PMIWhat better way to start 2008 then with a post explaining another money saving tax break you receive with your mortgage. The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 will have wide ranging effects on many American’s pockets. The  law takes action on the deductibility of private mortgage insurance premiums and also to the capital gain taxes from sales of primary residences. If you experienced capital gains in in 2007, my hats off to you!

Let’s take a look at the private mortgage insurance premiums, PMI for short. Many Americans are paying PMI because their down payment was less than 20% of their home’s value when purchasing. These American’s can pay hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on their down payment amount and loan amount simply because their high loan to value is risky to banks. PMI was never attractive to home owners and was more of a damper adding yet another payment that did nothing to your mortgage’s principal. Instead of paying (PITI) Principal + Interest + Taxes + Insurance, there was another element to the payment that looked more like PITIPMI. Pretty Ugly if you ask me! The new deduction is available to families with an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less. Home owners with incomes up to $109,000 get a partial deduction on average the tax break is worth about $350 a year.

A penny saved is a penny earned… The ugly PMI has just got prettier!

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