Just
before the Christmas holiday – in fact, exactly a week before, on December 18,
2015 – the President
signed legislation that renews the tax deductibility of mortgage insurance (MI)
premiums for qualified borrowers through 2016.
This
new legislation is effective
for purchase and refinance transactions closed after
December 31, 2014. Mortgage
Insurance premiums
paid or accrued after December 31, 2014,
and
through December 31, 2016,
may
qualify for tax deductibility on borrowers' subsequent federal tax returns as
follows:
• Borrowers
with adjusted gross incomes below $100,000 may deduct 100% of their MI premiums
• For
borrowers with adjusted gross incomes from $100,000.01 to $110,000, deductions
are phased out at 10% increments for each additional $1,000 of adjusted gross
household income
Quite
often, of course, many buyers immediately stop listening when they hear the
term “mortgage insurance” and start thinking about other things like needing to
schedule an appointment with the vet to get their cat dewormed or why bread
always lands butter side down when dropped.
They lose their focus, and that could lose the sale. Get them to focus and remind them that those
loan options that have mortgage insurance usually have lower monthly
payments, much
lower down payment requirements (3%), and
cancellable premiums. As it dawns on them that you’re more than a
real estate agent – you’re an expert – deliver this coup
de
grâce (I
believe that’s French for “do you want fries with that”) about the tax
deductibility, and they just might name their first child after you (or, at
least, their next cat – whom I hope has been dewormed).
Just
a couple of reminders to keep in your back pocket:
• Under
the Homeowners Protection Act of 1998, lenders must
terminate MI once the loan is scheduled to reach 78% of the original
home value – the insurance policy should be automatically
cancelled at that time
• The
CFPB, this month, issued a compliance bulletin reminding lenders of this
automatic cancellation requirement – even if the home’s value has dipped below
the sales price
• The
cancellation rules DO NOT apply to the low-down-payment FHA loans – borrowers
are required to pay insurance as long as they have an FHA loan (if the loan was
acquired after June, 2013)
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