I've been paying the mortgage on my mother's house since she passed away, can I claim this?

txresq — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 10:10:06 GMT

Generally, if your name is not on the title of the proper...

Patrice — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 10:10:08 GMT

Generally, if your name is not on the title of the property and you are not legally responsible for the debt, you cannot deduct the mortgage interest even if you made the payments. You must have an ownership interest in the home to deduct interest on a home loan. This means that your name has to be on the deed or you have a written agreement with the deed holder(s) that establishes you have an ownership interest.

However, Treas. Reg. § 1.163-1(b) permits a deduction for interest paid on a mortgage when a taxpayer is the legal or equitable owner of the property, even though the taxpayer is not directly liable for the mortgage. To meet the Sec 163 “equitable owner” status for the pre-loan period, the IRS will look to facts such as whether you exclusively occupied the residence, made all the mortgage payments directly to the lender, and paid all expenses for repairs, maintenance, property taxes, insurance and improvements. From your description, it sounds like you satisfy most of these prerequisites and should be able to claim both the mortgage and property tax payments for this period.

For more about these and other conditions for deducting home mortgage interest you can see the details in IRS Publication 936, Home Mortgage Interest Deduction

*Equitable owner: considered to have rights or obligations of an owner regardless of legal title on the ground of equity

topic I've been paying the mortgage on my mother's house since she passed away, can I claim this? in Deductions & credits

I've been paying the mortgage on my mother's house since she passed away, can I claim this?

Generally, if your name is not on the title of the proper...