there is a tax provision regarding points paid to refi your principal or second residence. taxpayers who refi with the same lender must amortize the unamortized balance of points on those loans over the life of the new loan. points have nothing to do with the mortgage cap. another feature if any part of the refi is used to substantially improve the qualifying residence, they are immediately deductible. if you do a cash-out refi where the cash-out is not used to make substantial improvements, the interest related to the excess is usually not deductible.
