Can Someone on Social Security Deduct Home Interest on Taxes?
If you receive social security, you may be able to deduct your home mortgage interest on your tax return. This deduction is dependent on whether your adjusted gross income is larger than your standard deduction plus personal tax exemptions.
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Adjusted Gross Income
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Your AGI must be calculated and listed on your tax return. Adjusted gross income (AGI) per your tax return includes all taxable income received from all sources.
Standard Deduction
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The standard deduction allows you to deduct a certain sum from your AGI. The standard deduction is the total amount of living expense that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows you to deduct from your AGI. At present for a single person aged 65 or over, the deduction is $7,100.
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Exemptions
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Personal exemptions are calculated as a deduction from your AGI. The IRS allows you to claim an exemption of $3,650 for each person residing in your household including yourself. Therefore, if you are single and living by yourself, you may deduct $3,650 from your AGI.
Deduction for Home Mortgage Interest
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If your itemized deductions exceed your standard deduction, then itemization should be used. If you are single claiming yourself as the only exemption, your total deduction against AGI amounts to $10,750 ($7,100 standard deduction + $3,650 exemption). If this amount exceeds your AGI, then no tax return needs to be filed.
On the other hand, if your AGI is larger than this amount, you must determine whether your itemized deductions exceed your standard deduction of $7,100. If so, then you should itemize your deductions and claim your home mortgage interest.
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