Just married in December, we each owned homes, can we claim Prop Taxes and interest for both, on a joint return?

[dkbbb3]

We just got married in early December, we both owned our own homes.  We moved into my house after the wedding.  I've done taxes for "Married Filing Separately", but now I'm doing it as "Married Filing Jointly", but I'm not sure if we can only deduct Property Taxes and Interest on the home we moved into, or if we can claim the property taxes and interest on both homes?

[TomK · Accepted solution]

You can claim both.  You can deduct mortgage interest on a second home as an itemized deduction if it meets all the requirements for deducting mortgage interest.

If you rent out your second home, you must also use it as a home during the year. You must use it more than 14 days or more than 10% of the total days it is rented out, whichever is longer. If you do not use the home long enough, it is considered a rental property. You can then deduct the mortgage interest as a rental expense.

Mortgage interest can only be claimed on a maximum of two homes (main home and a second home).

However, under the new tax law, the SALT deduction (state & local tax, property tax, vehicle registration, sales tax) is capped at $10,000 ($5,000 if married filing separately). Prior to that, there was no cap. Taxpayers must still itemize to get this deduction – that part hasn't changed.