1. Deduct principal residence acquisition mortgage fee if you bought a home last year. If you bought your principal residence last year and if you paid the mortgage lender a loan fee, usually called "points" (each point equals 1 percent of the amount borrowed), that "home acquisition mortgage loan fee" is tax deductible as itemized interest on Schedule A of your tax returns on line 10.

2. Remember to deduct home mortgage refinance loan fees over the life of the home loan. If you refinanced your home loan or obtained another type of real estate loan, any loan fee or points you paid can only be deducted over the life of the mortgage, such as 15 or 30 years.

3. Deduct undeducted loan fees from a prior home loan refinance. If you refinanced a previously refinanced home loan, don't forget to deduct any remaining undeducted loan fee in the tax year of the second refinance.

4. Deduct any mortgage prepayment penalty you paid. Many home loans have prepayment penalties if they are paid off early, usually within the first three to five years. If you paid a prepayment penalty because you sold the home or refinanced, the prepayment penalty qualifies as deductible itemized interest.

5. If you changed job location and your residence, your moving costs may be deductible. Whether you are a renter or a homeowner, you may qualify for the moving-cost deduction if you changed both your job site and your residence but were not reimbursed for household moving costs.

6. Remember to deduct any casualty loss. If you suffered a "sudden, unusual or unexpected" loss, such as fire, flood, hurricane, tornado, earthquake, mudslide, theft, accident, water damage, riot, embezzlement, vandalism, snow, rain or ice storm, but were not paid by insurance or other reimbursement, you may be able to claim a casualty loss tax deduction.

7. Deduct prorated property tax in year of home sale or purchase. An easily forgotten deduction in the year of a home sale is your share of the prorated property taxes.

8. Deduct prorated mortgage interest in the year of home sale or purchase. If you bought your home last year and either assumed or purchased "subject to" its existing mortgage, you are entitled to deduct your prorated interest share for the month the sale closed.

9. Deduct prepaid property taxes and mortgage interest. Millions of U.S. homeowners prepay their property taxes and mortgage payments each December even though these payments are not due until the next year. The reason is these payments are deductible in the tax year of actual payment.

10. If your home is on leased land, you may be entitled to deduct ground rental If your home is one of the millions located on leased land, and if you have an option to buy that land, your ground rent payments may be deductible as itemized interest.