Realty Insights for Home Buying, Home Selling, and Indy Info

The deadline for filing your 2007 Property Tax Deduction for Indianapolis and the surronding metro area is June 10, 2007! Mortgage deduction - Bring in the settlement statement or a copy of the mortgage to the Auditor's Office when applying for deduction. Anyone who has refinanced since the last filing must re-file for deduction. Re-filing must also be done by anyone who has placed a property in a trust. Visit www.in.gov/icpr/webfile/formsdiv/43709.pdf to download the state mortgage deduction form. Homestead Credit - Taxpayers are eligible for the homestead credit on their principal residence only. The same documentation will work as for the mortgage deduction. Visit www.in.gov/icpr/webfile/formsdiv/05473.pdf to download the state homestead deduction form.

By David Fairman Loan Officer Tucker Mortgage, LLC Write-offs are the government's way of rewarding taxpayers when they've done something the government likes. And to judge by the write-offs, the government likes it when people borrow money to buy a house. There are write-offs aplenty, many of which people often forget. Here are a few people tend to forget: Points : According to the IRS, origination fees charged as points must be paid for the use of money, (for example, to obtain a lower interest rate) in order to be tax deductible. Origination fees that constitute a "service fee" are not tax deductible. The question must be asked, "Does the fee apply to the use of money, or is it a service charge?" Discount points are paid to secure a lower interest rate. IRS Publication 936 lists a general rule that states, "You generally cannot deduct the full amount of points in the year paid. Because they are prepaid interest, you generally must deduct them over th...