Our divorce was final on Dec. 20, 2012. There were no support orders prior to the divorce so no "alimony" paid in the eyes of the IRS in 2012. Ex-Wife and I agreed she would stay in house and make mortgage payments and I would give her money (support) to allow her to stay in the house. This was an agreement we made and honored throughout the balance of 2012. I moved out in May and payments on the mortgage were made via a joint account through May. After May the payments were made by my ex. The divorce decree indicates I can claim 1/2 the property taxes and 1/2 the mortgage interest for the year or until the mortgage was refinanced to remove my name from the mortgage and title. The mortgage was in both of our names throughout 2012 and so was the title. Can I legally claim 1/2 the taxes and interest?

Our divorce was final on Dec. 20, 2012. There were no support orders prior to the divorce so no "alimony" paid in the eyes of the IRS in 2012. Ex-Wife and I agreed she would stay in house and make mortgage payments and I would give her money (support) to allow her to stay in the house. This was an agreement we made and honored throughout the balance of 2012. I moved out in May and payments on the mortgage were made via a joint account through May. After May the payments were made by my ex. The divorce decree indicates I can claim 1/2 the property taxes and 1/2 the mortgage interest for the year or until the mortgage was refinanced to remove my name from the mortgage and title. The mortgage was in both of our names throughout 2012 and so was the title. Can I legally claim 1/2 the taxes and interest?=============>I guess so as long as you paid it and are liable for it, then you can take the deduction. If you jointly own a home with your former spouse after a divorce, and you remain responsible for paying the mortgage, then you are still eligible to claim the mortgage interest deduction even though you no longer live there. In addition, if you pay more than half the mortgage, then some of the interest is deductible as alimony. Remaining a joint owner of a home with your former spouse after a divorce is not uncommon. Even if only one spouse resides there, if both your names are on the mortgage and title, then you are each responsible for making half of the payment. The spouse who does not live in the home but pays half of the mortgage can still claim a mortgage interest deduction just like any other homeowner. However, you can only claim half of the mortgage interest as a deduction and still satisfy all "qualified home" requirements
If you must pay all the mortgage payments (principal and interest) on a jointly-owned home, and they otherwise qualify as alimony, you can deduct one-half of the total payments as alimony. If you itemize deductions and the home is a qualified home, you can claim one-half of the interest in figuring your deductible interest. Your spouse must report one-half of the payments as alimony received. If your spouse itemizes deductions and the home is a qualified home,she can claim one-half of the interest on the mortgage in figuring deductible interest.