The first time you buy a home, you may break into a cold sweat when you go to sign the loan documents and realize you are committing to paying back hundreds of thousands of dollars. Mortgage Debt Has Advantages ? Tax Advantages Although having a mortgage is not what any homeowner wants, no one wants to be in debt, there are certain advantages of having a mortgage. First of all, not only does it allow a person to own a home of their own, but it always carries tax advantages. A mortgage is one of the biggest write-off?s available. Everyone looks for ways to save on their taxes. After all, only two things are certain in life, death and taxes, and the less the taxes are the better. A mortgage, although this means you are in debt and are paying interest, allows people to use the interest paid on their mortgage as a tax write-off. Simply put, it can save a homeowner with a mortgage thousands of dollars in taxes. This works by first calculating the amount paid in mortgage interest over the year. Once you have this number, you can use it on your 1040 income tax form as a deduction. That?s right, every dollar paid in interest on the mortgage is a deduction and can lower your gross income. By lowering the gross income, not only does it mean you can reach a lower tax bracket and pay a smaller tax rate, but you?ll also have a considerably smaller tax amount due in the first place based on that lower gross income. As can be seen, the tax benefits of a mortgage are one of the benefits of having a mortgage in the first place. Although simply owning a home in the first place is the biggest plus, the tax benefits are a nice addition to that. They are an incentive that many people reluctant to look into a home and mortgages should consider. After all, you will be happy down the line when you have built up a healthy amount of equity.