Today TaxMama hears from Christine from Yahoo! who tells us, ” My dad passed away in Aug 2005. He left me his mobile home, on which he still owed $48,000. The finance company sent me a tax form showing how much interest I paid on the loan. But it shows my dad’s Social Security number. How can I get credit for the interest I paid? ”
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Dear Christine,
Please accept my condolences on the loss of your father. No doubt you’d rather have him around than his home.
But, now you have it – and the Form 1098, so what do you do now?
Actually, that’s easy.
You now own the house. You have paperwork to prove that, right? Like a will or a living trust…or something on paper.
So, just deduct the interest expense.
If IRS sends you a letter saying you deducted too much interest in about 12-18 months (and they will), just send them a copy of the Form 1098 and the document showing that you own the home now.
That was simple.
The hard part will be refinancing to put the loan into your name. Not every lender will finance mobile homes.
You may want to check with your bank for guidance. Or if you have a tax professional, s/he might have a source.
If not, search the WWW for mortgage mobile home and look for a reputable lender – and shop for the best rate.
And remember, you’ll find answers to lots of questions about interest expenses and other tax information, free. Where? At TaxMama.com
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