in geenral Correct; Each joint owner is normally entitled to a 50% share of the property. If you contributed unequal shares to the mortgage or the deposit you should reflect it on your return; for jointly owned property, you are entitled to deduct the actual amount of interest or taxes that you paid. If you and your partner contribute equally to the expenses, you can each take 50 % of the deduction. Often, however, dividing the deductions will result in the highest total tax, because neither partner will have enough to itemize. In many cases it is most advantageous for the person with the highest income to take all the deductions, which will provide the biggest decrease in taxable income. You might find it helpful to prepare your tax returns three times: taking the standard deduction; itemizing using your percentage of the deductions; and itemizing using the full deductions on the tax for the partner with the highest income. you need to compare the results with those of your partner's for example, if you take the standard deduction and include none of the deductions for property, and he itemizes the full amounts allowable on the property and you need to determine which scenario results in the lowest net tax in total on the two returns |