Hilda and Hyatt paid $7,875 last year in mortgage interest, $4,200 in principal payments, $1,850 in property tax, $840 in mortgage insurance, $1,200 in property insurance, and $1,500 in maintenance. Which expenses are deductible from their federal taxes?

Mortgage interest of $7,875 and property taxes of $1,850.

Explanation:

A tax deduction can be defined as the total amount of money that one can deduct to lower their tax liability. More tax deductions always implies a reduced tax liability. In dealing with mortgage payments, tax deductions should be considered carefully to determine how much one tax one needs to pay. The following mortgage expenses are considered for deductions;

1. Mortgage interest

A mortgage interest deduction is a deduction that allows homeowners to subtract the interest on the loan they used to pay for the purchase, improvements or building of a home. In our case, Hilda and Hyatt are liable to a deduction of $7,875.

2. Property tax

In general, state and local property taxes are eligible to be deducted from the federal income taxes of a property owner. The only taxes that are deductible are state, local and foreign taxes levied for public welfare. They do not include services like home renovation and trash collection. The federal tax as of 2018 for property tax was capped at a total of $10,000. This means that any property tax value below $10,000 was eligible to a property tax deduction of that amount.