Mortgage Interest as a Tax Deduction

Buying a home is a sound tax strategy. It's a tax "shelter" you can really live in. Buying a home reduces your taxes because you can deduct mortgage interest and real estate taxes as itemized deductions. This helps lower your taxes in another way. Most people can itemize once they have a mortgage. And this means you can now deduct a wide range of expenses, including cash donations to your church, clothes you donated to charity, state and local income taxes, even tax preparation fees.