In article <f0477ef8-e0b8-4ed5-80d4-a2e69c1de90a[at]42g2000pry.googlegroups.com> ,
eastcoastguyz <eastcoastguyz[at]hotmail.com> wrote:
- quote -


Pub 963 is a good lace to learn about "acquisition debt."

A few oversimplified basics:

A mortgage is a loan on your property and is secured by that property.

A mortgage used to buy, build or improve your main home or one
second home, is Acquisition Debt.

A mortgage on your main home or one second home used for any other
purpose is Home Equity Debt.


Interest on these loans that you paid may be deducted on Schedule A
up to $1million of principal for acquisition debt and $100,000 of home
equity debt. That's for regular income tax. For AMT, interest on only
acquisition debt may be deducted.


So if you took out a mortgage and regardless of whether the bank
called it a HELOC or whatever, the amount of that loan that you can
prove was used to buy, build or improve is deductible acquisition
debt and the remainder is home equity debt.
--


ArtKamlet at a o l dot c o m Columbus OH K2PZH

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eastcoastguyz wrote:
- quote -

Correct.

- quote -

IRS Publication 936 provides detailed explanation of "mixed use
mortgages", along with worksheets and examples.


- quote -

Principal is used to pay down home equity debt first until the balance
is zero, then home acquisition debt.


- quote -

You need to keep your own records, in case you need to document how you
determined what interest was deductible. Pub 936 has more information.


-Mark Bole

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My understanding is that Mortgage Interest must have its uses
separated in order to do this calculation properly, because if the
interest is for anything else other than home related (building,
remodeling, etc) it isn't deductible with AMT. Please correct me if my
assumption is mistaken or needs better clarification.

If my assumption above is correct, the issue of my post is regarding
the HELOC interest. How do you determine what part of the interest on
a HELOC has non-deductible usages such as furniture for the home,
student loans, etc vs deductible home interest?

What is the typical accounting practice method to do this sort of
account reporting? How is this treated over the life of the HELOC when
it has a mix of home remodeling uses and non-deductible purchases?
When money is paid against the HELOC balance, how do you record if
that money is being used to pay off the non-deductible part or can
you?

What accounting methods are correct or permissible to use which are
acceptable to the IRS? Access to a spreadsheet which allowed recording
of the HELOC checks written with usage to determine their part of the
interest would be ideal.

If my approach and concern to this whole issue of Form 6251- Line 4 of
Home Mortgage Interest Adjustment Worksheet is wrong, please kindly
correct me and point me to the proper resources so I can become better
enlightened. Thanks!

Edward

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<< ------------------------------------------------------- > << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, > << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties > << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts > << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy > << are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2007) - All rights reserved. > << ------------------------------------------------------- >