{"id":15923,"date":"2020-04-17T10:17:44","date_gmt":"2020-04-17T17:17:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=15923"},"modified":"2025-10-31T11:01:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T18:01:30","slug":"buyer-how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house\/","title":{"rendered":"How Much Money Do You Get Back in Taxes for Buying a House? Let\u2019s Break It Down"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>DISCLAIMER:<\/strong>\u00a0As a friendly reminder,\u00a0this blog post is meant to be used for educational purposes only, not legal or tax advice. If you need help determining the taxes on your home sale, please consult a skilled tax professional.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>If you <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-to-buy-your-first-home\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">bought your first house<\/span><\/a>, then you probably don\u2019t know what to expect when it comes to claiming your tax benefits. Now that you\u2019re a homeowner, there are certain deductions you can claim on your taxes that could benefit your bottom line.<\/p>\n<p>That said, the sugar is not as sweet as it once was when it comes to the tax benefits of homeownership. \u201cThe art of buying a house doesn\u2019t do much anymore \u2014 especially for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/surprises-buying-home\/\">first-time homebuyers<\/a>,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/agents\/collier-swecker-al-87434\">Collier Swecker<\/a>, a real estate agent in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/birmingham-al\/top-real-estate-agents\">Birmingham, Alabama<\/a>, with a Masters of Law in Taxation degree. \u201cSince the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/newsroom\/tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-a-comparison-for-businesses\">Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017<\/a>, the standard deduction is so good for couples and even singles that people aren\u2019t itemizing their taxes like they were.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"geo-cta widget-cta widget-cta--content     widget-cta--dark widget-cta--dark-blue-gradient\">\n    <div class=\"widget-element--content\">\n        <div class=\"widget-element--content-header\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"homelight logo\" class=\"widget-element--logo\" src=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/ccprototypev5\/images\/logo-small-cta.png\" width=\"106\" height=\"25\" \/>\n        <\/div>\n        \n                <h3 class=\"cta-headline widget--bold\">Step One: Consult with a Trusted Buyer's Agent<\/h3>\n                        <p>Tell us a little bit about your plans (where you\u2019re looking to buy and when you want to make a purchase), and we\u2019ll connect you with top-rated buyer\u2019s agents in your area. It takes only a few minutes, and it\u2019s free.<\/p>\n        \n                <div class=\"widget-element--buttons\">\n            <a data-type=\"In Content CTA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/find-agent\/quiz\/buyer?#\/qaas=0\/\" class=\"cta-click-track widget-element--button\">Get Started<\/a>\n        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In this article, we\u2019ll break down how much money you can get back in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-hidden-costs-of-buying-a-home\/\">taxes for buying a house<\/a> based on a hypothetical homeowner to see if they\u2019ll get the most tax benefit from itemizing their taxes or taking the standard deduction.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some details about our hypothetical homeowner:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Married<\/li>\n<li>Filing jointly<\/li>\n<li>Living in Kansas City, Missouri (where the median price of a home is $189,000)<\/li>\n<li>Household income of $63,404 per year (the median household income in Kansas City)<\/li>\n<li>Started making mortgage payments in May 2019 on their $189,000 home<\/li>\n<li>Paying a 4.5% interest rate on the mortgage<\/li>\n<li>Made a 6% down payment ($11,340)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So, let\u2019s see what our homeowner\u2019s taxes look like in 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, and just a reminder: This hypothetical scenario is for educational purposes only.\u00a0 Your taxes are very specific to you, and you should contact a tax professional to help guide you.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15925\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15925\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-1.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"666\" height=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-1-666x381.png\" class=\"attachment-content size-content\" alt=\"Someone looking at many different notes posted on the wall in front of him.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-1-666x381.png 666w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-1-64x37.png 64w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-1-128x73.png 128w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-1-192x110.png 192w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-1-432x247.png 432w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-1-500x286.png 500w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-1.png 700w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 666px) 100vw, 666px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15925\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: (Startup Stock Photos \/ Pexels)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>Mortgage interest deduction<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>The first tax benefit you receive when you buy a home is the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-mortgage-interest-deduction-2019\/\">mortgage interest deduction<\/a>, meaning you can deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage every year from the taxes you owe on loans up to $750,000 as a married couple filing jointly or $350,000 as a single person.<\/p>\n<p>If you buy at the beginning or middle of the year, your first year of homeownership will likely also yield your biggest mortgage interest deduction because mortgages are usually amortized, meaning your interest payments are frontloaded.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Here\u2019s what you need to do<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Itemize your deductions instead of taking the standard deduction \u2014 as long as your itemized deductions are more than the standard deduction. To determine this, you\u2019ll need to do the math.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, for example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/newsroom\/irs-provides-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2019\">the standard deduction for a married couple filing jointly was $24,400 ($12,200 for a single person<\/a>). If you don\u2019t have more than that to write off, it makes sense to just take the standard deduction.<\/p>\n<p>Swecker points out that itemizing this deduction usually makes the most sense for \u201csomeone that is single and blowing it out of the water financially,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThink about it \u2014 with a couple, you are two people, but there\u2019s just one mortgage deduction. A single person could buy the same house and would only need to find $12,200 in deductions, whereas a couple still needs to find $24,400.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>If our hypothetical homeowner itemized their taxes, <b>they could deduct approximately $5,500 in mortgage interest from their taxable income<\/b> (that\u2019s the interest they paid at a 4.5% rate from May through December for the $177,660 they owe on their home after the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-much-down-payment-for-a-house\/\">down payment<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>Take note: Your loan provider will send you a tax document outlining exactly how much interest you\u2019ve paid on your mortgage each year.<\/p>\n<h2><b>Property tax deduction<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>In addition to the interest you pay on your mortgage, homeowners can also deduct up to $10,000 paid on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-needed-for-taxes-when-selling-a-home\/\">property taxes<\/a>. Depending on the property tax rate where you live, and how much you paid for your home, this could be substantial.<\/p>\n<p>For example, states with the highest <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/texas-transfer-tax\/\">property tax<\/a> rates include New Jersey (2.44%), Illinois (2.31%), and New Hampshire (2.20%). States with the lowest property taxes are Hawaii (0.27%), Alabama (0.42%), and Louisiana (0.52%).<\/p>\n<p>Swecker says that this deduction makes a lot of sense in states with high state and local taxes. \u201cThis happens in New York and a lot of the northern states,\u201d he says. \u201cYou get hit on property tax and local tax and all this stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><b>Here\u2019s what you need to do<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Itemize your deductions instead of taking the standard deduction.<\/p>\n<p>Our hypothetical homeowner lives in Missouri, where the property tax is 0.99%. With a house valued at $189,000, <b>our homeowner could deduct $1,890 from their taxes<\/b>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15927\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15927\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-2.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"666\" height=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-2-666x381.png\" class=\"attachment-content size-content\" alt=\"Someone working on a laptop computer in order to find out how much money they can get back in taxes for buying a house.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-2-666x381.png 666w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-2-64x37.png 64w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-2-128x73.png 128w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-2-192x110.png 192w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-2-432x247.png 432w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-2-500x286.png 500w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-2.png 700w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 666px) 100vw, 666px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15927\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: (Startup Stock Photos \/ Pexels)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>Points<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>When buying a house, it\u2019s possible to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/mortgages-101\/\">buy discount points<\/a>, which are essentially prepaid interest. Just like home mortgage interest, these points can be deducted if you itemize your taxes.<\/p>\n<p>According to the IRS, points can be deducted ratably over the life of the loan or deducted all at once in the year that they were paid. It\u2019s also possible to fully deduct points paid on a loan to improve your main home if it meets <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/taxtopics\/tc504\">certain criteria<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Swecker points out, however, that there are income limitations. \u201cThe real rich won\u2019t get this benefit,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Here\u2019s what you need to do<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>You\u2019ll have to have purchased points when you bought your primary residence. Points must be \u201cbona fide discount points,\u201d in other words, amounts of money paid to actually buy down your rate. The settlement statement must show the points purchased. Additionally, the points need to have been computed as a percentage of your mortgage principal. (In general, mortgage loan points are worth 1% of the loan and buy down a fixed amount of the rate, e.g. 1% up front buys down .125% to .250% of the rate, depending on the lender.)<\/p>\n<p>In the case of our hypothetical homeowner, purchasing 1 point to lower their interest rate from 5.5% to 5.25% would cost them $1,776.60. They could then turn around the write off that expense,<b> lowering their tax liability by $1,776.60.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><b>Private mortgage insurance (PMI)<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>If you make less than $50,000 as a single person or less than $100,000 jointly as a married couple, you might be able to deduct your private mortgage insurance (PMI.) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-pmi-can-you-get-rid-of-it\/\">PMI is a monthly fee<\/a> rolled into the total cost of your mortgage and is meant to protect your lender if you stop making payments on your home. PMI is usually required on conventional loans when homeowners have less than 20% <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/what-is-home-equity\/\">equity<\/a> in their homes.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Here\u2019s what you need to do<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Check to see whether you have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/can-i-cancel-pmi-if-my-home-value-increases\/\">PMI<\/a> on your loan. Next, check your income to see whether you meet the limitation requirements.<\/p>\n<p>Because our hypothetical homeowner makes less than $100,000 per year as a married couple and put down less than 20% on their home, they qualify for this tax deduction. Depending on factors like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-credit-score-is-needed-to-buy-a-house\/\">credit score<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-much-down-payment-for-a-house\/\">money down<\/a>, PMI is typically between 0.5% to 1% of the total loan amount.<\/p>\n<p>Assuming a PMI rate of 1% ($1,776.60\/year), which they paid from May through December, <b>our hypothetical homeowner could deduct $1,036.35 from their taxes<\/b>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15928\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15928\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-4.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"666\" height=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-4-666x381.png\" class=\"attachment-content size-content\" alt=\"Someone working on a laptop computer in order to find out how much money they can get back in taxes for buying a house.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-4-666x381.png 666w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-4-64x37.png 64w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-4-128x73.png 128w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-4-192x110.png 192w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-4-432x247.png 432w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-4-500x286.png 500w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-4.png 700w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 666px) 100vw, 666px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15928\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: (Andrea Piacquadio \/ Pexels<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>Mortgage credit certificate<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/m\/mortgage-credit-certificate.asp\">Investopedia<\/a>, a mortgage credit certificate (MCC) is a document provided by the originating mortgage lender to the borrower that directly converts a portion of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-is-a-good-mortgage-rate\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">mortgage interest<\/span><\/a> paid by the borrower into a non-refundable tax credit. These credits are for low-to-moderate-income homebuyers. The maximum tax credit a borrower can receive is $2,000 per year.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Here\u2019s what you need to do<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Check to see if you qualify. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncsha.org\/resource\/mortgage-credit-certificate-program-qa\/\">According to NCSHA<\/a>, the program serves those who are generally first-time homebuyers and earn no more than the greater of their state-wide or area median income.<\/p>\n<p>Because our hypothetical homeowner makes the median income in their area, they may qualify for an MCM. With a $177,660 mortgage x 4.5% interest rate x an MCC percentage of 20%, <b>our homeowners could claim $1,598.94 in credit on their tax return.<\/b><\/p>\n<h2><b>Home office deduction<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Do you work from home? If so, you\u2019re in luck. You can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/businesses\/small-businesses-self-employed\/home-office-deduction\">get a tax deduction based on the square footage of your home office<\/a> \u2014 $5 per square foot for up to 300 square feet of office space. Swecker warns, however, to be very cautious with this tax write-off.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an audit risk,\u201d he says, \u201cbecause the IRS knows homeowners have the tendency to fudge the truth. The amount of money you save probably isn\u2019t worth the scrutiny that the audit will cause \u2014 even if you do work from home. Data shows that those that claim a home office deduction are audited at a higher rate.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3><b>Here\u2019s what you need to do<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>To <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/tax-write-offs-for-sellers\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">write off<\/span><\/a> your home office, it must be used exclusively for conducting business. In other words, even if you work from bed on your laptop, you won\u2019t be able to write off the space as your office because it doubles as your bedroom, too.<\/p>\n<p>Next, calculate the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/square-footage-calculator\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">square footage<\/span><\/a> of your office.<\/p>\n<p>If our hypothetical homeowner works in a 200-square-foot home office, <b>they could write off $1,000 on their taxes.<\/b><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_15929\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-15929\" style=\"width: 700px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-5.png\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"666\" height=\"381\" src=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-5-666x381.png\" class=\"attachment-content size-content\" alt=\"A house with solar panels on it, which you could get money back in taxes for.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-5-666x381.png 666w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-5-64x37.png 64w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-5-128x73.png 128w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-5-192x110.png 192w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-5-432x247.png 432w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-5-500x286.png 500w, https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-5.png 700w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 666px) 100vw, 666px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-15929\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Source: (Vivint Solar \/ Pexels)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2><b>Certain home upgrades<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s possible to deduct some environmentally friendly upgrades to your home, such as solar panels. In 2019, homeowners who installed solar panels can claim a 30% credit. In 2020, that credit drops to 26%, then 22% in 2021 before the credit disappears altogether.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not a lot of money,\u201d says Swecker, \u201cbut it gives you something back.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"geo-cta widget-cta widget-cta--content     widget-cta--dark widget-cta--dark-blue-gradient\">\n    <div class=\"widget-element--content\">\n        <div class=\"widget-element--content-header\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"homelight logo\" class=\"widget-element--logo\" src=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/ccprototypev5\/images\/logo-small-cta.png\" width=\"106\" height=\"25\" \/>\n        <\/div>\n        \n                <h3 class=\"cta-headline widget--bold\">Find a Top Buyer\u2019s Agent to Guide You<\/h3>\n                        <p>HomeLight can connect you with a top real estate agent familiar with the mortgage application process and home listings in your area. We analyze over 27 million transactions and thousands of reviews to determine which agent is best for you based on your needs.<\/p>\n        \n                <div class=\"widget-element--buttons\">\n            <a data-type=\"In Content CTA\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/find-agent\/quiz\/buyer?#\/qaas=0\/\" class=\"cta-click-track widget-element--button\">Get Started<\/a>\n        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Here\u2019s what you need to do<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>If you bought and installed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/selling-a-house-with-solar-panels\/\">solar panels<\/a> in 2019, you can claim up to 30% of the expenditures.<\/p>\n<p>If our hypothetical homeowner bought and installed solar panels for $16,300, <a href=\"https:\/\/solaractionalliance.org\/residential-solar-panel-cost\/\">the average cost nationwide<\/a>, <b>they would receive a tax credit of $4,890.<\/b><\/p>\n<p>When we add up the deductions above, <b>they come out to a grand total of $18,296.59 in tax write-offs<\/b>. While that\u2019s a large chunk of change, it\u2019s still less than the standard deduction of $24,400 for married people filing jointly. For that reason, our hypothetical homeowner would still take the standard deduction.<\/p>\n<p><em>Header Image Source: (Pixabay \/ Pexels)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Now that you\u2019re a homeowner, there are certain deductions you can claim on your taxes that could benefit your bottom line.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":163,"featured_media":15926,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192,703,646],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-buyers","category-legal-tax","category-making-offers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.0 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Much Money Do You Get Back in Taxes for Buying a House?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Now that you\u2019re a homeowner, there are certain deductions you can claim on your taxes that could benefit your bottom line.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Much Money Do You Get Back in Taxes for Buying a House? Let\u2019s Break It Down\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Now that you\u2019re a homeowner, there are certain deductions you can claim on your taxes that could benefit your bottom line.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"HomeLight Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/gohomelight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-04-17T17:17:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-31T18:01:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hl-blog.homelight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house-head.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kim Dinan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@kimdinan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@gohomelight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kim Dinan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Much Money Do You Get Back in Taxes for Buying a House?","description":"Now that you\u2019re a homeowner, there are certain deductions you can claim on your taxes that could benefit your bottom line.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-how-much-money-do-you-get-back-in-taxes-for-buying-a-house\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Much Money Do You Get Back in Taxes for Buying a House? 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