You can deduct points paid to get your mortgage all at once.
But, when you refinance a mortgage, you have to deduct the points over the life of the loan.
You can deduct 1/20th a year if it's a 20 year mortgage.
On the year, you pay off the loan if you have sold the house or refinanced you may
get to deduct all so far un-deducted points.
Unless you refinance with the same lender, then, you add points on the latest deal to the points leftover from the previous refinancing and deduct the expense ratably over the life of the new loan.
This can save you quite a bit of moolah if you inherited an IRA from someone whose estate was big enough to be subject to the federal
estate tax. You can take an income-tax deduction for the amount of estate tax paid on the IRA balance. So maybe you inherited a $50,000 IRA that was included in your benefactor's estate.
It added $22,500 to the estate tax bill.
The annual gift exclusion is $14,000 in 2013.
See Annual exclusion, later, for more information.
The basic exclusion amount for gifts made and estates of decedents who died
in calendar year 2011 is $5,000,000, and $5,120,000 for gifts made and estates of decedents who died in 2012.
Beginning in 2011, the Deceased Spousal Unused Exclusion (DSUE) amount may be added to the basic exclusion amount to determine the applicable exclusion amount. The DSUE is only available if an election is made on the Form 706 filed by the deceased spouse's estate.
As you withdraw money from the IRA and pay tax on it, you also get to deduct a proportional amount of the estate tax paid.
If you withdraw $22,500 in one year, for example, you get to claim a $11,125
itemized deduction
on Schedule A.
I suggest that you can read more about it here on this PDF file produced by the IRS
Publication 950
