My husband and I bought a house while we were together. It was financed in his name only. We divorced in 2013 and the decree states that I will retain the home and am financially responsible for the house. I have 18 months from divorce date to transfer in my name. Because the decree states that I am responsible, and I have made 100% of all payments related to the home for all of 2013, can I deduct the mortgage interest for the home on my tax return?

Whether you, a wife, can claim a deduction for interest paid for a mortgage held in your husband's name will primarily depend upon your filing status and whether you actually made the payments. Generally, you can claim a federal income tax deduction on Sch A of 1040 for the interest you pay on your home mortgage. According to the IRS, you can claim the deduction if the mortgage is secured debt on a qualified home in which you have an ownership interest; Federal Regulations indicates that interest you pay on a mortgage on real estate of which you are a legal or equitable owner can be deducted even though you are not directly liable on the bond or note secured by the mortgage. So according to this provision, you could claim a mortgage interest deduction on interest you actually paid since you have an ownership interest. Mortgage Interest Statement is sent to the person whose name is on the mortgage;as you pay mortgage interest but are not on the mortgage, you should get a copy of the 1098 and attach a statement to your tax return indicating that you are an owner of the property. You should include the name and address of the person who received the 1098 and show how much of the mortgage interest each of you paid. You should not make your share of mortgage payments to your co-owner since that could be construed as a rent payment by the IRS. You should make the payments directly to the lender.

Thank you for your quick reply. It was very helpful. One more quick question - you stated that it would depend on my filing status. If my divorce was final in August, I should either file Single or Head of Household correct? We have 1 six year old daughter who lives with me full-time.

Thanks again for your help!

correct; Filing head of household is the most preferred, because of the reduced tax rate, and greater amounts in some deductions. However, make SURE that you qualify, because both state and IRS will make you verify in order to claim HOH. In genral, you can only file using the HOH filing status if you are unmarried on the last day of the year of 2013; However, there are some exceptions. you can file for HOH even though you are married ,however, as long as You and your spouse maintained separate households for the last six months of the year; You both file separate tax returns this year; At least one qualifying dependent lived with you for more than half of the calendar year; You provided more than 50% of the funds needed to maintain your household.

NOTE; Your filing status is determined in large part by your marital status on the last day of the year. Generally, if you are legally divorced on/by December 31st, you are considered divorced for the whole year for tax purposes.

Thank you. I believe I meet the requirements for HOH. We were divorced in August, so not married at end of the year. We are filing separately. My 6yo lived with me the entire year except maybe 40 nights she spent with her Dad. We have been living separately since 2011 and I have paid all household expenses since then, except a minimal amount of child support that he pays sporadically at best. Now that I think about it, another question -- Do I have to claim the child support as income?