[valuemkt]

The question was either or.. If you have a mortgage, you probably have an escrow. The 1098 has one line for real estate taxes paid, which is the sum total of what the bank pays sumter county. The standard deduction is now around 25K. If you dont do your own taxes (or even if you do) you might want to look and see if you;re still itemizing. For most, the tax deductibility or either is probably moot. Even if you are "certain" you won;t be moving, my vote would be to pay down the mortgage. The remaining bond payable won;t generally affect your sales price, the lower mortgage payable will go into you or your heirs pocket .. and at 30K or less, the interest differential isn;t much more than a couple of beers at Cody;s. IMO