Mortgage Interest Married Filing Separately

[lkro222]

My spouse and I are filing separately this year to save on my student loan rates. My spouse and I are both on the Mortgage and we were planning to split the interest/property taxes 50/50. However, the mortgage is technically paid from my checking account (and my spouse helps pay for most everything else). Can we still split the interest/property tax  50/50 or do I have to claim it all? We do plan to itemize, as well.

[xmasbaby0 · Accepted solution]

Yes if you are splitting the deduction for the mortgage interest you can each use half, even if the checking account was in only one of your names.   The IRS is not looking at that.   

And.....you both have to itemize----even if one of you  falls short of having enough itemized deductions to equal or exceed your standard deduction.   When you file MFS, your deduction for property tax is capped at $5K each.