{"id":21739,"date":"2026-02-18T04:00:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/?p=21739"},"modified":"2026-02-20T17:25:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T01:25:26","slug":"buyer-what-documents-do-i-need-for-taxes-if-i-bought-a-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/buyer-what-documents-do-i-need-for-taxes-if-i-bought-a-house\/","title":{"rendered":"What Documents Will I Need for Taxes if I Bought a House Last Year?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sitting down to do your taxes<\/a> in your new (to you) home, perhaps you already knew that you might need some documentation from your home purchase last year. Or perhaps that was something you discovered while you were well into the process. Whatever the case, if you bought a home last year, the good news is that it can have a positive impact on your taxes. If you itemize your return<\/a>, there are several new deductions you can take. But to get their full benefit, you\u2019ll need the appropriate documents.<\/p>\n

We spoke with top-performing real estate agent Brian Watson<\/a> in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Watson has been assisting clients with their home sale documents for more than 13 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have tax deductions<\/a> that become available to you when you own a home,\u201d he says, pointing out that renters who become buyers<\/a> have earned the right to apply valuable tax breaks. Watson adds that when you take that step, you also gain \u201cpride of ownership and have an investment \u2014 you\u2019re not just paying rent and paying someone else\u2019s mortgage.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re thinking about taking those deductions on your new home purchase, here\u2019s what you need to know and the documents you\u2019ll need for taxes.<\/p>\n

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Itemized vs. standard deductions<\/h2>\n

Whether or not you\u2019ll need some of these documents depends on whether you file an itemized return<\/a> or take the standard deduction<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The standard deduction is an automatic subtraction from your income \u2014 in other words, after applying the standard deduction, your taxable income will be lower.<\/p>\n

The amount you can subtract depends upon your filing status. For many people, itemized deductions won\u2019t be higher than the standard deduction. Therefore, choosing this path saves them time.<\/p>\n

Each filing status and its current related deduction<\/a> is as follows:<\/p>\n