Tax Breaks for Crystal Coast, North Carolina Homeowners

It's tax season again on the Crystal Coast! If you're a homeowner in areas like Atlantic Beach, Morehead City, Emerald Isle, Beaufort, and Cape Carteret, you won't want to miss out on the tax breaks associated with purchasing real estate. In fact, many homeowners overlook such tax write-offs like mortgage interest and property taxes. 

And while your taxes may have to get difficult to completely take advantage of homeowner benefits, with the tips below, you won't miss an important tax write-off again.

Mortgage Interest
According to MSN Real Estate, the biggest tax break you will see involves your house payment every month and for most homeowners, the bulk of that goes directly to mortgage interest. "All that interest is deductible, unless your loan is more than $1 million," they reported. 

More deductibles can come in the form of money you pulled out through refinancing or from when you decided to get a home equity loan. If you have equity debts of $100,000 or less, these are fully deductible for tax purposes.

What's more, if you own a second homes in North Carolina, or multiple properties, your mortgage interest on these homes is also fully deductible. But beware, warns MSN Real Estate, "If you don't vacation at least 14 days at your second property, or more than 10 percent of the number of days that you do rent it out (whichever is longer), the IRS could consider the place a residential property and ax your interest deduction."

Property Taxes
Another mortgage deduction comes from property taxes. For most monthly mortgage payments on Crystal Coast real estate, a major part is dedicated to taxes and goes into an escrow account for a yearly payment. If you've been a homeowner for some time, this amount will be found on the annual statement you get from your lender and will be a deduction for as long as you own Crystal Coast real estate.

If you're new to the homeowner circle and have just purchased a home on the Crystal Coast, you can find tax payment information on the documents you received at closing. 

When You Sell Your Home
Planning to sell your homes in Atlantic Beach, Morehead City, Emerald Isle, Beaufort, and Cape Carteret this year or have just sold your home? When you move to a new home on the Crystal Coast, you'll be able to avoid a portion of taxes on the profit you make. In past years, the law was changed so that up to $250,000 in sales gain ($500,000 for married couples) is tax-free so long as you owned the home for two years and lived in it for two of five years before you sold.

But, if you sell the home before you meet these residency requirements, you will indeed owe taxes on the profit.

Gena Gilbert

Search for Properties | Contact | Facebook | LinkedIn |