mortgage interest

What is the name of your state? MA

My exhusband and I split in 2001. I remained in the home and paid all pricipal and interest on the mortgage alone. At the end of 2001 I claimed all of the interest on my tax return...what I didn't realize was that the mortgage itself was in my ex's name alone. I just got a letter from the IRS saying that I owed them over $900 for overstating interest paid. My ex never received a 1099 and did not claim the interest that year.

HELP!!

Just because your ex didn't claim the deduction doesn't open the door for you to do so. His loss is NOT your gain.

[Snipes5]

Uh, it sounds like the OP made a simple mistake. Granted it will probably be a costly one.

OP, you will probably have to pay them the $900 if the mortgage was only in his name.

Snipes

[abezon]

Send the IRS a copy of the mortgage interest statement & tell them that you paid the mortgage in 2001 since you were living there, & that you are an owner of the house (I assume you are on the title). Your ex did not claim any interest deduction; therefore the total interest claimed for you two is correct & you can claim the mortgage interest.

I called them... they said that to take the deduction for the interest you have to be both responsible for the debt (I wasn't) and you have to had been the person who paid the interest (he wasn't) so basically there was some 16,000 dollars paid in interest that was deductible by noone.

Try to convince your ex to file an ammended return and split the refund with you! GOOD LUCK!

I went back and re-read your post. $16,000 mortgage interest for one year? That is $1333 monthly in interest alone. Do you live in Buckingham Palace?

Heck no.. apparently you haven't seen the real estate market in Massachusetts lately. Houses are very expenisve here... can't touch a shed for less that $300,000

Just one more reason I am staying put in sunny Arizona! I own my house. My house doesn't own me.

[abezon]

Was there any kind of separation agreement or interim court order that stated you had to pay the mortgage while you stayed there? If so, you were legally obligated to pay the debt even though your name was not on the mortgage. Alternatively, a written agreement with your ex that you pay the mortgage while you lived there alone would constitute a legal obligation to pay the mortgage.

ohh I hadn't thought of that. I'll run that by the IRS and let you know what they say. Thanks

[Snipes5]

You don't have to let us know what the IRS says. We already know what they SHOULD say, if they are trained and are following the tax code. And you don't really even have to solicit their opinion.

If you have documentation showing you owed the debt, as Abezon indicated, send copies of that to the IRS, certified of course, and wait for their reply.

Stuff they tell you over the phone is meaningless anyway, unless you get it in writing.

And a minimum of 70% of their answers are incorrect.

Snipes