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gokullu
Feb 19, 2018, 12:11 PM
Hi,
I am an H1B holder. (Indian citizen)
Resident for tax purposes.
Status: Married Filing Jointly. My wife is not working.

Kindly let me know how should I report my home mortgage interest and equity loan interest.
I have home outside US(India) on which I have both home mortgage and equity loan (taken for home improvements).

For year 2017:
Home mortgage interest paid: $1600 (outstanding loan amount: $18K)
Equity loan interest paid: $4300 (outstanding loan amount: $62K)

My loan amount and interest paid are within the limits. Both the loans are on the same property so wondering whether I can deduct both the interests. In the previous years (last 2 year) I have deducted only the interest on the main loan only..
Kindly let me.

AtlantaTaxExpert
Feb 19, 2018, 08:11 PM
You CAN claim the mortgage interest and real estate taxes on an overseas property using Schedule A, provided the interest and taxes, when combined with the other itemized deductions, exceeds your joint standard deduction of $12,700.

Knowing in which state you are currently living and working AND how much you earned in 2017 would be helpful.

gokullu
Feb 19, 2018, 08:18 PM
I am in CA and my state tax + mortgage interest is greater than the Std deduction.

AtlantaTaxExpert
Feb 19, 2018, 09:30 PM
As I said, you CAN claim the mortgage interest, home equity interest and real estate tax on Schedule A for 2017.

For 2018, the home equity interest is NO LONGER deductible.