[samircoolroy]

Hi, I have a question whether I qualify for the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction. The situation is that I have a secondary home in my home country and I am the primary borrower of the loan but I don't have an ownership in that home. Do I still qualify for the Home Mortgage Interest Deduction?

[ebaines]

No, you don't qualify. To deduct home mortgage interest you must have ownership interest in the property and the loan must be secured by the property. In this case since you are not an owner you do not qualiofy for the mortgage interest deduction.

A second issue is that deducting interest on mortgages issued by foreign lenders is very difficult unless the bank that issued the loan is willing to provide a 1098 form to you and IRS to document the amount of interest paid. Very few foreign banks are willing to do this, as it exposes them to US income tax.