Does Tennessee have anything like a principal residence exemption?
"There's no homestead property tax exemption in TN. According to the TN comptroller site: Exemptions Exemptions are available for religious, charitable, scientific, and   nonprofit educational uses, governmental property, and cemeteries.   Most nongovernmental exemptions require a one-time application and   approval by the State Board of Equalization (615/401-7883) and there   is a May 20 application deadline. There is no ""homestead"" exemption,   but low income elderly and disabled persons and disabled veterans may   qualify for a rebate of taxes on a specified portion of the value of   property used as their residence. Business inventories held for sale   or exchange by merchants subject to the business gross receipts tax,   are not assessable. Farm and residential tangible personal property   are not assessable."
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p936/ar02.html#en_US_2010_publink1000229891 If you still own it, you get to deduct all of it. In my taxes I did online with TaxAct, it asked if I lived there or not and it just mattered which form it filed for me.  With having tenants it was a 'business' form and I assume it would be a standard schedule A for personal.  Either way the deductions are still mine to take. Very simple. If it wasn't rented, it's deductible as a schedule A home mortgage interest. If it was rented, you go into Schedule E land, still a deduction along with any/every expense incurred. It sounds like you do. You earn money in NC, so that's where it is going to be taxed first. It's rare that you'd start to itemize before you have a house and the property tax and mortgage interest that brings. If your state has an income tax, that's first, but then you'll usually need far more in deductions to be over that standard deduction. There are a few loan programs that grant exceptions to bankruptcy requirements in the event of extenuating circumstances that can be proven to be outside of your control (i.e. massive medical bills that you used bankruptcy to settle, etc.) however, in order to make the case for this exemption, you would need to make a strong case for your solvency, shown the ability to re-establish your credit reputation since the discharge of your bankruptcy, and would almost certainly have to go through a bank that offers manual underwriting. Additionally, if you are Native American, the HUD-184 program is a great option for your situation as it allows for a wide latitude in terms of underwriter discretion and is always manually underwritten as there is no automated underwriting system developed for the loan program. There are several great lenders that offer nationwide financing (as long as you're in a HUD-184 eligible area) and would be a great potential solution if you meet the qualifying parameter of being Native American. "As an investment opportunity: NO. As a friendly assist with money you don't mind ever getting back, legal depending on amount. A few years back I was in the housing market myself and researching interest rates and mortgages.  For one property I was very interested in, I would need about $4K extra in liquid cash to complete the down-payment.  A pair of options I saw were a ""combo loan"" 15yr 4% interest for the house, 1yr 8% interest for the $4K.  Alternately, the ""bank of mom and dad"" could offer the 4K loan for a much lower rate. The giftable limit where reporting is not required was $12,000 at the time I did the review.  IRS requires personal loans to be counted as having interest at the commercial rate.  Thus an interest free loan of $10K with commercial interest rate of 1% (for easy math) would be counted as a gift of $10,100 for that calendar year. Disclaimer: Ultimately, I did not use this approach and did not have it subjected to a legal review." There's virtually no way for a person to completely avoid taxation at some point in their lives. Between payroll, sales, excise, and the like, you've been taxed at some point. And whether or not the individual paid is irrelevant to the ownership claim being invalid. California is very aggressive when it comes to determining residency. While you have a legitimate defense, I suggest talking with a California-licensed CPA or EA practicing in California, which are experienced in dealing with the FTB residency audits. Yes, all the house footage is treated the same. The use of home is a (suspected) audit trigger, so do consult with a tax professional if you want to take this deduction. From the statute (IRC Sec. 280A): The term dwelling unit includes a house, apartment, condominium,   mobile home, boat, or similar property, and all structures or other   property appurtenant to such dwelling unit. The IRS demands and expects to be paid tax on all taxable activity, including illegal activity.  If they expect drug dealers, hit men, and smugglers to pay tax, they expect you to pay tax on your basement apartment. The flip side of this is that the IRS keeps reported tax activities confidential.  They only share what is required (for example, your taxable income with your state).  You can read the details in their disclosure laws.   Deductions will work just as they would if your apartment was perfectly legal.  In the eyes of the IRS, whether your income is legal or not is none of their business.  They care only about whether it is being taxed appropriately. They will not share any information with your zoning authority without a court order. You need an accountant and/or a lawyer who is familiar with the US tax code and the rules in South Korea (assuming from your tag). As the interest will be money generated in the US, you could be required to withhold some of the interest and remit it to the IRS (I believe 30% withholding rate). Since South Korea is a treaty country, your friend can complete and sign a form W8-BEN and give it to you, so you may withhold a lower amount. Your friend would need to file a return if too much was withheld. They may also get taxed in South Korea. There are probably rules in South Korea about minimum interest that must be charged, similar to Applicable Federal Rates for the US, so check with your accountant or lawyer for this. If you craft it correctly, you will be able to have a loan as a mortgage (with the house properly secured), which then would allow you to deduct mortgage interest rates from your return. As far as I am aware, there is no maximum amount for loans. Yes, use a separate Form 8829 for each home used for business during the year. The top of 8829 includes that exact instruction. @Pete B.'s answer is good, but there's an important note to consider for tax purposes.  It's too large for a comment, so I'm adding it as an answer. And that is: you cannot claim the property as a rental property under certain conditions.  This affects things like claiming mortgage interest (which you don't have), and depreciation in value (which a rental is allowed). See IRS topic 415 for details, but I've included an important excerpt below with emphasis added: If you rent a dwelling unit to others that you also use as a residence, limitations may apply to the rental expenses you can deduct. You're considered to use a dwelling unit as a residence if you use it for personal purposes during the tax year for more than the greater of:  ...   A day of personal use of a dwelling unit is any day that it's used by: Talk to a tax accountant to better understand the ramifications of this, but it's worth noting that you can't just rent it to her for a paltry sum and be able to take tax advantages from this arrangement. I'm no tax expert by any means. I do know that a disreagarded entity is considered a sole proprietor for federal tax purposes. My understanding is that this means your personal tax year and your business tax year must be one and the same. Nevertheless, it is technically possible to have a non-calendar fiscal year as an individual. This is so rare that I'm unable to find a an IRS reference to this. The best reference I could find was this article written by two CPAs. If you really want to persue this, you basically need to talk with an accountant, since this is complicated, and required keeping propper accounting records for your personal life, in addition to your business. A ledger creqated after-the-fact by an accountant has been ruled insufficent. You really need to live by the fiscal year you choose. "While the question is very localized, I'll answer about the general principle. My main question is with how far away it is (over 1000 miles), how do   I quantify the travel expenses? Generally, ""necessary and ordinary"" expenses are deductible. This is true for business and also true for rentals. But what is necessary and what is ordinary? Is it ordinary that a landlord will manage the property 1000 miles away by himself on a daily basis? Is it ordinary for people to drive 1000 miles every week? I'd say ""no"" to both. I'd say it would be cheaper for you to hire a local property manager, thus the travel expense would not be necessary. I would say it would be cheaper to fly (although I don't know if its true to the specific situation of the OP, but as I said - its too localized to deal with) rather than drive from Texas to Colorado. If the OP thinks that driving a thousand miles is indeed ordinary and necessary he'll have to justify it to the IRS examiner, as I'm sure it will be examined. 2 trips to the property a year will be a nearly 100% write-off (2000   miles, hotels, etc). From what I understood (and that is what I've been told by my CPA), IRS generally allows 1 (one) trip per year per property. If there's an exceptional situation - be prepared to justify it. Also, keep all the receipts (like gas, hotel, etc.... If you claim mileage but in reality you took a flight - you'll get hit hard by the IRS when audited). Also while I'm up there am I allowed to mix business with pleasure? You cannot deduct personal (""pleasure"") expenses, at all. If the trip is mainly business, but you go out at the evening instead of staying at the hotel - that's fine. But if the trip is ""business"" trip where you spend a couple of hours at your property and then go around having fun for two days - the whole trip may be disallowed. If there's a reasonable portion dedicated to your business/rental, and the rest is pleasure - you'll have to split some of the costs and only deduct the portion attributed to the business activities. You'll have to analyze your specific situation, and see where it falls. Don't stretch the limits too much, it will cost you more on the long run after all the audits and penalties. Can I also write off all travel involved in the purchase of the   property? Although, again, the ""necessary and ordinary"" justification of such a trip is arguable, lets assume it is necessary and ordinary and generally justified. It is reasonable to expect you to go and see the property with your own eyes before the closing (IMHO, of course, I'm not an authority). Such an expense can be either business or investment expense. If its a business expense - its deductible on schedule C. If its an investment expense (if you do buy the property), its added to the cost of the property (capitalized). I'm not a tax adviser or a tax professional, and this is not a tax advice. This answer was not written or intended to be used, and cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding any tax related penalties that may be imposed on you or any other person under the Internal Revenue Code. You should seek a professional consultation with a CPA/Attorney(tax) licensed in your State(s) or a Federally licensed Enrolled Agent (EA)."