My girlfriend and I bought our first home in 08/06. We're co-owners on the title, but only I am

so only I received 1098s. I have no income to report for 2006. She earned all of the household income and is on the title - can she use the deductions?

My girlfriend and I bought our first home in 08/06. We%26#039;re co-owners on the title, but only I am on the loan,

She can%26#039;t take the mortgage interest deduction if she is not responsible for the mortgage. She can deduct the real estate taxes.

Are you sure her name is not on the loan as well as yours? Check with the lender. Just because only you received the 1098 does not mean she is not on the loan. If she is on the loan and paid the mortgage, then she could also deduct the mortgage interest.

My girlfriend and I bought our first home in 08/06. We%26#039;re co-owners on the title, but only I am on the loan,

all she has to do is prove she made the payments, that shouldn%26#039;t be hard

My girlfriend and I bought our first home in 08/06. We%26#039;re co-owners on the title, but only I am on the loan,

I think, technically, she%26#039;s a renter, as you are not legally married. With no indication from you which state you live in and what the statutes are regarding common law marriage and community property, the question gets a bit more difficult. If she is legally considered as your spouse, and you are in a community property state, then she may be eligible for the deductions.

What puzzles me is your assertion that you are both %26quot;on the title%26quot;, but only you are on the loan. I do not know of any lender that permits this. I make a living doing financing and hold an active real estate license. It is not uncommon for the inverse to be true, as when two people are both on the loan, but only one of them is a legal tenant or deed holder. You may be mistaken about the title status of the property. If both of you are on the title, that would be joint tenancy, with both of you equally and severally liable for any and all liens, including a mortgage or deed of trust.

I would think the simplest solution would be to designate her as a renter, show the rent as income for you, and then you can deduct the interest, since the home is also your primary residence. You may, as a landlord, also be able to depreciate some portion of the house, though that might be tricky.

I would consult a tax attorney or a good CPA. The few bucks you spend could save you a lot of grief in the future. Tangling with the IRS is rarely amusing.

My girlfriend and I bought our first home in 08/06. We%26#039;re co-owners on the title, but only I am on the loan,

No, even if she made the mortgage payments she can%26#039;t deduct the interest, because since she isn%26#039;t on the mortgage, she isn%26#039;t legally required to pay the payments. Since she%26#039;s on the title though, she could deduct the real estate taxes if she has enough deductions to itemize, since she is legally responsible for those.

If you got married and filed a joint return, the interest would be deductible whether you personally had any income or not. But saving taxes is NOT a reason to get married unless you%26#039;re planning to do so anyway.

My girlfriend and I bought our first home in 08/06. We%26#039;re co-owners on the title, but only I am on the loan,

Sorry, but in this case, nobody gets the mortgage interest deduction.

To claim the deduction you must both be legally obligated for the debt and must actually pay it. Since you are the only person on the mortgage, only you can claim the interest deduction. She cannot as she is not legally obligated for it. Since you didn%26#039;t pay it (or didn%26#039;t earn enough to have to file a tax return and get any benefit from it) nobody gets it.

Now, property taxes are a different story entirely. Since she is on the deed, she DOES have the legal obligation to pay the property taxes and may take the deduction for any that she paid, assuming that she itemizes her deductions.

My girlfriend and I bought our first home in 08/06. We%26#039;re co-owners on the title, but only I am on the loan,

No, because she is not legally liable on the loan. Why not get married before Dec 31 and then you can file Married Filing Jointly. You bought a house together why not? Both of you would be in a much better financial position.