3 last chance home tax deductions for 2013

Three home tax deductions are going away after 2013, so plan to take advantage of them now.

If you’re eligible, tax year 2013 is probably the last time to claim the private mortgage insurance (PMI) deduction, the energy tax credit, and debt forgiveness benefit, all of which all expire on Dec. 31, 2013.

Here's what you need to know about those expiring benefits as you ready your taxes:

PMI Deduction

This tax rule lets you deduct the cost of private mortgage insurance, which is what you pay your lender each month if you put down less than 20% on a home. PMI protects the lender if you default on the home loan. Your deduction could amount to a couple hundred dollars depending on your tax bracket and other factors. Find out if you qualify for and how to take the PMI deduction. Of course, if you're wise enough not to be paying PMI, you aren't deducting it anyway.

Energy-Efficiency Upgrades

This sweet little tax credit lets you offset what you owe the IRS dollar-for-dollar for up to 10% of the amount you spent on certain home energy-efficiency upgrades, from insulation to water heaters. On the downside, the credit is capped at $500 (less in some cases). But on the bright side, the right improvement could lower your utility bills indefinitely.

Debt Forgiveness

When you go through a short sale, foreclosure, or deed-in-lieu, your lender sometimes lets you off the hook for some or all of what you owe on your mortgage. That forgiven mortgage debt is considered income, on which you’d typically have to pay income tax.

Suppose you’re in financial distress and your lender agrees to let you short-sell your home, say for $50,000 less than you owe on the mortgage, and forgive you for the balance. Without the protection of the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act, you’ll owe income tax on that $50,000.

It’s likely if you had the money to pay income tax on $50,000, you’d have used it to pay your mortgage in the first place.

Although these expiring tax benefits were renewed retroactively in past years, that is not likely to happen in 2014 because many in Congress would like to see comprehensive tax reform rather than scattershot renewals of individual provisions. [where: 75230]

Sneak Peek at 2013 Dallas Real Estate in Review

You will soon be hearing that this has been the greatest year EVER in Dallas residential real estate. Really it has!

Here are a few details that you'll be reading about in the next month. Thanks to Britt Fair for the excellent stats.

The dollar volume of sales is up 29% so far from 2012.

A lot of that can be attributed to the Federal Reserve and the economic recovery.

Also driving sales has been the recent buyer frenzy due to limited building over the past 5 years and low inventory of homes for sale.

Higher priced homes have recently been selling stronger than the lower priced market

The Dallas area market remains healthier and more appealing for relocation than the rest of the US.

While the outlook for 2014 looks bright, due to the big bounce back, 2013 may go on record as the best year every in DFW real estate.
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Why your Dallas Realtor needs to Network

In today's fast paced Dallas real estate market, buyers and sellers need every advantage to help find a great home and to help sell at the best terms.

As we watch this fall's real estate statistics, it's important to note the large number of sales taking place in the Park Cities and Preston Hollow that are outside of the MLS system and therefore not recorded in the typical sales statistics. In some neighborhoods, the number of sales outside of MLS this year are climbing higher than 30% of all sales. That's pretty significant.

So how are so many of these deals happening? They aren't from 'for-sale-by-owner' sales. They're coming from agent-to-agent contacts. Active agents network with each other to find homes for sale and to find buyers for a property before it even hits the market.

I'm a member of Pacesetters, a select group of 30 Dallas Realtors from 10 brokerages. We meet regularly to share information about listings, buyer and seller needs, and changing market conditions. It's a true marketing network made up of experienced and motivated professionals who understand that relationships make a difference in North Dallas real estate. [where: 75230]