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- Joined
- Jun 25, 2005
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One should run TurboTax to see how much taxes these situations will require. Although mortgage interest is deductible, it is "below-the-line". One would have to cash-flow enough extra money for the payment which in turn would require AGI to be higher. If AGI is higher, then SS benefits will be taxed more.
This is a high income couple, so perhaps the SS benefits are going to be highly taxed anyways. Nevertheless, there may be a big difference in income taxes owed in the 2 situations. It can be complicated, so I would run some scenarios with TurboTax.
For example, suppose one wanted to convert 401(k) money to Roth. If most of one's income was from SS and LTCG, then maybe this could be done at a low tax rate. So instead of paying to the mortgage, you are converting to Roth IRA for the future.
This is a high income couple, so perhaps the SS benefits are going to be highly taxed anyways. Nevertheless, there may be a big difference in income taxes owed in the 2 situations. It can be complicated, so I would run some scenarios with TurboTax.
For example, suppose one wanted to convert 401(k) money to Roth. If most of one's income was from SS and LTCG, then maybe this could be done at a low tax rate. So instead of paying to the mortgage, you are converting to Roth IRA for the future.
