Finance Felicitas Tan on 16 Apr 2008
What You Should Know About Taxes When Mortgage Refinancing
The goals of refinancing an existing mortgage loan are to lower monthly payments and to find lower interest rates. A lower interest rate does not necessarily mean you are will save money in the long run. The total amount of the loan, interest rate and length of the loan term can affect you savings over the duration of the loan.
Another aspect of your savings to consider is in the frightening realm of taxes. In this case, taxes might not be so frightening since the total amount of taxes you pay on your mortgage are an automatic itemized deduction when you prepare your taxes. When it comes to a refinanced loan, you will pay fewer taxes on the loan itself and thus you will be entitled to less of a deduction.
However, when it comes to paying the government, any deduction is a good deduction. One urgent word of warning though - check with your accountant or tax preparer to find out if refinancing is going to move you into a higher tax bracket.
The first line of defense when it comes to tax deductions (and their impact on your financial well being) is an accountant or a tax preparation specialist. If you don’t have one, I strongly suggest that you get one especially when you are making the decision about whether or not to refinance your mortgage loan.
Ask friends, coworkers and family for advice based on their experiences. Many of them may have taken advantage of such programs and can provide a wealth of good information that can help you to make right choice.
If for some reason using a tax preparation specialist or accountant is not an option for you, you do have the option of using one of many free tax calculators that are widely available online. By doing nothing more than entering a few lines of information about your situation, you will have a fair idea of the potential for savings should you decide to refinance your mortgage loan as well as the amount of possible tax deductions.
Though they can be reasonably accurate, don’t rely too specifically on the results of online tax calculators as they are only a tool. Only a professional tax preparer or accountant can give you the exact figures relating to your savings and tax deduction amounts. Still, using such a tool can be invaluable in helping you make the decision about whether or not to refinance at all.
Everyone knows that taxes are important. Taxes in mortgage refinancing are equally as important and should carry as much weight as the refinance interest rate or the loan amount, because taxes and tax deduction amounts on your refinance could easily mean the difference between staying in your current tax bracket or being forced into a higher one. A tax preparation specialist or online tax calculator can make the decision much easier.