In connection with getting a home mortgage, each point is equal to 1 percent of the mortgage amount. Points paid on a mortgage to buy or improve your principal residence are generally fully-deductible in the year you pay them. You get to deduct the points even if you convince the seller to pay them for you, as long as you paid enough cash at closing—as a down payment, for example—to cover the points.

Points paid to refinance the mortgage on a principal home or to buy any other property must be deducted over the life of the loan.