Ask Terry Questions Is there a tax savings on a second home mortgage?

Is there a tax savings on a second home mortgage?

By Terry Savage on March 01, 2014 | Housing / Real Estate

My son and I have a home in joint tenancy where the mortage is in his name and I
pay ALL of the mortgage and other expenses since 2005 when he married and bought another house. Wouldn’t he be able to deduct the mortgage interest on the first house I live in. Would the tax savings be worth asking him for, given the mortgage started at $170,000. and is now $135,000 at 5.8%. He won’t refinance, telling me to take out a mortgage. I am on SSDI since 1981 and though my FICA is around 730, I would have to have a co-signer.

Terry Says:  Gosh, this is a tough situation.  Sure, I would guess that your son is deducting the interest on both mortgages (and probably real estate taxes, too).   And since you are paying, it would be nice of him to “gift” you some of those tax benefits.  He can give you $14,000 just as a gift, without any gift tax consequences.  So, I’m guessing this is more than an issue of finances.  He wants to have his cake and eat it too!

Are you sure your name is not on the mortgage?  Because your only way out of this situation is to just tell him you “can’t afford it any more without getting something back from him per the tax break” and threaten to just move out and rent somewhere!  Then he would be stuck with the mortgage liability and would have to find a renter!  And if he sells, you would be entitled to half the equity in the home.  This is drastic, but maybe it’s something to think about to illustrate the unfairness of you paying for everything and not getting your share of the tax savings!

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