The deductions a Florida homeowner can actually take

Start with the question nobody asks first

Do you itemise at all? Most people do not, and every deduction below is worth nothing if you take the standard deduction.

Since the standard deduction was raised, the large majority of US filers take it. To itemise, your total itemised deductions have to exceed it — and in Florida you are missing the single biggest contributor other states have: state income tax, because there is none to deduct.

What is deductible if you do itemise

• Mortgage interest, on acquisition debt up to the applicable limit, for a main home and one second home.
• Property tax, as part of the state and local tax deduction — which is capped, and the cap is what bites.
• Mortgage points paid on a purchase, generally deductible in the year paid.
• Mortgage insurance premiums, when the provision allowing it is in effect — it has lapsed and been reinstated more than once, so check the current year.

What is not deductible, and gets claimed anyway

• Homeowners insurance on your own residence. In Florida this is the largest bill people assume must be deductible. It is not.
• HOA fees on a personal residence.
• Repairs and maintenance on your own home — though improvements add to your basis, which matters when you sell.
• Utilities, and the cost of the CDD portion that is an assessment for improvements rather than a tax.

Keep the improvement receipts even if you never itemise

Because they reduce the gain when you sell, and that is where the money usually is.

A new roof, impact windows, an addition, a renovated kitchen — capital improvements add to your basis and therefore reduce the taxable gain at the sale. On a Florida house held ten years through the recent run-up, that can matter more than a decade of itemising would have.

The $250,000 exclusion ($500,000 filing jointly) covers most owners, but not everyone — and if you exceed it, every documented improvement is money. Our guide to taxes when you sell covers the whole calculation.