Is Homeowners’ Insurance Tax Deductible in 2018?

When we’re engaged with our clients during the home buying or refinancing process, a large part of our job is to educate our clients so they can make the best decision based on their unique situation. While we’re the mortgage experts, oftentimes we will get questions that don’t necessarily relate directly to mortgages, but rather to other aspects of home ownership. One that we often hear is whether homeowners’ insurance is tax deductible.

It’s an important question. After all, income tax itemized deductions of mortgage interest is an important part of tax filings and can save money that many families each year. So what about homeowners insurance?
The simplest answer that we can give to this question is that, no, you typically can’t deduct your homeowners insurance on your taxes.
The IRS considers homeowners insurance to be a regular living cost that would not be eligible for tax deductions.
“Your House payment may include several costs of owning a home. The only costs you can deduct are real estate taxes actually paid to the taxing authority and interest that qualifies as home owner interest…
Some nondeductible expenses that may be included in your house payment include:

• Mortgage insurance premiums*
• Fire or homeowner’s insurance premiums, and 
• The amount applied to reduce the principal of the mortgage“

That said, there are exceptions. Please talk to your tax adviser for details on those exceptions.
*The itemized deduction for mortgage insurance premiums expired on December 31, 2016.
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