Should I claim my new home?

[hall-justinc]

I purchased a new home in the middle of the year. If I add all of the deductible totals (PMI at close and monthly, taxes at close and monthly as well as interest paid total) I still don't have enough to beat my standard deduction. So should I even bother with the headache? I am single and contributed to 401k/IRA but both were pretax. Also, I have no business expenses as I am a local trucker.

[MiriamF · Accepted solution]

You should claim the deduction that gives you the lowest tax.

It is often true that, in the year a home was purchased, real estate taxes, mortgage interest and PMI do not exceed the standard deduction. In your case, you should claim the standard deduction.

When you are entering deductions, remember to claim state income tax or sales tax, depending upon what state you live in, before you dismiss your itemized deductions as too low. People who live in states with no income tax can easily forget that they can claim sales tax as a deduction.

[Opus 17]

If you do go ahead and enter all the expenses, turbotax will add it up and let you know which deduction to take.