Qualified Home
For you to take a home mortgage interest deduction, your debt must be secured by a qualified home. This means your main home or your second home. A home includes a house, condominium, cooperative, mobile home, house trailer, boat, or similar property that has sleeping, cooking, and toilet facilities.
The interest you pay on a mortgage on a home other than your main or second home may be deductible if the proceeds of the loan were used for business, investment, or other deductible purposes. Otherwise, it is considered personal interest and is not deductible.
Main home. You can have only one main home at any one time. This is the home where you ordinarily live most of the time.
Second home. A second home is a home that you choose to treat as your second home.
Second home not rented out. If you have a second home that you do not hold out for rent or resale to others at any time during the year, you can treat it as a qualified home. You do not have to use the home during the year.
Second home rented out. If you have a second home and rent it out part of the year, you also must use it as a home during the year for it to be a qualified home. You must use this home more than 14 days or more than 10% of the number of days during the year that the home is rented at a fair rental, whichever is longer. If you do not use the home long enough, it is considered rental property and not a second home. For information on residential rental property, see Publication 527.
More than one second home. If you have more than one second home, you can treat only one as the qualified second home during any year. However, you can change the home you treat as a second home during the year in the following situations.
If you get a new home during the year, you can choose to treat the new home as your second home as of the day you buy it.
If your main home no longer qualifies as your main home, you can choose to treat it as your second home as of the day you stop using it as your main home.
If your second home is sold during the year or becomes your main home, you can choose a new second home as of the day you sell the old one or begin using it as your main home.
For you to take a home mortgage interest deduction, your debt must be secured by a qualified home. This means your main home or your second home. A home includes a house, condominium, cooperative, mobile home, house trailer, boat, or similar property that has sleeping, cooking, and toilet facilities.
The interest you pay on a mortgage on a home other than your main or second home may be deductible if the proceeds of the loan were used for business, investment, or other deductible purposes. Otherwise, it is considered personal interest and is not deductible.
Main home. You can have only one main home at any one time. This is the home where you ordinarily live most of the time.
Second home. A second home is a home that you choose to treat as your second home.
Second home not rented out. If you have a second home that you do not hold out for rent or resale to others at any time during the year, you can treat it as a qualified home. You do not have to use the home during the year.
Second home rented out. If you have a second home and rent it out part of the year, you also must use it as a home during the year for it to be a qualified home. You must use this home more than 14 days or more than 10% of the number of days during the year that the home is rented at a fair rental, whichever is longer. If you do not use the home long enough, it is considered rental property and not a second home. For information on residential rental property, see Publication 527.
More than one second home. If you have more than one second home, you can treat only one as the qualified second home during any year. However, you can change the home you treat as a second home during the year in the following situations.
If you get a new home during the year, you can choose to treat the new home as your second home as of the day you buy it.
If your main home no longer qualifies as your main home, you can choose to treat it as your second home as of the day you stop using it as your main home.
If your second home is sold during the year or becomes your main home, you can choose a new second home as of the day you sell the old one or begin using it as your main home.
