, build, or substantially improve your first or second home.

2. Mortgage Interest Credit

Recipients of a mortgage credit certificate (MCC) by a state or local government under a qualified mortgage credit certificate program could be eligible for a federal income tax credit of up to 20% of their annual mortgage interest. Figure this credit on Form 8396. The best part is that the remaining 80% of your mortgage interest is still eligible as a deduction!

3. Points

Charges paid by a borrower to secure a mortgage (also known as origination fees, maximum loan charges, or discount points) can generally be deducted. However, if you were to pay points to refinance an existing mortgage, you would amortize the points over the life of the mortgage. When you refinance a loan, your lender will send you a Form 1098 listing the points that you paid, but in the event that they don't, look for your points in your HUD-1 settlement sheet.

Page 6 of IRS Publication, 936 Home Mortgage Interest Deduction provides a useful diagram to determine whether or not your points are fully deductible for this year.

4. Real Estate Taxes

You can deduct real estate taxes, including state, local, or foreign, you paid on real estate you own that wasn't used for business. Tally only taxes paid to government institutions and don't include itemized tax charges for services to specific property or people, such as a gardener or trash collection service. If you were to sell your property and receive a refund or rebate of real estate taxes, you would reduce your deduction by the amount of the refund or rebate.

5. Mortgage Insurance Premiums

You can deduct eligible mortgage insurance premiums provided by government authorities, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Federal Housing Administration, and the Rural Housing Service, as well as private mortgage insurance (PMI) issuers on loans issued after December 31, 2006. (See also: What Is Private Mortgage Insurance, Anyway?)

In 2017, you can't deduct your mortgage insurance premiums if your adjusted gross income is more than $54,500 ($109,000 if married filing jointly). If your adjusted gross income falls between $50,000 and $54,500 ($100,000 and $109,000 if married filing jointly), your deduction is limited and you must use the Mortgage Insurance Premiums Deduction Worksheet to figure your deduction.

6. Capital Gains Exemption

Eventually, you may sell your real home. Depending on several factors, such as years of ownership, substantial improvements, and neighborhood developments, your home may have appreciated by several thousands of dollars. To lessen the tax hit on taxable capital gains from the sale of your property, the IRS may exempt up to $250,000 ($500,00 if married filing jointly) of that gain from your income.

In general, you qualify for a capital gains exemption as long as you have owned and used your home as your main home for a period aggregating at least two years out of the five years before its date of sale. Consult Publication 523, Selling Your Home for more details. The beauty of this tax break is that there is no restriction as to how many times you can use it!

7. Investment Interest

Real estate investors also get a tax break on interest paid on money they borrowed that is allocable to property held for investment. Such investors need to use Form 4952 to figure out their investment interest expense deduction.

Despite its name, this investment interest deduction doesn't cover interest gained from passive-income activities or securities that generate tax-exempt income.

8. Expenses for Business Use of Homes

Freelancers, independent contractors, and small business owners can deduct expenses for business use of their homes. With Form 8829, you can claim the area used regularly and exclusively for business to allocate a deductible portion from a wide range of expenses, including utilities and depreciation.

If your deductions for home business are greater than the current year's limit, you can carry over the excess to 2017! This carry-over will be subject to the deduction limit for that year, whether or not you live in the same home during that year.

9. Tax Credits for "Green" Improvements

To encourage more energy efficient home improvements, the IRS provides tax credits for qualifying expenses. Here are two examples:

  • Windows, doors, and skylights that met the ENERGY STAR program requirements and were installed between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016 at the homeowner's primary residence may grant you up to $500 in energy efficiency tax credits.
     
  • Solar energy systems provide a tax credit of 30% of cost with no upper limit through December 31, 2019. The credit will decrease to 26% in 2020, drop to 22% in 2021, and goes away in 2022.

To learn about other tax credit opportunities from energy efficient home improvements, visit EnergyStar.gov.

10. Deductions From Rental Income Activities

Rental real estate provides several tax breaks to landlords. For example, landlords could potentially deduct:

  • Local transportation expenses to collect rental income or to manage, conserve, or maintain rental property;
     
  • Expenses for managing, conserving, or maintaining rental property from the time it was made available for rent;
     
  • Depreciation expenses for the wear and tear of rental property;
     
  • Local benefit taxes for maintaining, repairing, or paying interest charges for the benefits;
     
  • Legal and professional fees directly related to operating expenses; and
     
  • Prepaid insurance premiums.

To learn the full list of rental expenses and guidelines for deduction, consult Publication 527, Residential Rental Property. If you use some of your rental properties for personal purposes throughout the year, then you should hire a tax pro to appropriately deduct expenses for rental income. Hiring an accountant to report income from your rental activities is itself an eligible deduction, after all! (See also: 4 Times You Should Splurge and Hire a Pro)

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