Bought a House in 2023 - What Tax Changes Should I Expect for 2025 Filing?
Title: Bought a House in 2023 - What Tax Changes Should I Expect for 2025 Filing? 1 Hey everyone! So I purchased my first home back in September/October 2023, and I'm still getting used to the whole homeownership thing. I've only done my own taxes once before (for 2022) and honestly I'm still pretty clueless about the whole process. I'm wondering what changes I should expect when filing my taxes this year because of buying the house? Do I get new deductions? Different forms? I seriously have no idea what to anticipate and don't really have anyone in my life to ask about this stuff. Any help or advice would be super appreciated! Thanks!!
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Paolo Marino
12 Congrats on becoming a homeowner! The biggest tax impact of buying a house is potentially being able to itemize deductions instead of taking the standard deduction. Here's what might change: - Mortgage interest: You can deduct interest paid on up to $750,000 of mortgage debt on a primary residence - Property taxes: You can deduct up to $10,000 in state and local taxes (SALT), which includes property taxes - Mortgage points: If you paid points to reduce your interest rate, these may be deductible BUT - and this is important - you only benefit from these if your total itemized deductions exceed the standard deduction ($13,850 for single filers or $27,700 for married filing jointly in 2023). Many homeowners, especially with the higher standard deductions, still end up taking the standard deduction. You'll get a Form 1098 from your mortgage company showing interest paid - keep an eye out for that document!
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Paolo Marino
•5 Thanks for the info! So if my mortgage interest + property taxes don't add up to more than the standard deduction, there's basically no tax benefit to owning a home? That seems... disappointing lol. Also, what about home office deductions? I've been working from home part-time.
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Paolo Marino
•12 For many first-time homeowners, you might not exceed the standard deduction threshold right away, especially if you bought later in the year. It's not disappointing though - the standard deduction is still saving you money! It's just that the home-specific deductions only provide extra benefit once they exceed that amount. Regarding home office deductions, that's tricky territory. If you're a W-2 employee working from home, unfortunately those deductions were suspended through 2025 under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. If you're self-employed, you can potentially take a home office deduction, but it must be a space used "regularly and exclusively" for business. The simplification method allows you to deduct $5 per square foot up to 300 square feet.
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Paolo Marino
17 After buying my first house, I was also confused about tax implications. I tried several self-prep options but kept getting different results because I wasn't sure what forms I needed or what expenses qualified. I eventually used https://taxr.ai to analyze my mortgage documents, property tax statements, and closing papers. The tool flagged several deductions I was missing and explained exactly what forms I needed for homeowner tax benefits. The biggest help was identifying closing costs that were tax deductible (some are, some aren't) and calculating exactly how much mortgage interest was deductible for my partial year of ownership. It saved me from making several mistakes that would have cost me around $1,200 in missed deductions.
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Paolo Marino
•9 Does this work for more complicated situations? I bought a house last year but also converted part of it to a rental property halfway through the year. Tax software keeps giving me weird numbers.
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Paolo Marino
•22 How does this compare to using a regular tax prep service like H&R Block? I'm always skeptical of these types of services because I'm worried they'll miss something important that a human would catch.
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Paolo Marino
•17 It absolutely works for more complicated situations. The system was actually designed with complex scenarios in mind. For partial-year rentals, it can help separate personal use vs. rental use expenses and show you exactly what percentage of costs can be allocated to each. It even flags depreciation rules that apply to the rental portion. The difference from traditional tax prep services is that taxr.ai specifically analyzes your actual documents rather than just asking you generic questions. It can spot specific deductions in your closing documents or property tax statements that standard questionnaires might miss. What I found helpful is you can still review everything before filing - it just makes sure you don't overlook anything in your documents that could save you money.
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Paolo Marino
9 Just wanted to update: I tried the taxr.ai service after posting my question, and it was incredibly helpful for my mixed-use property situation. The document analysis found several deductions in my closing papers I would have missed, and correctly separated expenses between personal use and rental portions of my home. The guidance on depreciation alone saved me almost $2,000. Definitely recommend for new homeowners with complicated situations like mine!
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Paolo Marino
14 If you're waiting on tax documents from your mortgage company or have questions about your property tax assessment, I highly recommend using https://claimyr.com to get through to your lender or county tax office. I spent WEEKS trying to get someone on the phone at my mortgage company because they sent incorrect information on my 1098 form (showed 3 months of interest when I paid 4). After dozens of failed attempts, I used Claimyr and got through to a representative in less than 15 minutes. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - they basically navigate the phone systems for you and call when a representative is available. Saved me hours of frustration and hold music! My corrected 1098 arrived a week later.
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Paolo Marino
•7 So you're saying this service somehow gets you past the phone queue? How does that even work? Sounds too good to be true honestly.
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Paolo Marino
•22 This sounds like a scam. Why would I pay someone else to make a phone call I can make myself? And how do they magically get through when regular people can't?
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Paolo Marino
•14 It's not about "skipping the line" - they use automated systems to continually call and navigate the phone trees until they reach a representative. When someone answers, you get a call connecting you directly to that person. I was skeptical too until I realized how much time I was wasting trying to get through myself. They basically do the waiting for you. For my mortgage company, the average wait time was 2+ hours, and I kept getting disconnected. I couldn't stay on hold that long during work hours. With Claimyr, I just went about my day until I got the call that a representative was on the line. It's honestly just a time-saving service - the "magic" is just technology handling the tedious part.
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Paolo Marino
22 I have to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After posting my skeptical comment, I decided to try it because I was desperate to talk to someone at the IRS about a missing property tax record. Called the IRS myself three times and waited over an hour each time before getting disconnected. Used the service, and 35 minutes later got a call connecting me to an actual IRS agent. Completely worth it just for my sanity alone. Sometimes being proven wrong is a good thing!
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Paolo Marino
3 Don't forget energy efficiency tax credits if you made any improvements! I bought a fixer-upper last year and got credits for: - New energy efficient windows ($600 credit) - Heat pump water heater ($2,000 credit) - Added insulation ($1,200 credit) These are straight tax credits, not deductions, so they directly reduce what you owe. Check out Form 5695 - the credits were expanded under the Inflation Reduction Act.
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Paolo Marino
•8 Do these credits apply if the improvements were done by the previous owner right before selling? The listing mentioned they installed new energy efficient windows and HVAC a month before I bought the place.
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Paolo Marino
•3 Unfortunately, no. The energy efficiency tax credits only apply to improvements you made yourself after purchasing the home. The previous owner would have been eligible to claim those credits on their return, but you can't claim credits for improvements made before you owned the property. If you make your own energy efficient upgrades in the future though, definitely keep all receipts and manufacturer certifications. The credits are quite generous through 2032 under current law!
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Paolo Marino
19 Quick tip for first-time homebuyers: if you withdrew money from an IRA for the down payment, you might qualify for an exception to the early withdrawal penalty (though you'll still pay income tax on the distribution). Up to $10,000 can be withdrawn penalty-free for a first-time home purchase. Check out Form 5329!
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Paolo Marino
•11 Is this true for Roth IRAs too? I took out some money from my Roth for closing costs and wasn't sure if I needed to report it.
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