Exam 14: Tax Consequences of Home Ownership

Which of the following best describes a qualified residence for purposes of determining a taxpayer's deductible home mortgage interest expense?

Expenses of a vacation home allocated to rental use are deductible for AGI.

Taxpayers meeting certain requirements may be allowed to exclude at least a portion of gain realized on the sale of a principal residence.

Taxpayers are allowed to deduct real property taxes at the time they pay estimated real property taxes to an escrow account established by the lender for the taxpayer's property taxes.

In certain circumstances, a taxpayer who does not meet the ownership and use tests may still be allowed to exclude the entire realized gain on the sale of a principal residence.

In general, total deductible home office expenses are limited to the gross income derived from the business minus business expenses unrelated to the home (that is, they are limited to net Schedule C income before home office expenses).

Taxpayers with high AGI are not allowed to deduct home mortgage interest expense.

Larry owned and lived in a home for five years before marrying Darlene. Larry and Darlene lived in the home for one year before selling it at a $600,000 gain. Larry was the sole owner of the residence until it was sold. How much of the gain may Larry and Darlene exclude?

Which of the following statements best describes the deductibility of real property taxes when a taxpayer sells real property during a year?

Under the tax law, a taxpayer's itemized deduction for home mortgage interest in any one particular year is limited to $10,000.

A taxpayer who otherwise meets the ownership and use tests may not be allowed to exclude all of her realized gain if the taxpayer has nonqualified use of the home before selling.

Taxpayers renting a home would generally report the rental income and expenses on Schedule E.

Which of the following statements regarding home-related transactions is correct?

Renting a residence may have nontax advantages over owning a home.

Jasper is looking to purchase a new home for $250,000. He is paying $50,000 as a down payment on the home and financing the remaining $200,000 with a loan secured by the home. He has the option of (1) paying no discount points on the loan and paying interest at 6.5 percent or (2) paying one discount point on the loan and paying interest of 5.5 percent on the loan. Both options require Jasper to make interest-only payments for the first five years of the loan and to pay the loan principal over the 25 years after that (it is a 30-year loan). Jasper itemizes deductions irrespective of any interest expense he may pay. Jasper's marginal ordinary income tax rate is 32 percent. What is Jasper's break-even point in years (for simplicity, ignore time value of money concerns)?

Harriet owns a second home that she rents to others. During the year, she used the second home for 10 personal days and for 200 rental days. Which of the following statements regarding the manner in which she should account for her income and/or expenses associated with the home is false?

On July 1 of year 1, Elaine purchased a new home for $400,000. At the time of the purchase, it was estimated that the property tax bill on the home for the year would be $8,000 ($400,000 × 2%). On the settlement statement, Elaine was charged $4,000 for the year in property taxes and the seller was charged $4,000. On December 31, year 1 Elaine discovered that the real property taxes on the home for the year were actually $9,000. Elaine wrote a $9,000 check to the local government to pay the taxes for that calendar year (Elaine was liable for the taxes because she owned the property when they became due). What amount of real property taxes is Elaine allowed to deduct for year 1? (Assume not married filing separately.)

A taxpayer who purchases real property during the year is allowed to deduct the property taxes on that property for the entire year in which the property was purchased.

In certain circumstances, a taxpayer could rent her personal residence at a profit and not pay any tax on the income.

Katy owns a second home. During the year, she used the home for 20 personal use days and 50 rental days. Katy allocates expenses associated with the home between rental use and personal use. Katy did not incur any expenses to obtain tenants. Which of the following statements is correct regarding the tax treatment of Katy's income and expenses from the home?