7 Tax Deductions For Homeowners: Your Breaks And Benefits

When tax time rolls around each year, many homeowners like you search for tax breaks. Luckily, there are many tax deductions for homeowners that could amount to several thousand dollars.

There are a lot of tax benefits to owning a home if you know what to look for. Let’s take a closer look at which of your household expenses are deductible as a homeowner and consider whether you should take the standard deductible instead. While this is meant to be a helpful guide, it's not intended to be personalized tax advice. Always consult a tax pro should you have questions on your personal situation.

Standard Vs. Itemized Deductions

Before we dive into the deductions available for homeowners, it is essential to understand the difference between standard and itemized deductions. Both types of deductions can lower your overall income tax burden by reducing your taxable income.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) makes the standard deduction available to all tax filers. In 2023, the standard deduction breaks down like this:

• For single and married individuals filing taxes separately, the standard deduction is $13,850.
• For married couples filing jointly, the standard deduction is $27,700.
• For heads of households, the standard deduction is $20,800.

With the standard deduction, you can reduce your taxable income by a standard amount. When you itemize deductions, including tax breaks for homeowners, you forgo the standard deduction. Instead, the total amount of the itemized deductions will offset your taxable income and lower your tax burden.

If you are considering taking advantage of tax deductions for homeowners, then make sure that the total amount of your itemized deductions is larger than the standard deduction. Otherwise, it makes more financial sense to take the standard deduction, as it typically results in a lower taxable income and, consequently, a lower tax liability.

Nondeductible Home Expenses

As you explore your tax-deductible home expenses, you may want to add as many items as you can to maximize your tax benefits. That said, you should be aware of some nondeductible home expenses, including:

• Fire insurance
• Homeowners insurance premiums
• The principal amount of your mortgage payment
• Domestic service
• Depreciation
• Utilities including gas, electricity, or water
• Down payment

As a homeowner, you won’t be able to deduct all of your housing expenses. If you have questions about what you cannot deduct, take some time to consult with a tax professional.

7 Tax Breaks For Homeowners

The IRS has extensive rules about the tax breaks available for homeowners. Let’s dive into the tax breaks you should consider as a homeowner.

1. Mortgage Interest

If you have a mortgage on your home, you can take advantage of the mortgage interest deduction. You can lower your taxable income through this itemized deduction of mortgage interest.

In the past, homeowners could deduct up to $1 million in mortgage interest. However, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has reduced this limit to $750,000 as a single filer or married couple filing jointly. If you are married but filing separately, the deduction limit is $375,000 for each party. The only mortgage interest that isn't deductible within these limits is debt that wasn't used to buy, build or improve a home. So interest on additional equity taken out to consolidate debt wouldn't be tax deductible.

2. Home Equity Loan Interest

A home equity loan is essentially a second mortgage on your house. With a home equity loan, you can access the equity you’ve built in your home as collateral to borrow funds that you need for other purposes.

Like regular mortgage interest, you can deduct the interest you’ve paid on home equity loans and home equity lines of credit. However, you can only claim this deduction if you used the borrowed funds to pay for a home improvement. Prior to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, you could deduct the interest on these loans regardless of how you spent the funds.

3. Discount Points

When you take out a mortgage, you may have the option to purchase discount points to lower your interest rate on the loan. If you have this option, one discount point will equate to 1% of the mortgage amount.

If the points are purchased to reduce the mortgage’s interest rate, you can deduct the cost of the discount points. However, ‘loan origination points’ will not be tax deductible because these are fees that don’t affect the interest rate of your loan.

4. Property Taxes

As a homeowner, you’ll face property taxes at a state and local level. You can deduct up to $10,000 of property taxes as a married couple filing jointly – or $5,000 if you are single or married filing separately.

Depending on your location, the property tax deduction can be very valuable.

5. Necessary Home Improvements

Necessary home improvements can qualify as tax deductions. Of course, the definition of “necessary” is somewhat limited. If you upgrade your fully functioning kitchen, those improvement costs may not qualify.

However, if you have to make permanent improvements to make your home more accessible for medical reasons, that should qualify. A few examples might include installing medical equipment, railings or widening doorways for an accessible home.

6. Home Office Expenses

If you operate a business in your residence, you may be able to deduct some of the expenses of maintaining that space. The IRS requires that you use your home office for regular and exclusive business use in order to qualify for a deduction. If you only use the office space when it is convenient, or just for working from home for your employer, that will not qualify.

In terms of the deductions, the size of the deduction is based on the percentage of your home dedicated to the place of business.

7. Capital Gains

Capital gains tax breaks come into play when you sell your home for a profit. The capital gain is the difference between the value of the home when you bought it and when you sold it. For example, let’s say you bought your home for $100,000. A few years later, you sell your home for $150,000. With that deal, you walk away with a capital gain of $50,000.

If you used the home as your primary residence for 2 of the last 5 years, you could keep some profits without any tax obligation. As a married couple filing jointly, you can keep up to $500,000 in capital gains. As a single filer or married couple filing separately, each party can keep up to $250,000 of capital gains without a tax obligation.

The key is that you lived in the house for 2 of the last 5 years. With a big tax break on the table, it’s important to take the rules that apply to this deduction seriously.

The Bottom Line

Owning a home comes with a suite of financial and tax benefits for homeowners. It’s important to approach tax season as a homeowner with a careful eye on maximizing the value of your home.

With potentially thousands of dollars in tax deductions on the table, it’s a good idea to add up your tax breaks. Compare the sum of your itemized deductions to the standard deduction before deciding which option is best for your tax return.

If you are a homeowner, then you should take some time to explore your tax deductions. If you need help tackling the details of your situation, it’s recommended to speak to a tax professional to ensure that you are cashing in on all the tax deductions available to you.

To learn more about the relationship between taxes and homeownership, read how property taxes and insurance can impact mortgage payments.