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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yes, I understand we both itemize. That is not the issue.  The issue is when itemizing how to split the mortgage interest.  As  I understand the rule outlined above, b/c DW does not pay the mortgage she cannot claim the deduction.  Does anyone else understand it differently.  Going forward, I think I am simply hiring an account to do our taxes b/c as our income goes up it becomes more complicated.  Why we can't just have a flat tax rate with no deductions and file it on a 3 x 5 card is beyond me.  Well, it's not really, but still I wish it were more simple. 
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I’m a tax professional and agree with you.  But should be progressive instead of flat and pre-filled-out, as I understand it is in Europe.  But we could do without most deductions.  Unless you have income other than W2 or 1099, or complicated business income and deductions, a tax software should work well for you.[/quote]

Hey tax professional, quick question:

I own a house in DC jointly with my (unmarried) partner. We both put an equal amount of money in a joint account which is enough to cover PITI along with utilities, so both of us contribute enough to cover the mortgage interest on our own.  Can one of us take all of the mortgage interest deduction or do we have to split it?  [/quote]

Not the tax professional, but my understanding from having been in the same situation for several years was that yes, you do split it if the home is jointly owned and you're paying out of a jointly-funded account, just as you would if you were MFS. That is, at least, what we did.

Once you're married, if you still file separately, then it's governed by who owns the funds that were used to pay the mortgage. In OP's case, OP would be the only spouse who could take the deduction. In a community property state (like the one I live in) it gets much more complicated because you'd have to document that the assets in the separate account were acquired before the marriage. We just file jointly and don't worry about it, but people who prefer to keep their finances separate might not want to go that route.[/quote]

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