If you bought a house and your first mortgage was for more then 80% of the value of your home (you put less then 20% down), you pay a monthly private mortgage insurance (PMI). If your mortgage was put into place on or after January 1, 2007, then that PMI expense is now deductible!!

On Line 13 on Schedule A of your federal tax return (the same form that you use to deduct mortgage interest and property taxes) you can simply enter the amount you paid for PMI. Your lender should include the amount of your PMI premium in Box 4 of your Form 1098.

This deduction is scheduled to disappear after 2010, so don't forget to take advantage of this deduction while it lasts!