Ah, summer is here. The temperatures are soaring, the rain is pounding, and the sun is blazing. It’s important that you take the time to maintain your home this summer and to prepare it for the extreme heat that you could be facing. Check out our ultimate checklist of summer home maintenance tips to help you give your home some TLC. Indoor summer home maintenance: 1. Do a test of your smoke detectors and your carbon monoxide detectors. Replace the batteries if needed. 2. Get your cooling system ready. Consider getting your air-conditioning system serviced. Proper air conditioner maintenance can help your AC last longer and prevent air conditioner fires . This one is especially important for summer home maintenance since you don’t want to be stuck without air conditioning when the temperature starts climbing. 3. Dust the ceiling fan bla des and check that the fan is balanced and working properly. Attach a dryer sheet to a paint roller so you can reach easily and dust away. 5. Clean or replace your showerheads. 6. Clean bathroom drains. 7. Reverse the direction of your ceiling fans. If your fans spin counterclockwise, they’ll push the air straight down to your home will stay nice and cool. To do this, turn off the fan, wait for it to stop, and find the direction switch and check that your fans are spinning counterclockwise. 8. Clean the baseboards of your home. Use a damp cloth and wipe away all the dust and grime. 9. Check your attic and basement. In your attic, look for signs of dampness, mildew, leaks, holes in the roof, and pests. In the basement, check for leaks, pests, mold, and mildew. 10. Clean the vents of your bathroom fans. 11. Clean the dryer vent and exhaust duct. Clean out all of the dust and lint trapped in the vent and exhaust duct. Call in a professional to clean and service your washer and dryer if needed. Clothes dryers can be a fire hazard if they’re not cleaned and maintained. 12. Change the filter in the air conditioner.
If you’re a first-time homebuyer, you may be aware that it’s possible to deduct mortgage interest. But what about the tax impact of buying a house? What are the tax ramifications of the actual transaction? Warm-weather months can be a great time to buy a home. But before you take the plunge for the first time, here are some things you should know about taxes and buying a home. Sales tax? That’s a ‘no’ While the federal government doesn’t have a sales tax, most states do. In fact, Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire and Oregon are currently the only states that don’t collect a statewide sales tax. States that do have a statewide sales tax generally tax a range of purchases, and what’s taxed varies from state to state. For example, California taxes retail sales of merchandise in the state, but not tickets to movie theaters or sporting events. While North Carolina’s sales tax doesapply to movie tickets (among other items), it excludes the purchase of lottery tickets. Additionally, counties and cities may charge their own sales taxes. With so many types of purchases subject to sales tax, it may be surprising to learn that when you’re buying a house, some states don’t apply their sales tax to home purchases. However, states can have idiosyncrasies in their tax law. For example, California may charge sales and use tax if you buy a mobile home. So make sure to check your state and local sales taxes to get a better idea of the taxes you may be responsible for. And, depending on the state in which you buy, you may face another kind of purchase-related tax — real estate transfer taxes. Real estate transfer taxes States, counties and municipalities can choose to levy taxes when a piece of real property — like your new home — changes hands, or when recording a mortgage. These taxes are often known as documentary or “stamp” taxes. Many states that charge these taxes base the tax amount on a percentage of the purchase price of the property. Each state and its taxing body have different rules for how their real estate transfer taxes work. Here’s an example of how state and local real estate transfer taxes can affect the ultimate cost of buying a house. Colorado charges a transfer tax of .01%, which means you’ll owe the state a penny per $100 of the purchase price. What’s more, if your new home is in Telluride, Colorado, the town will tack on an extra 3% real estate transfer tax for any home purchase of more than $500. It’s up to the buyer to pay the town’s tax. So if you buy a $500,000 home there, you’ll owe a transfer tax of $5,000 to the state and another $15,000 to the town. What part of your house payment can you deduct?Even states that don’t have sales tax can have real estate transfer taxes. In Delaware, where there’s no state sales tax, real estate transactions can be subject to a transfer tax of 3% of the property value. However, if you’re buying in a county or municipality that has its own real estate transfer tax, the state tax drops to 2.5%. And Delaware state law says the tax will be divided between buyers and sellers equally. So in Delaware, your $500,000 home could come with transfer taxes of $15,000 (if you buy in a city without its own transfer tax) or up to $20,000 in state and local taxes . In either case, you’d split the tax with the seller, so your share as the buyer could range from $7,500 to $10,000, respectively. A lot depends on where you buy On its website, the National Conference of State Legislators provides a list of real estate transfer taxes that shows how widely such costs can vary from state to state. For example, the list shows that 12 states — Alaska, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming — do not currently have real estate transfer taxes. Others charge a single, simple transfer tax — for example, a $2 flat fee in Arizona and a 0.1% mortgage registration tax in Kansas. And others have more complex transfer tax rules. For example, Hawaii’s state conveyance tax increases as the property value increases, with the tax rate starting at 0.1% for properties valued at less than $600,000. New Jersey has multiple fees on top of the state and county fees, including additional fees for properties over a certain dollar amount. Who’s gonna pay for all this? Who’s responsible for transfer taxes when you buy a home? That depends. Some taxing jurisdictions may specify whether the buyer or seller must pay transfer tax, or if both parties in the transaction must share it. Or you may be able to negotiate with the seller to pay transfer taxes as part of the sales contract for your new home. If you end up paying transfer taxes as a buyer, you can’t deduct them from your federal income taxes the way you might deduct property taxes. However, you can include them in your cost basis, which is basically the value of a home for tax purposes. Down the road, if you sell your home, your cost basis will be a factor in figuring out your gain or loss on the sale. Your gain or loss in turn may affect how much (if any) tax you’ll owe on the money you receive from the sale. Now for the good news … Transfer taxes can be a painful part of an already-daunting process, but buying a home can deliver tax benefits as well. Here are some deductions and credits you may qualify for as a homeowner. Mortgage interest deduction If you’ll be taking out a new mortgage to buy a house this year, you might be able to take a mortgage interest deduction on your 2018 federal income tax return provided … You itemize your deductions Your mortgage is for your principal residence or one other qualified residence You paid or accrued the interest during 2018 You used the loan proceeds to buy the home that secured the mortgage Your total mortgage debt (including home equity) was $1 million or less – or $500,000 or less if you were married but filing separate returns If you’re buying your home in 2018 (or later), the maximum amount of mortgage debt for which you can claim an interest deduction is $750,000 if you’re married filing jointly or $375,000 if you’re married filing separately. That means if you’re married filing jointly and your mortgage is for $1 million, you won’t be able to claim a mortgage interest deduction for $250,000 of your principal. State and local property tax deduction Every year, you’ll pay any property taxes on your home to your state and local governments. Whether you pay your property taxes directly or do so through an escrow account with your lender. Beginning with the 2018 tax year, you may be able to deduct up to $10,000 ($5,000 if you’re married filing separately) of your property taxes, plus state and local income taxes combined. Or, you could choose to use sales tax instead of income tax. This is known as the SALT deduction. For example, if you paid $5,000 in property tax and $7,0000 in state and income tax, you can only take a $10,000 deduction toward that total $12,000 cost. Can you defray the loss of SALT deduction? You’ll need to itemize your deductions on Schedule A to take this deduction, and you’ll have to decide which taxes you want to deduct – property and income taxes or property and sales taxes. If you live in a state with high property taxes, your property tax bill could account for all your allowed SALT deduction, leaving you no room to deduct income or sales tax. Or if your property taxes are lower, there may be money left in the deduction limit to deduct some state income or sales taxes as well. Deducting points Buying a house can involve paying “points” — charges you pay to obtain a mortgage. Your lender may also refer to points as loan-origination fees, maximum loan charges, a loan discount or discount points. You may be able to deduct the full amount of points you paid in the same year you paid them if … The mortgage is secured by your main home (your main home is generally defined as where you live most of the time) Paying points is common in the area where the loan was made and you didn’t pay more than the going rate for points in that area You report income the year you receive it and deduct expenses in the year you pay them (known as the cash method of accounting) The points didn’t replace other fees that normally appear separately on a settlement statement, like appraisal fees, title company fees, attorney fees and property taxes The cash you paid at or before closing on your house for costs like a down payment or earnest money, plus any points the seller paid, were at least equal to the points charged (you can’t have borrowed this money) You used the loan to buy or build your main home The lender computed your points as a percentage of your mortgage principal Your settlement statement clearly shows the points charged for the mortgage If you don’t meet all these criteria, you’ll have to deduct your points over the life of the mortgage as prepaid interest. Mortgage interest credit If you’re a homebuyer making a lower annual income, you may be able to qualify for the mortgage interest credit. Before you get a mortgage, contact the state or local government for your area to find out if you can qualify for a Mortgage Credit Certificate. The IRS requires you to have an MCC to be eligible for the credit. If you qualify for an MCC and are eligible for the credit, it’s a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the amount of tax you owe. Your credit will be based on the certificate credit rate on your MCC (10%–50%), and you’ll need to calculate the actual credit amount on Form 8396. Credit Karma Tax® supports this form, and you can e-file it when you file your federal 1040 using the free tax-preparation service. You can still take a mortgage interest deduction if you also qualify for a mortgage interest credit. However, if you itemize your deductions you’ll have to reduce your home mortgage interest deduction by the amount of the mortgage interest credit you claim, even if that amount is partially carried forward. Each state or agency can have different rules for MCCs, so it’s important to find out exactly what the qualifications are for your area. State and local tax breaks Property taxes can be a huge cost of homeownership. States, counties and municipalities may offer tax breaks that can help defray this cost. Eligibility can be based on factors such as income, whether you’re a veteran or a disabled veteran, where you live in the state, or whether you’re retired or disabled. For example, Washington state offers deferral programs for qualifying applicants to help with their property taxes. Homeowners with household disposable income of $57,000 or less may be able to qualify to defer some property tax payment, although they’ll owe interest on the deferred amount. In Georgia, homeowners may be able to get a standard homestead exemption of $2,000 off their county and school taxes ($4,000 if they’re 65 and older), as long as they actually live in their home and it’s their legal residence, subject to some exceptions. Contact your state’s taxing authority or department of revenue to find out about any state or local tax breaks that might be available to you. Bottom line Depending on the state where you’re buying a house, real estate transfer fees can be complicated and costly. You could find yourself wishing your home purchase was subject to something as simple to understand as a basic sales tax. However, tax implications shouldn’t necessarily be the driving factor in any financial decision, including where you live. Fortunately, qualifying for federal-level tax breaks like the mortgage interest deduction can help reduce your tax burden. If you’ll be buying a home this year, be sure to keep all important purchase-related documents organized in one place. Having your home purchase information on hand when it’s time to file your 2018 income taxes in 2019 can help ensure you make the most of every home-related credit or deduction you’re eligible for.
Turning the key in a lock that no landlord has access to, reading in a hammock in your own backyard and painting your dining room bright red – what could be more exciting than making the leap from renter to first-time homeowner? Getting swept up in all the excitement is a wonderful feeling, but some first-time homeowners lose their heads and make mistakes that can jeopardize everything they’ve worked so hard to earn. Don’t be one of those people; take a few moments to ponder these seven practical concerns that will help ensure that your first home becomes the place of luxury and financial freedom you’ve anticipated. Don’t Overspend on Furniture and Remodeling You’ve just handed over a large portion of your life savings for a down payment, closing costs and moving expenses. Money is tight for most first-time homeowners. Not only are their savings depleted, their monthly expenses are often higher as well, thanks to the new expenses that come with home ownership, such as water and trash bills, and extra insurance. Everyone wants to personalize a new home and upgrade what may have been temporary apartment furniture for something nicer, but don’t go on a massive spending spree to improve everything all at once. Just as important as getting your first home is staying in it, and as nice as solid maple kitchen cabinets might be, they aren’t worth jeopardizing your new status as a homeowner. Give yourself time to adjust to the expenses of home ownership and rebuild your savings – the cabinets will still be waiting for you when you can more comfortably afford them. (For further reading, see To Rent Or Buy? The Financial Issues.) Don’t Ignore Important Maintenance Items One of the new expenses that accompanies home ownership is making repairs. There’s no landlord to call if your roof is leaking or your toilet is clogged (on the plus side, there’s also no rent increase notice taped to your door on a random Friday afternoon when you were looking forward to a nice weekend full of naps). While you should exercise restraint in purchasing the nonessentials, you shouldn’t neglect any problem that puts you in danger or could get worse over time, turning a relatively small problem into a much larger and costlier one. Hire Qualified Contractors Don’t try to save money by making improvements and repairs yourself that you aren’t qualified to make. This may seem to contradict the first point slightly, but it really doesn’t. Your home is both the place where you live and an investment, and it deserves the same level of care and attention you would give to anything else you value highly. There’s nothing wrong with painting the walls yourself, but if there’s no wiring for an electric opener in your garage, don’t cut a hole in the wall and start playing with copper. Hiring professionals to do work you don’t know how to do is the best way to keep your home in top condition and avoid injuring – or even killing – yourself. Get Help with Your Tax Return Even if you hate the thought of spending money on an accountant when you normally do your returns yourself, and even if you’re already feeling broke from buying that house, hiring an accountant to make sure you complete your return correctly and maximize your refund is a good idea. Home ownership significantly changes most people’s tax situations and the deductions they are eligible to claim. Just getting your taxes professionally done for one year can give you a template to use in future years if you want to continue doing your taxes yourself. Keep Receipts for Home Improvements When you sell your home, you can use these costs to increase your home’s basis, which can help you to maximize your tax-free earnings on the sale of your home. In 2008, you could have earned up to $250,000 tax free from the sale of your home if it was your primary residence and you had lived there for at least two of five years before you sold it. This assumes that you owned the home alone – if you owned it jointly with a spouse, you could each have gotten the $250,000 exemption. Let’s say you purchased your home for $150,000 and were able to sell it for $450,000. You’ve also made $20,000 in home improvements over the years you’ve lived in the home. If you haven’t saved your receipts, your basis in the home, or the amount you originally paid for your investment, is $150,000. You take your $250,000 exemption on the proceeds and are left with $50,000 of taxable income on the sale of your home. However, if you saved all $20,000 of your receipts, your basis would be $170,000 and you would only pay taxes on $30,000. That’s a huge savings: in this case, it would be $5,000 if your marginal tax rate is 25%. Don’t Confuse a Repair with an Improvement Unfortunately, not all home expenses are treated equally for the purpose of determining your home’s basis. The IRS considers repairs to be part and parcel of home ownership -something that preserves the home’s original value, but does not enhance its value. This may not always seem true. For example, if you bought a foreclosure and had to fix a lot of broken stuff, the home is obviously worth more after you fix those items, but the IRS doesn’t care – you did get a discount on the purchase price because of those unmade repairs, after all. It’s only improvements, like replacing the roof or adding central air conditioning, which will help decrease your future tax bill when you sell your home. For gray areas (like remodeling your bathroom because you had to bust open the wall to repair some old, failed plumbing), consult IRS Publication 530 and/or your accountant. And on a non-tax-related note, don’t trick yourself into thinking it’s OK to spend money on something because it’s a necessary “repair” when in truth it’s really a fun improvement. That isn’t good for your finances. Get Properly Insured Your mortgage lender requires you not only to purchase homeowners insurance, but also to purchase enough to fully replace the property in the event of a total loss. But that’s not the only insurance coverage you need as a homeowner. If you share your home with anyone who relies on your income to help pay the mortgage, whether it’s a girlfriend or a child, you’ll need life insurance with that person named as a beneficiary so he or she won’t lose the house if you die unexpectedly. Similarly, you’ll want to have disability-income insurance to replace your income if you become so disabled that you can’t work. Also, once you own a home, you have more to lose in the event of a lawsuit, so you’ll want to make sure you have excellent car insurance coverage. If you are self-employed as a sole proprietor, you may want to consider forming a corporation for greater legal protection of your assets. You may also want to purchase an umbrella policy that picks up where your other policies leave off. If you are found at fault in a car accident with a judgment of $1 million against you and your car insurance only covers the first $250,000, an umbrella policy can pick up the rest of the slack. These policies are usually issued in the millions. Bottom Line With the great freedom of owning your own home comes great responsibilities. You must manage your finances well enough to keep the home and maintain the home’s condition well enough to protect your investment and keep your family safe. Don’t let the excitement of being a new homeowner lead you to bad decisions or oversights that jeopardize your financial or physical security.