My mother passed in late 2011, and since that time I have been paying the mortgage on her house. Since I am the trustee of the estate and have been paying the mortgage out of my pocket, can I take the tax deduction for the interest paid? The estate have no income, so is not filing taxes for 2012.

My mother passed in late 2011, and since that time I have been paying the mortgage on her house. Since I am the trustee of the estate and have been paying the mortgage out of my pocket, can I take the tax deduction for the interest paid? The estate have no income, so is not filing taxes for 2012.==========> A deduction requires that you both owe the debt and pay it. Unless ownership, or partial ownership, transferred to you upon your mother's death, you cannot claim the deduction. If the estate owns the house, the interest would be deductible by the estate only if the mortgage was paid by the estate;you have to be legally liable for the debt and you actually have to pay the debt. From the way you've described the situation, you have been paying a debt you do not owe, either as a gift to the estate or as a loan to the estate. In either case, you cannot claim the mortgage interest or property taxes.