Deductions & credits

A down payment is never deductible. It's part of your investment in the home.  

 

The only things you can deduct on a house closing are mortgage interest, mortgage insurance premiums, and property taxes, and you only deduct them in the year you pay them.  Check your closing statement and your 1098 at the end of the year, you may have made a tax payment or daily interest on the closing statement that is not included in the 1098, but you can still deduct it.

 

Other closing expenses (inspections, bank fees, transfer taxes and document fees, etc.) are not deductible, but they are treated as being part of the purchase price.  When you sell the home, your taxable gain is the difference between the selling price and purchase price, so a higher purchase price may reduce your eventual taxable gains.