Mortgage Interest Deduction: Limit, How It Works - NerdWallet (2024)

If you have a mortgage, keep good records. The interest you’re paying on your home loan could help reduce your tax bill.

What is the mortgage interest deduction?

The mortgage interest deduction is a deduction for interest paid on mortgage debt. People who take the standard deduction on their returns cannot take advantage of this tax break because it requires filing Schedule A and itemizing.

Homeowners can find a summary of their mortgage interest payments on Form 1098, which lenders should send out around the end of January.

» MORE: Itemized deductions versus the standard deduction

Is mortgage interest deductible?

In general, yes. The mortgage interest deduction allows you to reduce your taxable income by the amount of money you've paid in mortgage interest during the year.

» Need to back up? How deductions work, plus popular tax breaks for 2024

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Mortgage interest deduction limit

You can deduct the mortgage interest you paid during the tax year on the first $750,000 of your mortgage debt for your primary home or a second home. If you are married filing separately, the limit drops to $375,000.

If you bought the house before Dec. 16, 2017, you can deduct the interest you paid during the year on the first $1 million of the mortgage ($500,000 if married filing separately).

Note: There’s an exception to that Dec. 15, 2017, cutoff: If you entered into a written binding contract before thatdate to close before Jan. 1, 2018, and you closed on the house before April 1, 2018, the IRS considers your mortgage to be obtained prior to Dec. 16, 2017.

Mortgage interest tax deduction example

If you got an $800,000 mortgage to buy a house in 2017, and you pay $25,000 in interest on that loan during 2024, you probably can deduct all $25,000 of that mortgage interest on your 2024 tax return. However, if you got an $800,000 mortgage in 2023, that deduction might be a little smaller. That's because the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act limited the deduction to the interest on the first $750,000 of a mortgage.

What qualifies for the mortgage interest deduction?

IRS Publication 936 has all the details, but here’s the list in a nutshell.

Interest on a mortgage for your main home

  • The property can be a house, co-op, condo, mobile home, house trailer, houseboat or an apartment.

  • The home has to be collateral for the loan.

  • The home must have sleeping, cooking and toilet facilities to count.

  • If you get a nontaxable housing allowance from the military or through the ministry, you can still deduct your home mortgage interest.

  • A mortgage that you get in order to “buy out” your ex’s half of the house in a divorce counts.

» MORE: How to get the best mortgage rate

Interest on a mortgage for your second home

  • You don’t have to use the home during the year.

  • The house has to be collateral for the loan.

  • If you rent out the second home, you have to be there for the longer of at least 14 days or more than 10% of the number of days you rented it out.

Points you paid on your mortgage

  • Points are a form of prepaid intereston your loan. You can deduct points little by little over the life of a mortgage, or you can deduct them all at once if you meet every requirement.

  • In general, the nine requirements are that the mortgage has to be for your main home, paying points is an established practice in your area, the points aren’t unusually high, you use the cash method of accounting when you do your taxes, the points aren’t for closing costs, your down payment is higher than the points, the points are computed as a percentage of your loan, the points are on your settlement statement and the points weren't paid in place of amounts shown separately on the settlement statement, such as appraisal, inspection, title, or attorney fees or property taxes.

Late payment charges on a mortgage payment

  • You can deduct a late payment charge if it wasn't for a specific service performed in connection with your mortgage loan.

Prepayment penalties

  • You may face a penalty for paying off your mortgage early, but you may also be able to deduct the penalty as interest.

Interest on a home equity loan

  • You have to use the money from the home equity loan to buy, build or “substantially improve” your home.

  • If you use the money to buy a car, pay down credit card debt, or pay for something else not home-related, the interest isn’t deductible (learn more about deducting home equity loan interest).

» MORE: Learn how to deduct property taxes on your tax return

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What’s not deductible under the mortgage interest deduction

  • Homeowners insurance.

  • Extra principal payments you make on your mortgage.

  • Title insurance.

  • Settlement costs (most of the time).

  • Deposits, down payments or earnest money that you forfeited.

  • Interest accrued on a reverse mortgage.

  • Mortgage insurance premiums.

How to claim the mortgage interest deduction

You’ll need to take the following steps.

1. Look in your mailbox for Form 1098

Your mortgage lender should send you a Form 1098 in January or early February. It details how much you paid in mortgage interest and points during the previous year. Your lender sends a copy of that 1098 to the IRS, which will try to match it up to what you report on your tax return.

You will get a Form 1098 if you paid $600 or more of mortgage interest (including points) during the year to the lender. You may also be able to get year-to-date mortgage interest information from your lender’s monthly bank statements.

2. Keep good records

The good news is that you may be able to deduct mortgage interest in the situations below under certain circ*mstances:

  • You used part of the house as a home office (you may need to fill out a Schedule C and claim even more deductions).

  • You were a co-op apartment owner.

  • You rented out part of your home.

  • The home was a timeshare.

  • Part of the house was under construction during the year.

  • You used part of the mortgage proceeds to pay down debt, invest in a business or do something unrelated to buying a house.

  • Your home was destroyed during the year.

  • You were divorced or separated and you or your ex has to pay the mortgage on a home you both own (the interest might actually be deemed alimony).

  • You and someone who is not your spouse were liable for and paid mortgage interest on your house.

The bad news is that the rules get more complex. Check IRS Publication 936 for the details, or consult a qualified tax pro. Be sure to keep records of the square footage involved, as well as what income and expenses are attributable to certain parts of the house.

3. Itemize on your taxes

You claim the mortgage interest deduction on Schedule A of Form 1040, which means you'll need to itemize instead of take the standard deduction when you do your taxes.

That can also mean spending more time on tax prep, but if your standard deduction is less than your itemized deductions, you should consider itemizing to save money anyway. If your standard deduction is more than your itemized deductions (including your mortgage interest deduction), take the standard deduction and save yourself some time.

Schedule A allows you to do the math to calculate your deduction. Your tax software can walk you through the steps.

» MORE: See our top picks for tax software

Additional resources

  • Selling a home? How to avoid capital gains tax

  • Five big property tax deductions to know

  • 10 IRS forms to know before you file

Mortgage Interest Deduction: Limit, How It Works - NerdWallet (8)

Mortgage Interest Deduction: Limit, How It Works - NerdWallet (2024)

FAQs

Mortgage Interest Deduction: Limit, How It Works - NerdWallet? ›

You can deduct the mortgage interest you paid during the tax year on the first $750,000 of your mortgage debt for your primary home or a second home. If you are married filing separately, the limit drops to $375,000.

How do you calculate limitation on mortgage interest deduction? ›

Divide the maximum debt limit by your remaining mortgage balance, then multiply that result by the interest paid to figure out your deduction. Let's consider an example: Your mortgage is $1 million. Since the deduction limit is $750,000, you'll divide $750,000 by $1 million to get 0.75.

How much do I get back from mortgage interest deduction? ›

You can deduct the interest you paid during the tax year on the first $750,000 of your mortgage. For married couples filing separately, the limit is $375,000.

What does interest deduction limitation mean? ›

The Interest Limitation Rule (ILR) is intended to limit base erosion using excessive interest deductions. It limits the maximum net interest deduction to 30% of Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization (EBITDA).

How much mortgage interest can I deduct in 2024? ›

Current IRS rules allow many homeowners to deduct up to the first $750,000 of their home mortgage interest costs from their taxes. Homeowners who are married but filing separately may be allowed to deduct up to the first $37550,000 of their mortgage interest costs.

How does the mortgage interest deduction limit work? ›

You can deduct the mortgage interest you paid during the tax year on the first $750,000 of your mortgage debt for your primary home or a second home. If you are married filing separately, the limit drops to $375,000. If you bought the house before Dec.

How is deduction limit calculated? ›

An RRSP deduction limit is the maximum amount of money you can contribute to your RRSP and claim as a tax deduction on your income tax return. More specifically, it's the lesser of 18% of your income from the previous year or the annual limit set by the CRA (up to a maximum of $30,780 for tax year 2023).

Is it worth claiming mortgage interest on taxes? ›

Claiming mortgage interest can save you money in taxes, even if you are limited in how much interest you can claim. However, this break typically only benefits people with large, expensive loans or a lot of other deductions. Keep an eye on how much interest you pay and compare it to the standard deduction.

Do I get a refund for mortgage interest? ›

You can deduct the interest from your mortgage payments when you file a tax return, but only if the loan is secured by your home. Also, the loan proceeds must have been used to buy, build, or improve your main home and one other home you own and use for personal purposes.

Can one person claim all mortgage interest if joint purchase? ›

Mortgage interest is deductible for the person who paid it. If you paid the whole mortgage from an individual account, you get 100% of the deduction. If the mortgage is paid from a joint account, each spouse typically deducts 50%.

Is the 30% interest deduction limitation? ›

Since the passage of the TCJA, IRC §163(j) provides that the amount of deductible business interest expense in a tax year is limited to the sum of the following: The taxpayer's business interest income for the year. 30% of the taxpayer's ATI for the year. The taxpayer's floor plan financing interest expense for the ...

What is an example of mortgage interest deduction? ›

So, let's say for example that you make $75,000 this year and spend $10,000 of that on mortgage interest—that's about the amount you would spend in the first year of a $250,000 mortgage with a 4% interest rate. By taking the mortgage interest deduction, your taxable income would fall to $65,000.

What is the general interest deduction limitation rule? ›

General Interest Deduction Limitation Rule:

Article 30 provides information on the general interest deduction limitation rule. 1) As a business, you can deduct up to 30% of your accounting earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) as net interest expenditure for the relevant tax period.

Is the 750000 limit on mortgage interest deduction? ›

Under the TCJA, homeowners can deduct mortgage interest on up to $750,000 of qualified residence loans ($375,000 for married individuals filing separately). This limit applies to the combined total of mortgage debt used to acquire, build, or substantially improve a qualified residence.

How much mortgage interest can I deduct in 2025? ›

The current $750,000 limitation was introduced as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and will revert to the old limitation of $1 million after 2025.

Is there a limit on itemized deductions for 2024? ›

For 2024, as in 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018, there is no limitation on itemized deductions, as that limitation was eliminated by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

How is the 163 J interest limitation calculated? ›

How is the business interest deduction calculated? Since the passage of the TCJA, IRC §163(j) provides that the amount of deductible business interest expense in a tax year is limited to the sum of the following: The taxpayer's business interest income for the year. 30% of the taxpayer's ATI for the year.

How are mortgage limits calculated? ›

Lenders will calculate your maximum mortgage eligibility by weighing your income against your debts, the purchase price of the house, your down payment, the mortgage's interest rate, and property taxes and insurance. * Points are equal to 1% of the loan amount and lower the interest rate.

How is the investment interest limitation calculated? ›

You can only take a deduction for investment interest expenses that is lesser than or equal to your net investment income. For example, if you have $3,000 in margin interest but net investment income of only $1,000, you can only deduct the $1,000 in investment interest in the current year.

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