Q: Gerald, I own several properties jointly with my boyfriend. How much mortgage interest can we each write off on our taxes? Karen, San Bernardino, CA. A: Karen, unmarried couples can now deduct effectively twice as much of their mortgage and home interest on their tax returns, thanks to a recent change by the Internal Revenue Service. The law says taxpayers can deduct up to $1 million in mortgage debt and $100,000 in home equity financing, but the new IRS position on the mortgage deduction based on a ruling from a lawsuit brought by an unmarried California couple that co-own property, allows them now to deduct up to $2.2 million. This new IRS position presents a strange situation–get married and […]
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