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pkclan
New Member

Can i claim the mortgage and taxes on the house where my partner & i have lived for 18 yrs but he is now disabled. only his name is only on the mortgage?

up until a yr ago last october, he was a master carpenter; now he cannot work. the mortgages are in his name only because i had my divorce on my credit report and it was negative, so it was better to leave my name off of it. can i now claim the mortgages/taxes now legally?
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4 Replies

Can i claim the mortgage and taxes on the house where my partner & i have lived for 18 yrs but he is now disabled. only his name is only on the mortgage?

No.   If your name is not on the deed or the mortgage you cannot enter it on your tax return.

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

Can i claim the mortgage and taxes on the house where my partner & i have lived for 18 yrs but he is now disabled. only his name is only on the mortgage?

I assume by "partner" you are not legally married.

 

You can't deduct the property taxes.  That's the simple answer, because property taxes can only be deducted by the person against whom the taxes are levied, and if you are not on the deed of the home, then the taxes are not levied against you.

 

Mortgage interest is a little more complicated.  You are allowed to deduct mortgage interest that you pay, if you are a legal or beneficial owner of the property, even if you are on the deed or mortgage.  "Beneficial owner" is a concept that you have a recognized right of ownership in the home even if you aren't on the deed.   I remember two tax court cases about this.  In one case, A bought a home for his brother B because B was a new immigrant with no credit history.  B paid all the bills and was planning to take over the mortgage as soon as he could.  The tax court ruled that B could deduct mortgage interest.   In the other case, C moved in with his father D, who was elderly and somewhat infirm.  C paid the bills, took care of maintenance and repairs, and expected to inherit the house when his father died.  The tax court ruled that C could deduct the mortgage interest.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/1.163-1

 

So the real question is, under the laws and customs of your state, would you be considered to have a "beneficial" ownership interest in the home.  (Maybe your state has a practice of awarding financial support similar to alimony when long time partners split.  Or maybe there is some other reason that a court would recognize you had some rights in the property if there was a dispute of some kind.)   Whether you qualify is something you will have to determine for yourself. 

Carl
Level 15

Can i claim the mortgage and taxes on the house where my partner & i have lived for 18 yrs but he is now disabled. only his name is only on the mortgage?

In order to claim mortgage interest, two basic criteria must be met.

1) You must be legally obligated to pay it. (It appears to me that you are not.)
2) You must have actually paid it.

 

Can i claim the mortgage and taxes on the house where my partner & i have lived for 18 yrs but he is now disabled. only his name is only on the mortgage?

@Carl 

Check (b) in the regulation I linked to.  Mortgage is different than property taxes.  

@pkclan I forgot to mention, if you are legally married, then you are an owner of the house in the eyes of the IRS even if you are not listed on the deed or mortgage.  

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