"scott s." <75270_3703a[at]csi.xcom> wrote

- quote -

There is no intent for a second home to be denied the
mortgage interest or property tax deduction solely because
that property was put on the market. That second home could
easily be a former residence or a vacation home. It is
intended to not allow a deduction on Schedule A for
"investment" property, purchased with the intent to flip it
by someone in the "business" of doing so, one house at a
time.

So yes, personal use is of some import, as are specific
facts and circumstances.

--
Paul Thomas, CPA
paulthomascpapc[at]bellsouth.net

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A second home was purchased from a related person at fair
market in 2005. In Nov 2005, steps were taken to sell the
second home, such as signing a listing contract with a real
estate agent. The home was not rented during 2005. The
home is currently unsold, but listed for sale.

Is the home a qualified second home for purposes of
deducting interest and property taxes in 2005? The question
relates to IRS Pub 936 which contains the following:

"Second home not rented out. If you have a second home that
you do not hold out for rent or resale to others at any time
during the year, you can treat it as a qualified home. You
do not have to use the home during the year."

Does signing a listing contract result in "hold out for ...
resale to others"? Does having 15 or more personal use days
change anything?

Sorry for late breaking Q.

scott s.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >