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posted Mar 13, 2021 2:14:12 PM

Can interest on unsecured personal loan to buy double-wide be used for a personal deduction?

The day after closing on sale of old home, we ordered a new double-wide using all cash from the sale, but ran $35,000 short.  The bank would not give us a mortgage loan or a secured loan of any kind (even using the land which we paid $40,000 for that had a $15,000 new garage on it), since the house was being ordered, and not yet built.  They offered an unsecured personal loan for 4yrs at 9.5% interest, which could not be replaced with a mortgage loan until 6 months after the house was in place.  The entire $35,000 was placed toward the house order.  The closing costs and interest to get a mortgage loan was more than the interest for the next 3.5yrs, so we decided not to bother. 

 

Our home office is 13% of the house, so we can use that percentage of the interest and property tax for a business expense, but can the remaining interest paid be used as a personal tax deduction, since the bank refused $55,000 land and garage as security?

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1 Replies
Level 15
Mar 13, 2021 2:46:43 PM

No. The loan must be secured by the property.  And there is no longer any home office deduction for W-2 employees, only for the self-employed.

 

But you said "our" home office. Do you have a married couple owned business?  If so, which state, and is it an LLC?  You might need to file a Partnership income tax return.