1. I s su e 11 , Vo lu me 3 3 / Au gu s t 2 0 , 201 0
Focusing on Housing Tax Breaks The Week Ahead -> The “Keys”
Tim McLaughlin
- A Lot of Housing Data Throughout the Week
Dear Mr. And Mrs. Homeowner: Your home is probably
Date Economic Release Prediction Last
brimming with tax advantages. Do you know about all the
breaks you are entitled to? Obviously, you should always
consult a professional tax advisor for details, but here’s a list 8/23 Mortgage Delinquencies - 10.06%
of the top 5 tax deductions for homeowners:
8/23 MBA Mortgage Foreclosures - 4.63%
1. Mortgage Interest – Mortgage interest on a home is
8/23 Chicago Fed Activity Index - -0.63
usually fully tax deductible. You can deduct interest on
multiple mortgages, as long as they do not exceed $1 8/24 Richmond Fed Manufacturing - 16
million. The purpose of the mortgage must specifically
be to buy, build or improve a home. 8/24 Existing Home Sales 4.78M 5.37M
2. Points Paid on a Purchased/Refinanced Loan – If you 8/24 Existing Home Sales (MoM) -11.1% -5.1%
refinanced, you may be able to write off any points you
paid to buy down the mortgage rate. To do this, you 8/25 MBA Mortgage Applications - -
deduct the points proportionately over the life of the new
8/25 Cap Goods Ordered (ex air) - -
loan. For example, if you took out a 30 year loan, you
would deduct 1/30th of the points you paid each year. 8/25 Cap Goods Shipped (ex air) - 0.2%
Remember, if you’ve refinanced before, and you have
points from the previous refinance that you haven’t 8/25 Durable Goods Orders 2.7% -1.2%
finished deducting, you can write off the rest of those
points in the year you refinance. If you bought your 8/25 ex Transportation 0.2% -0.9%
home last year, the points you paid at closing are
deductible on your income tax statement for that year. If 8/25 New Home Sales 330K 330K
the seller paid some (or all) of your points for you, you
8/25 New Home Sales (MoM) 0.0% 23.6%
may be able to deduct those seller paid points too!
8/25 Home Price Index (MoM) - 0.5%
3. PMI – extended through 2010! Late in 2007, Congress
extended the tax deduction for homeowners paying 8/25 Purchase Price Index (QoQ) - -1.9%
private mortgage insurance through 2010. This one has
some restrictions: for example, the borrowers must have 8/26 Initial Jobless Claims - -
an adjusted gross income under $110,000.
8/26 Continuing Claims - -
4. Capital Gains with No Income Taxes – Thanks to the
1997 Tax Act, once every two years, single homeowners 8/26 RPX 28 day Composite - 195.86
can realize a tax-exempt profit of up to $250,000, as
8/26 RPX 28 day (YoY) - 2.14%
long as the seller owned and occupied the home as a
principal residence during any two of the last five years. 8/27 GDP (QoQ) – Annualized 1.3% 2.4%
Married homeowners who file jointly on their tax returns
do not have to pay taxes on up to $500,000 of gains 8/27 Personal Consumption - 1.6%
when they sell their primary residence.
8/27 GDP Price Index 1.8% 1.8%
5. Refinance – Well, sure, I guess this one isn’t really a
true “tax break”, but when you reduce your payment 8/27 Core PCE (QoQ) - 1.1%
and/or loan term at historically low interest rates, it will
8/27 U of Michigan Confidence 70.0 69.6
feel like one. Need help refinancing? Ask us how!
Mortgage Access Corp. d/b/a Weichert Financial Services, Executive Offices, 225 Littleton Road, Morris Plains, NJ 07950. 1-800-829-CASH. NMLS Company ID:
2731. Licensed by the NJ Dept of Banking and Insurance. Licensed Mortgage Banker with the State Dept of Banking in NY and CT. Licensed by the Pennsylvania
Department of Banking, Mortgage Lender 21042. Licensed Lender in AK, AR, DE, MD, D.C., GA, ME, MI, MN, WI, IA, IL, IN, LA, VT, FL, WV, RI, KY, NC, ID, MS,
NE, WY, OK,TN, WA. Licensed by the Virginia State Corporation Commission, License #ML105. Licensed Mortgage Lender in the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts. License #ML1713, Certificate #43155. Certificate of Authority to transact business in CO, SC. Registered Mortgage Lender in TX. Licensed with
the Financial Institutions Division in New Mexico, License # 01297. Licensed by the Department of Corporations under the California Residential Mortgage Lending
Act. Licensed Mortgage Broker and Lender Ohio. Licensed Loan Broker and Lender Rhode Island. Kansas Licensed Mortgage Company, License #MC.0001229.
Licensed by the New Hampshire Banking Department, License # 8714-MB. Licensed Oregon Mortgage Lender License #ML2528. Weichert Financial Services
arranges loans with third-party providers.