Prepare now – Monday April 15th is just around the corner
Now is the time to start putting together records and information for your 2012 tax returns which are due April 15, 2013. Here are some tax questions homeowners need to ask:
- What tax benefits did homeowners get in the recent ‘fiscal cliff’ budget agreement? Two tax provisions that ended in 2011 were reinstated for 2012 and 2013: 1. Mortgage insurance premiums are again tax-deductible for people with adjusted gross income below $110,000; 2. Homeowners will continue to get tax credits for certain energy-efficient home improvements. For details, visit www.irs.gov or ask a tax professional like Shawna Thompson with Matrix Accounting and Tax in Springfield.
- What are the home related tax deductions people most often claim? One of them is the mortgage interest deduction (which can mean about $3,000 in tax savings for the average itemizing homeowner) and another one is the deduction for property taxes.
- What is the #1 mistake homeowners make with their taxes? If your real estate taxes are not part of your monthly mortgage payment, you are billed by your town or county. Those tax bills often include other items like trash collection and snow removal fees. Be careful to deduct only the part of your bill that is property tax.
- What tax deduction should I be sure to take? Make sure to deduct any points you paid on the mortgage you took out to purchase your home in the tax year you paid them. But if you refinanced, you need to amortize and deduct any points you paid over the life of the mortgage. People can easily forget the deduction after a few years.
- What’s the most important thing I should do as a first time homeowner or if I refinanced this year? Look at the HUD-1 settlement statement you received when you closed on your home. There may be fees like prepaid taxes or interest you can now deduct.
- What should I look out for if I’ve owned my home for a number of years? If you’ve refinanced and taken out home equity loans or lines of credit, remember that the maximum outstanding home equity debt that’s deductible is $100,000 and the maximum amount of deductible mortgage interest is $1 million.
- Which home improvement records should I keep? Keep all receipts for the capital improvements you’ve made to the property. Tax rules let you add these expenses to your home’s cost to reduce any profit you might have to pay taxes on when you sell. But most people are exempt from taxes on the first $500,000 of profit for joint filers ($250,000 for single filers).
- What’s the difference between a capital improvement and a repair? Fixing a furnace so it keeps working is a repair; replacing it is a capital improvement.
- Will taking a home office tax deduction increase my chances of being audited? Taking the deduction shouldn’t generate an audit by itself. But if your expenses are unusually large, or if it looks like you’re using office costs to create artificial losses, the IRS will probably look into it. Like my friend @david_haymes says in Nixa, “here is the line…. and I am way…over… here…., I’m not one to flirt with the IRS, no way!”
NOTE: Always consult a tax professional for the definitive answer to any tax question.