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Homebuyers: Can you Deduct Seller-paid Points?

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that existing home sales and prices are up nationwide, compared with last year. One of the reasons is the pandemic: “With the sizable shift in remote work, current homeowners are looking for larger homes…” according to NAR’s Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.

  1. If you’re buying a home, or you just bought one, you may wonder if you can deduct mortgage points paid on your behalf by the seller. Yes, you can, subject to some important limitations described below.

    Points are upfront fees charged by a mortgage lender, expressed as a percentage of the loan principal. Points, which may be deductible if you itemize deductions, are normally the buyer’s obligation. But a seller will sometimes sweeten a deal by agreeing to pay the points on the buyer’s mortgage loan.

    In most cases, points a buyer pays are a deductible interest expense. And IRS says that seller-paid points may also be deductible.

    Suppose, for example, that you bought a home for $600,000. In connection with a $500,000 mortgage loan, your bank charged two points, or $10,000. The seller agreed to pay the points in order to close the sale.

    You can deduct the $10,000 in the year of sale. The only disadvantage is that your tax basis is reduced to $590,000, which will mean more gain if — and when — you sell the home for more than that amount. But that may not happen until many years later, and the gain may not be taxable anyway. You may qualify for an exclusion for up to $250,000 ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly) of gain on the sale of a principal residence.

    Some limitations

    There are some important limitations on the rule allowing a deduction for seller-paid points. The rule doesn’t apply:

    • To points that are allocated to the part of a mortgage above $750,000 ($375,000 for marrieds filing separately) for tax years 2018 through 2025 (above $1 million for tax years before 2018 and after 2025);
    • To points on a loan used to improve (rather than buy) a home;
    • To points on a loan used to buy a vacation or second home, investment property or business property; and
    • To points paid on a refinancing, home equity loan or line of credit.

    Your situation

    We can review with you in more detail whether the points in your home purchase are deductible, as well as discuss other tax aspects of your transaction.

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About James B. Reynolds

Jim became a partner in 1991 and managing partner July 1, 2015. He serves as the manager of the Firm's Accounting and Auditing Department and specializes in the area of Estate and Retirement Planning. He also manages the firm's computer consulting service.

Mr. Reynolds donated his time to several organizations in the community over the years. He was a past president of the West Rutland Library, past president and treasurer of the West Rutland Development Corporation, past Treasurer of Neshobe Golf Club, and past chair of the REDC finance committee. We appreciate his sense of community responsibility and all the time he has donated to make our community a better place.

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