Shelly Ragan - NextHome Signature Real Estate

The Ragan Team • Call (402) 672-5522

  • Home
  • About
    • About The Ragan Team
    • Privacy Policy
  • Home Search
  • Resources
    • Buyers
    • Sellers
    • What’s Your Home Worth?
  • Visit Main Website
  • Blog
  • Contact

Four Places To Look For Tax Deductions In Your Home

April 9, 2014 by Shelly Ragan

Four Places To Look For Tax Deductions In Your Home Paying your income taxes each year leave your wallet a bit thin? There may be money hiding in your home that lessens your tax burden. Here are four places to look:

1. Home-Office Deduction

If you work from home, you could qualify for a home-office deduction. Taking the deduction can be a bit complicated; so many people who qualify don’t claim the exemption. An estimated 26 million Americans have home offices, but only 3.4 million claim them on their tax return.

Perhaps that’s why the Internal Revenue Service attempted to simplify the process in 2013.

The write-off takes into account depreciation, utilities, insurance, the amount of square footage dedicated for office space, whether you host clients at your house and other factors.

Because the parameters involved in filing a home-office exemption are rather complicated, it’s best to keep all business-related receipts, records of client meetings and other pertinent information to make things easier when you prepare your return.

2. Casualty Loss

Damage to your home from an act of God or a theft or burglary may qualify you for an income tax exemption. To qualify for the write-off, the causality loss must meet the “sudden event test.” That means it must be sudden, unpredictable, have involved some natural force and occur in a single instance.

To claim thefts and burglaries, you must be able to prove that a wrong doing has actually occurred. It can’t just be a case of a lost item that you suspect was stolen. Proof can come in the form of witness statements, police reports or newspaper accounts.

3. Energy Efficiency Upgrades And Repairs

Upgrading your home with energy efficient improvements can qualify you for a tax deduction. New roofs, insulation, windows, doors and a number of additional items qualify for the deduction. The deductions lets homeowners claim 10 percent of the total bill for energy efficient materials. The maximum credit is $500.

4. Real Estate Taxes And Newly Purchased Homes

New home owners should look at their settlement statement a bit closer. If the previous owner prepaid property taxes that cover any of the time you owned the home, you can include the prepaid taxes in your property tax deduction.

Don’t pay more than you have to when you file your taxes each April. Consider these commonly overlooked deductions that can lessen the amount you have to pay.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Homeowner Tips, Housing Analysis, Tax Deductions

Shelly Ragan

Contact Shelly


REALTOR ®
CALL (402) 672-5522

RE LIC#: 20010706
NextHome Signature Real Estate
Ragan Team

Connect with Us

Archives

How can we help?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Articles

  • An Overview Of A Wrap-Around Mortgage: What To Know
  • What’s Ahead For Mortgage Rates This Week – March 20, 2023
  • How to Get Along With Your Homeowners Association
  • Manage These 3 Items Before Applying For A Mortgage
  • Short-Term Vacation Rentals: What To Know

Looking For Something?

Categories

Our Location


NextHome Signature Real Estate
13340 California St, Suite 100
Omaha, NE 68154

Copyright © 2023 · Powered by MySMARTblog