I formally borrowed 60,000 from my company to pay off a mortage and paid the company the same interest rate 3.125%. Can I claim this interest on my personal taxes?

[dniswander]

I am a shareholder in the company and we had extra cash reserves, rather than pay the mortgage company we paid off the mortgage with a personal business loan, well documented and approved by members of the board (C Corp).

[Opus 17]

No. A loan is only considered a tax deductible mortgage if the loan is secured by the property and "perfected" -- that is, it must be written in such a way that you could be foreclosed if you defaulted, and it must be recorded as a lien against the property with the local authorities, usually the county clerk.  A loan that is not secured by the home and recorded as a lien is not deductible even if it is used to buy or build a house or pay off a previous mortgage.