How many times can I claim my house on my tax returns?

[xmasbaby0]

What do you mean by "how many times"?   If you own a home you can enter the mortgage interest and the property taxes paid each year.  Those are itemized deductions, which may or may not have any effect on your refund or tax due.

Go to Federal> Deductions and Credits> Your Home to enter mortgage interest, property taxes, and loan origination fees (“points”) that you paid in 2023.  You should have a 1098 from your mortgage lender that shows this information.  Lenders send these in January/early February.

HOMEOWNERSHIP DEDUCTIONS

It is very hard for a lot of people to use itemized deductions now that the standard deduction is so much higher.  Your home ownership may not have any effect on your tax due or refund, especially if you purchased the house late in the year.  

Standard Deduction

Your itemized deductions have to be more than your standard deduction before you will see a change in your tax owed or tax refund.  The deductions you enter do not necessarily count “dollar for dollar;” many of them are subject to meeting  tough thresholds—medical expenses, for example, must meet a threshold that is pretty hard to reach.  The software program uses all the IRS rules that apply to the expenses you enter, and it tells you if you have enough to use your itemized deductions or if using the standard deduction is more advantageous for you.  Under the new tax laws, some deductions have been capped—there is a $10,000 limit to the itemized deductions for state, local, property and sales taxes. 

2023 STANDARD DEDUCTION AMOUNTS

SINGLE $13,850  (65 or older/legally blind + $1850)

MARRIED FILING SEPARATELY $13,850  (65 or older/legally blind + $1500)

MARRIED FILING JOINTLY $27,700  (65+/legally blind) )  + $1500 per spouse

HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD  $20,800 (65 or older/blind)  + $1850)

There is not a first time home buyers credit on a Federal return. That ended in 2010. If your state has such as credit, you will be able to enter it when you prepare your state return.

Buying a home is not a guarantee of a big refund.  Your deductions for homeownership combined with your other deductions (if any) must exceed your standard deduction to change your tax due or refund. If you purchased your home late in the year, you do not even have a full year of home

ownership deductions.

Your closing costs on your new home are not deductible except for prepaid interest, prepaid property tax or loan origination fees.  There are no deductions for appraisal, inspections, title searches, settlement fees. etc.

Your down payment is not deductible.

Your homeowners insurance for fire, hazard, flood, etc. is not deductible for your own home.

Home improvements, repairs, maintenance, etc. for your own home are not deductible.  

Homeowners Association  (HOA) fees for your own home are not deductible.

[DoninGA]

Your personal residence, not used as a rental or in a business, is not "claimed" or deductible on a tax return.

You can deduct the mortgage interest paid, real estate taxes  paid and points paid, if any, on the residence as an itemized deduction on Schedule A.

When you sell the home you may have to report the sale on your tax return, depending on whether you received a Form 1099-S for the sale or your gains were greater than the exclusion you were eligible to receive.

[Opus 17]

You can deduct mortgage interest for any year you pay interest, if you meet the other qualifications.

You can deduct property taxes for any year you pay property taxes, if you meet the other qualifications.

You can claim credits for energy efficient improvements only in the year the improvement is placed in service (installed, turned on, fully operating.)  You claim the full cost of the improvement in the year the improvement is installed, even if you are paying over time.  (If you later stop payment without paying off the loan, you may have a taxable situation in the future.)

You can deduct home office expenses for any year that you have a qualifying home office, assuming you meet all the other requirements.

You don't report or claim just the fact of buying a house, although you might have some of the other expenses above.  Most closing costs are not tax deductible, but instead they add to the cost of your home and may reduce the capital gains when you sell.

You report the sale of your home in the year you actually sell it.  You pay tax on the capital gains (increase in value) with certain qualifications and limitations.  If you are holding the mortgage yourself and the buyer is paying you over time, you report the installment sale (taxable interest and capital gains) for every year of the installment contract until it is paid off.